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Thursday, January 15, 2009

School school school

Mike and Bob left Arizona the next morning to resume their cross-country drive to Massachusetts, but before they left they asked us which city they should check out in Texas: San Antonio or Austin. Both Kevin and I gave a resounding "Austin!"

"If you guys like nightlife you'll have to check out Austin's 6th Street off Congress. That is one happening place, especially when a Texas team wins a sporting event." I said.

"It's like Bourbon street in New Orleans," added Kevin.
"Without all the boobs..." I clarified.

"Just follow directional signs to Downtown Austin, get on Congress Avenue, and as you are approaching the state capital --it's on a hill--take a right turn on 6th Steet. You won't be able to miss that street, that's the loudest one there! But there are nice places south of the Bat Bridge, more eclectic places like in Bisbee." Yeah, I started missing that town. It's by far the most fun city in Texas. San Antonio doesn't even compare, Dallas, Houston and El Paso don't even make the running, and if it weren't for the Alamo and the Riverwalk (the entire riverwalk and not just the crowded one-mile touristy stretch) there wouldn't be much to see there in San Anton either. The town's growing too fast for its traffic patterns and driving around town is a major clusterfuck; It's like driving around Atlanta.

I never got to see the boys off that day as I had to get up early for my first day at the high school in my new school district: a Freshman English class. The high school is intimidating, as there are security guards in every hallway and strict adherence to passes. The school is also four times larger than the high school in Bisbee. A free lunch is provided to all teachers, the pay is a bit more (and I get another raise after 20 days) AND the free workshops on Tuesdays count toward professional development. I really like that and will enjoy working at this school. I now have twice the work load working for two school districts, and I enjoy both for different reasons.

Yet teachers at this high school frown on me when they learn I work in Bisbee. I like the district, the staff and the students (it's some of the rabid parents I can't stand!) and I get defensive when teachers here badmouth that town. Bisbee's biggest problem is that the school district lacks serious funding, more cuts are predicted, to include cutting back on teachers' pay (!!!)

Because Bisbee is one-fourth the size of my new district, the schools are more intimate and people know one another. I know most of the students by name and always make sure I call them by their names when I can. There are many good students there.

But working this schedule can get tough. On Tuesday I went from the high school to the workshop and from there to the monthly Hiking Club meeting. I never got home until after 9pm. I will have many more days like that. Tonight Kevin and I met for dinner in town because he has a Thursday night class as well.

So, since the dogs hadn't been walked in several days due to our visitors, I took them out yesterday into the foothills for a few hours. It was my first day off in two weeks and I almost didn't know what to do. I had a laundry list of errands to complete.

Today I had a Spanish I and II classes, levels I was comfortable teaching. I must admit that as much fun as science and social studies are, I still enjoy Foreign languages the most. Although my assignment as a Guest Teacher was to play "Finding Nemo" with Spanish subtitles, most students at the rear of the class could not read the small fonts from the small TV on the wall. If I had had full control of the class I would have played a Spanish movie subtitled in English, preferably a cartoon that had no objectionable material and which many of the students may be familiar with.

And the students were aghast when I actually spoke in Spanish. "Our teacher doesn't speak to us in Spanish and doesn't make us speak it, either." How can you learn a foreign language if you never speak it?!

I can't wait to get a French or German class! This high school teaches both French and German, classes that Bisbee does not offer. This is the primary reason why I decided to work at two districts, so that I can get some training in the areas I majored in in college.

So far all my classes this semester promise to be fascinating and interesing: Native Peoples of the Southwest on Mondays, Intro to Special Education on Wednesdays, and Diversity in the Classroom on Thursdays. All of them are English-intensive courses and I will be doing a lot of writing, research and citing. Next semester I'll take some history and English classes, and perhaps I can squeeze in an Intermediate Spanish class. I could do all that if only the classes start after 4pm.
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