Part One – Summation of this past school year….
My last day of teaching for the school year was last Friday, May 26th. I served in two interim positions this school year, one at the beginning and the other covering the last half of the school year. I had several one-day assignments thrown in between for good measure. Now it’s time to take a break and refresh and regroup.
My first interim position was an eighth-grade assignment, teaching science, my favorite. Originally it was supposed to have been a seventh-grade assignment, but the teacher was reassigned. I was fortunate to have a great group of students and excellent teachers to work with on this first assignment. Those positions covering the first days and weeks of school can be challenging, but I was up to the challenge. I was eventually told that the position was coming to a close and I truly enjoyed the eight weeks or so it covered.
For the next several months, I filled in for teachers on a day-to-day basis. Those jobs were not difficult to find and I enjoyed most all the days I worked. I did cover for a teacher for four consecutive days and that too was a pleasant experience. It’s always interesting to not be attached to one particular school and see a wide range of teaching styles and groups of children.
While I was substituting in the class I had been with for the start of the school year one day, the principal came by and asked me to step out in the hall to discuss something. I of course thought someone had complained or something of the sort, but alas that was not the case. He had a teacher that had decided to leave her position and wanted to know if I could cover the classes for the rest of the school year. I didn’t hesitate to agree to the position that would start at the end of the first week in February.
These groups of students would have been the ones I would have taught if the teacher hadn’t been reassigned over the summer. So in a way, I figure it was in the Universe’s plans for me to work with this group of kids. I would also have the opportunity to work with a teacher I had worked with the year before and another teacher I had done an interim position for two years prior.
I will have to admit this group of students was a bit more challenging to work with than the first group I had taught earlier in the school year. But things worked out just fine and I think we had a really good second half of the year. As with most positions covering the last weeks of school, it did get quite challenging, but all ended well.
Looking towards next school year, I’ve gotten my teaching certificate renewed for at least the next five years. This will allow me to continue to do interim positions. I also have been given an eighth-grade teacher’s maternity leave to start the school year. So even more important to get some good quality R & R this summer. It’ll be time to start back before you know it.
David Lee 