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March 27, 2006
Anxiety dreams
Ok, so that last entry wasn’t all that exciting. However, hanging out with Rob and Danica was a blast and the culmination of a very successful trip to NY. It resolved a large issue that had been hanging over my head for quite a long while, and although I’m going to wait just a bit until things are official before making a more definite announcement (read: I apologize for being vague for the time being), nevertheless I’m excited about the propects for the future.
Therefore, naturally, my various neurosis must find a way to undermine these positive developments. This morning I woke with the latest in an ongoing series of anxiety dreams. In this one, it’s the Monday of only my second week of teaching high school, and I’ve arrived at school in the early afternoon. I’ve totally forgotten about and blown off my morning classes, and I have to teach an afternoon section of juniors in about 30 seconds, covering god-only-knows-what material. Basically I show up with just enough time to glance through a textbook and frantically search for the classroom, the location of which eludes me.
This particular premise recurrs about once a week; this morning’s twist involved some school policy called “asserting the fryer”, which all teachers are expected to do. I had (and have) no idea what that’s supposed to mean, so I decided I’d have to forgo asserting the fryer (what could my subconscious mean by this? seriously…) and concentrate instead on improvising that day’s lesson in addition to trying to figure out what on earth I was going to tell the principal about my having missed that morning’s classes.
I don’t know why I’m having such a hard time relaxing and enjoying these aforementioned future prospects. For some reason I’m clearly really anxious, which is kind of a drag. I’m sure when it finally comes to it, I’ll be just fine. For the moment, though, it’d be nice to be able to sleep without these nightmares.
In other exciting developments, check out this NY Times article. Heart-healthy pork? Guilt-free ribs? Doctors prescribing daily doses of bacon? “Some magical animal” indeed.
Posted by alex at 02:59 PM | Comments (1)
March 18, 2006
Hangin’ with Danica and Rob
I’m in Manhattan right now.
Posted by alex at 12:09 AM | Comments (0)
March 06, 2006
Boston Blues
Tomorrow I return home from a weekend in Boston, looking for and interviewing for jobs. I’m staying at the McToote’s (Mark McEwen and Linda Toote, plus their twins Henry and Claire), and they have been all four of them delightful. I’ve never seen two eight year olds as bright, articulate, happy, and engaged as Claire and Henry, and seeing the two of them play together is a joy. They interact, they share, they are thoughtful and respectful of each other’s feelings, they horse around and run and scream, but for the most part they are very well behaved indeed. Mark and Linda have done an amazing job with them, and I am both envious of their family and concerned that I will be unable to do as well with my own someday.
The job search accelerated considerably, catalyzed by the NAIS conference which I attended on Friday. I should have come better prepared, to be honest, and I should have been in better contact with Carney Sandoe, the educational placement service with whom I’m working. If they had known I was going to be at the conference, they would have set up interviews for me ahead of time. As it was, I managed to round up a few on my own, and they have both paid off: the Head of School at Lake Forest Academy called me Saturday morning (I have to call him back) and Poly Prep in Brooklyn has invited me to come and visit them, spend a day meeting people and teaching a class or two, and generally getting to know their school. So that, at least, is encouraging.
My visit to Buckingham Browne & Nichols, on the other hand, brought less encouragement. I met with Mark Fidler, math department chair, for half-an-hour, and then another half-hour with Jack Knapp, who is the Head of the Upper School, and former Head of the Upper School at USM when I was there. Anyway, they were both very nice to me and treated me very decently, but the abiding message was that, while my education and background are unimpeachable, my teaching experience doesn’t include enough (or really, any) time spent teaching in a posh private school. Criso Rey doesn’t count because, although it is an independent school (not really, I guess, seeing as how it’s a Jesuit school), it serves a completely different community: inner-city Latino kids of limited economic means from Chicago rather than extremely priviledged children of highly-educated, wealthy Cambridge parents.
I don’t mean to sound bitter or cynical in that description; having attended USM and taught at Cristo Rey, I know that difference is real, and I can understand why they’re looking for someone who’s had experience in a high-end independent institution. In particular, Mark made a point of saying he’s looking for someone who will require a minimum of adjustment, and he said that while he’s sure I could be an excellent fit, he’s just not sure the transition would be smooth.
I understand where he’s coming from, but it leaves me a bit dejected. I believe my experience is pretty strong, my background even stronger, and I’m sure I could be a valuable contributor to any number of educational institutions, including this one. It doesn’t look likely to work out at BB&N, though. Here’s hoping I have better luck elsewhere—Trinity school in NY, maybe? Poly Prep? The Browining School? We’ll see….
Posted by alex at 07:21 PM | Comments (1)