Sorry if the title does not indicate about what you will read in this posting, but it is the clearest way I can put it.
When I was exploring finding a teaching job for the current school year and having trouble, in part because of my age, in part because I had been in a different school each of the four previous years, as I interviewed for both Middle School and High School positions, my wife asserted rather forcefully that I was far more comfortable in a high school setting, preferably with gifted and/or committed students whom I could challenge.
I taught students rising to 8th and 9th grade last summer through the Center for Talented Youth, but they were far from typical middle schoolers.
My career had been primarily in high schools.
But it came down to a choice between two middle school settings.
I have been teaching at the Howard University Middle School of Mathematics and Science. It is a public charter school. A significant number of our students are high needs, but not all of them.
It is a school that had some recent difficulties, about which I was aware when I accepted the job. I chose it in part because the incoming principal and I overlapped a great deal, including that closing in on almost two decades ago I taught her son.
It had become clear to me that this was not a great fit. I had already decided I would not come back next year, and had tentatively explored some other options.
And then out of the blue a position became available. It is high school. It is all Advanced Placement courses, all juniors and seniors. It is in Fairfax County, which means as a Virginia School there is no Common Core, no Race to the Top.
The man I am replacing in the classroom is the Department chair — I am only taking over his classes. We have both been Readers for the AP US Government & Politics Exam. As it turns out, we have known about one another’s work for some time. — He told me that after he interviewed me he had been reading teacherken in a variety of places for some time.
So let me explain what has happened, and where I am going, and why I consider myself blessed.
I interviewed one day at 11 in the morning, and by 1:30 the following afternoon the school wanted to talk to me. We talked at about 3:50, and I was tentatively offered the job and I accepted. But officially the offer has to be tended by Human Resources. The school sent on my name and by midday the next day, two days after the interview, HR had offered and I had accepted. I then had to go through a clearance process, the details of which are not worth your boredom, so I will skip over. As of yesterday I was notified electronically that I was hired, and this morning I submitted my resignation effective December 31.
So far I have not told students, and the only ones I have informed about my decision are my principal, my assistant principal, and my team leader. I will follow the principal’s guidance on how it gets shared around the school, although it is always possible someone will see things on social media.
I am going to Hayfield Secondary School, located about a 15 mile drive from my house, but taking about the same time as my current 8.5 mile trip, because now I park almost a ten minute walk away from the school. Door to door is about 30 minutes, with multiple routes in case of traffic problems.
I will be teaching one course of unified Micro Economics and Macro Economics, one course of AP US Government and Politics stretched out over a year, and several sections which are finishing up AP US Government and about to start AP Comparative Government, which I have NOT previously taught, although I have tutored some students who were taking that exam on their own.
The man I am replacing is leaving me with plans and exams and all kinds of good stuff which will enable me to hit the ground running.
I already have my school email. I will go to the new school on December 23 to see my classroom, make a switch of technology, get some training on the software I will be using, and to gather the materials.
My predecessor emailed me today to let me know he had told the kids about me. Some immediately googled me, and apparently one had picked up on my many tweets on last night’s Republican debate.
I am following a man with a strong track record, with a strong relationship with his students. That he is willing to speak so highly of me as he tells them he is leaving will make my job somewhat easier, but also will challenge me to live up to a very high set of expectations, although no higher than those I hold for myself.
Because of the rules in Fairfax County, I only have a job through the end of the school year, but of course will be able to apply to continue. I hope and expect that I will continue at Hayfield, although until scheduling is done and my status is made permanent I would not know what my course load would be for the following year.
As I considered options, my wife also raised the question of what might happen to the students I am leaving behind. I don’t know, but I also recognize that for a variety of reasons I have not been as effective a teacher with them as I would want, and that it has taken a huge amount of emotional energy to reach those students I have been able to reach.
At times I would come home with doubts about my effectiveness, except that after teacher through the Center for Talented Youth last summer, I know how effective I can be with students willing to be challenged. I know CTY thinks highly of me — last year I taught one 3-week session of Macro Economics and the Global Economy. I am schedule to teach two 3 week sessions this forthcoming summer.
I have only ten more classes left to teach in my current position. I will continue to give my best effort to my students. There are some I am leaving behind that I will truly miss, and hope they will decide to remain in contact with me.
I recognize that I will have to work very hard in my new position, even with all the material being left for me. The man I am replacing and my assistant principal are both excited about my coming on board. Ken Halla is well known as a teacher, and he told me his one concern in moving on to a new position was that the students he was leaving behind be in good hands. He has given me a vote of confidence in that regard.
I am going to have to ask the students to bear with me — it might take me some time to learn their names, to get to know them. I will call all the families, conceivably even over the holidays. A letter has been sent home introducing me.
Economics. Government and Politics. US and international. All subjects that fascinate me, about which I read a great deal on my own.
It is a school that is very diverse — 14% Asian, 28% Black non-Hispanic, 21% Hispanic, 31% White, and the rest “other.” I feel welcomed and supported, even though I do not officially start until January 4.
My wife is right. I am a very good middle school teacher, but most of my recognition has come from my work as a high school teacher. I have experience teaching very bright kids, some quite a bit brighter than me, and I have always been able to find a way to challenge them, to help them grow intellectually and personally.
So I am now transitioning again. This will be my 6th school in 5 school years. Hopefully it will be the last time I change schools.
Wish me well.
And thanks.