I found out yesterday that I got a position I submitted for. Whew! Not that I had any competition, so really I got it by default.
It's the English-speaking half of the 4th grade Dual Language. Our school has been growing our DL program each year by one grade and 4th grade come next.
This couldn't have come at a better time. I've been beyond frustrated and overwhelmed with education lately. It seems like there are always meetings and trainings and paper work and parents to talk to and lessons to plan and implement. It's exhausting. And no matter how much I work, how many papers I bring home and how many hours I stay late or come early, it never ends.
I had started to think that maybe teaching wasn't for me. Of course, I'm absolutely useless outside of the classroom. I have no skills whatsoever besides teaching other people's kids. Truly. So what would I even do?
But with this new job, I'll essentially have two classes. I'll teach reading, two blocks of math and writing/literacy. All in English. My Spanish counterpart who has yet to be hired will teach reading, two blocks of science/social studies, and writing/literacy. We'll have one class in the morning and then will switch for the afternoon. What makes this so great for me is that I don't have as many lesson plans because I don't have to teach science and social studies (I hate teaching social studies!) and I get to teach math, which is my favorite. I know, weird.
I also really love the whole idea behind Dual Language. Kids get to learn in their first language which research shows is better for all kids, they then transfer that knowledge to the language their learning, become more sensitive to other cultures and languages, and by the end of 6th grade are fully bilingual and biliterate. Of course, I think most kids are still stronger in English just because it's all around them. That means that our Spanish speaking kiddos don't have to give up their home language to be successful and can take pride in their culture and language. It also means that both English and Spanish speakers are more ready for the global economy.
All that to say, I think I'm more ready to stick with education for a while. And I'm stoked to teach 4th grade again. Third graders bug me.
