Decisions. Decisions are one of the many things that I am not very good at. I hate deciding between more than one thing in life. If I know what I want I have no problem going for it, but if you throw in a few options and the pros and cons of each and peoples opinions, that you value, everything becomes a blur. I can never find the perfect answer to what I am having to make a decision about.
When it comes to this I always call up the few people I know that will ask me the right questions to help me discover the right decision. Well, lately I have been blessed with a very tough decision, which school I would like to accept a job at? I know it's a blessing and everyone is saying how awesome it is that I have options, but being that making a decision and making a commitment is hard for me, this is a very difficult thing for me to do. So being that all of you have been following me along this journey I would like to include you in my decision making and hear what your thoughts and opinions are.
School #1
This is the school I received my first interview at. Right away I liked the school. It is a brand new school that just opened last year and the staff I saw right away were very welcoming and friendly. The principle made me a little nervous though because she has this strong authoritative presence to her. She showed me around the school and introduced me to some of the staff and the assistant principles. Everyone seemed really nice. I was able to see the art room and I absolutely loved it! It was bright and open, which I love. Sunshine makes me happy : ). There is also another art teacher that works there as well. She is also a new teacher and it is her second year teaching. The pros about this is that I would have someone else to talk to and collaborate with. The cons would be if there is a cut one of us would probably be the one to go. They are adding the position because the electives are overcrowded. This school also has many great seasoned teachers and some teachers I know here think this school is a great place. In this school I would be creating my own art classroom and starting from scratch.
School #2
This is the school in which I first heard of an art position opening up. I went in and observed a few times. When I first walked into the school I didn't get the same feeling, but I don't know if its because of the building itself or what. The front desk people weren't as friendly as the ones I had met at Luis, but today when I had my interview there the people I talked to in the interview were soooo nice, helpful and seemed very supportive. Also the e-mails and the short chat I had with the principal were very good. She seemed very kind and helpful. The students were great, they were very welcoming and respectful. The room on the other hand is older and does not have as much space. It is a bit more gloomier. The kiln (a hot oven thing that you use to fire clay pieces) is in the actual room with the students instead of being in its own room. I would have another class down the hall in which the teacher now uses as a clay room. The teacher would help me transition into this position and leave a lot of his stuff with me, which may be nice to some extent but also it would mean that my classroom is pretty much set up instead of creating my own. My fear here is that so many people have talked about how great of a teacher he was and how he has built this great program. He has done a lot of stuff for the school and lead after school classes and I'm afraid of not being able to live up to that. Also, the guy in charge of all of the art teachers in the Aldine district gave me some advice and told me that many people are going to ask me to borrow supplies and make things for them and I need to learn to say no, because I will overwhelm myself and get taken advantage of. Well, the teacher now does a lot of that stuff. He shares supplies with the other teachers and makes a lot of stuff for them. My fear is being put in the position of getting sucked into this and if I didn't do these things that the other teachers wouldn't understand. On the other hand though this is the school that the fifth graders I worked with before would be coming to and then my students would be going over to the teacher I am working with now. So I know the schools and how they work pretty well. Also most of the students at these schools live in the rougher areas in Houston and I feel that there is a strong need for someone like myself in their lives. I'm not as sure about the first school, but I do know a lot of them come from a little bit nicer area and there is more parent involvement there than here. Student teaching with the two other schools in this vertical I have come to love these students and have learned a lot about where they have come from and what many of them are going through and I want to help them and inspire them.
A lot of people have said to go with my gut feeling, when you know you. Then others have asked which is the more secure job?
To me I am young, if I am not meant to have a job and get cut I can just go find somewhere else or something else to do. I don't even know yet if this is where I would like to stay long term. I would like to go somewhere were I am treated well, don't feel the pressure to be something I am not or do something I am not comfortable with and also where I know I could make a difference in my students lives.
So decisions, decisions... What to do?
When it comes to this I always call up the few people I know that will ask me the right questions to help me discover the right decision. Well, lately I have been blessed with a very tough decision, which school I would like to accept a job at? I know it's a blessing and everyone is saying how awesome it is that I have options, but being that making a decision and making a commitment is hard for me, this is a very difficult thing for me to do. So being that all of you have been following me along this journey I would like to include you in my decision making and hear what your thoughts and opinions are.
School #1
This is the school I received my first interview at. Right away I liked the school. It is a brand new school that just opened last year and the staff I saw right away were very welcoming and friendly. The principle made me a little nervous though because she has this strong authoritative presence to her. She showed me around the school and introduced me to some of the staff and the assistant principles. Everyone seemed really nice. I was able to see the art room and I absolutely loved it! It was bright and open, which I love. Sunshine makes me happy : ). There is also another art teacher that works there as well. She is also a new teacher and it is her second year teaching. The pros about this is that I would have someone else to talk to and collaborate with. The cons would be if there is a cut one of us would probably be the one to go. They are adding the position because the electives are overcrowded. This school also has many great seasoned teachers and some teachers I know here think this school is a great place. In this school I would be creating my own art classroom and starting from scratch.
School #2
This is the school in which I first heard of an art position opening up. I went in and observed a few times. When I first walked into the school I didn't get the same feeling, but I don't know if its because of the building itself or what. The front desk people weren't as friendly as the ones I had met at Luis, but today when I had my interview there the people I talked to in the interview were soooo nice, helpful and seemed very supportive. Also the e-mails and the short chat I had with the principal were very good. She seemed very kind and helpful. The students were great, they were very welcoming and respectful. The room on the other hand is older and does not have as much space. It is a bit more gloomier. The kiln (a hot oven thing that you use to fire clay pieces) is in the actual room with the students instead of being in its own room. I would have another class down the hall in which the teacher now uses as a clay room. The teacher would help me transition into this position and leave a lot of his stuff with me, which may be nice to some extent but also it would mean that my classroom is pretty much set up instead of creating my own. My fear here is that so many people have talked about how great of a teacher he was and how he has built this great program. He has done a lot of stuff for the school and lead after school classes and I'm afraid of not being able to live up to that. Also, the guy in charge of all of the art teachers in the Aldine district gave me some advice and told me that many people are going to ask me to borrow supplies and make things for them and I need to learn to say no, because I will overwhelm myself and get taken advantage of. Well, the teacher now does a lot of that stuff. He shares supplies with the other teachers and makes a lot of stuff for them. My fear is being put in the position of getting sucked into this and if I didn't do these things that the other teachers wouldn't understand. On the other hand though this is the school that the fifth graders I worked with before would be coming to and then my students would be going over to the teacher I am working with now. So I know the schools and how they work pretty well. Also most of the students at these schools live in the rougher areas in Houston and I feel that there is a strong need for someone like myself in their lives. I'm not as sure about the first school, but I do know a lot of them come from a little bit nicer area and there is more parent involvement there than here. Student teaching with the two other schools in this vertical I have come to love these students and have learned a lot about where they have come from and what many of them are going through and I want to help them and inspire them.
A lot of people have said to go with my gut feeling, when you know you. Then others have asked which is the more secure job?
To me I am young, if I am not meant to have a job and get cut I can just go find somewhere else or something else to do. I don't even know yet if this is where I would like to stay long term. I would like to go somewhere were I am treated well, don't feel the pressure to be something I am not or do something I am not comfortable with and also where I know I could make a difference in my students lives.
So decisions, decisions... What to do?
No comments:
Post a Comment