My job

Today, I turned in my letter of intent to stay at Central Catholic HS next year. Surprise to me! Last year, I thought CC was a short-term solution to the terrible public school job market. A lot has changed in a year, and now I can’t imagine teaching anywhere else. Why? Well, there have been so many positive aspects to my job, I feel I just have to share some of them…

· I love the small school environment. One of the many perks of a small school is that I teach entire grade levels of English classes. So, I currently have all of the sophomores and all of the seniors. I love this for several reasons. First, there is no possibility of complaining or comparison for the students. What I mean is, in a big school there are often several teachers who teach the same course. Students quickly learn which teachers are easy and which are not, whom they like and whom they don’t; they then actively work to switch into the easy classes taught by favorite teachers. It can create animosity between teachers and frustration among students. I love that the small school doesn’t allow any choice. If a student is a senior or sophomore, they’re stuck with me, like it or not. I also love that, being the only teacher of those courses, I have absolute control over the curriculum; I pick the books, the papers, the projects, the pacing, and evaluation methods. It allows me ultimate creative freedom. Finally, I love that I automatically know half of the school. So, if I attend any sporting event, I generally know half the team and can cheer for my students by name. It’s pretty great.

· Parents are positively involved. The only time I heard from parents in the public school system was when they were complaining. (Okay, so this is a slight exaggeration, but only slight). I literally had three different parents threaten to get me fired after grade or behavior issues with their students, all of whom went directly to my superiors prior to ever speaking with me. It was so disheartening. But, CC is a totally different story. Parents have actually written cards and emails thanking me for my work in and outside of the classroom. I had a dad email just the other day to let me know that his son mentioned improved writing skills due to my class and to thank me for my work. I cried. I also had a mom stop me in the parking lot and give me a hug, thanking me for impacting her daughter’s life. I couldn’t believe it. Not only that, but the parents are eager to volunteer in every aspect of the school. I had over 30 parents show up for the callout meeting to help with the musical and probably 40 more parents who helped put on the school’s “Every 15 Minutes” program this spring.

· I feel needed. With such a small faculty, each person has to contribute more time and energy to committees, extracurriculars, chaperoning, and other duties to keep the school functioning. If I don’t volunteer regularly, events cannot happen; there just aren’t enough people to allow me to remain uninvolved. I enjoy playing such an integral part in the school, and I love that every faculty member has to play their part. It’s not just the same core group of people who do everything; everyone is now in the core group.

I could really go on and on. I love my job, and I am so thankful that God dragged me kicking and screaming back to Lafayette.