Employment Update

'Tis good news everybody- so good that my dad, as well as myself, had to thank the Lord for it! The teaching position for the summer school program that I interviewed for has a happy ending after all. Funny thing is, I had applied for a Para position, aka, classroom aide. Yet, while I'm talking to my site supervisor, he's talking about creating lesson plans, planning activities, and all these other responsibilities that Paras DO NOT do. I actually had to interrupt the man, respectively of course, and ask him to confirm my actual position. Turns out that I was turned down for the Para position and given the Instructor one instead! How sweet is that?! Now be it that it's only a summer job, nine weeks to be exact, I definitely see it as getting my foot in the door. Plus, the difference in pay of a few dollars makes a big difference, yes? As hubby would sarcastically say, I can now get the Big Mac meal, instead of the Happy meal! Lol!

From what I know thus far, this gig sounds pretty cool. I work during the second part of the day which means my hours begin at noon til about 5:30pm. Noon! With my screwed up and abnormal sleeping habits, this fits me just perfectly! Plus, to be honest, I think I would've had a difficult time transitioning to no job to full blown 35 hours. Yes, I used to work those kinds of hours, but I have gotten real used to being unemployed for almost an entire school year. Sad, isn't it? The major plus of all this is that I've used this time to really focus on finishing up my Masters. It's hard to believe that I'm literally halfway through the program, just seven more classes left. By the end of January or early Feb of 2005, yours truly will have earned an M.A. in Education.

Needless to say, I'm excited. Like I said, it's a nine-week teaching position. Turns out that I will have a group of 25 4th graders. This district uses a thematic approach in their teaching. This means we could spend an entire week studying about one particular topic while integrating a lesson or activity in subjects like Math, Reading, Writing, etc. And did I mention that I could help decide the areas of study? Ya'll know that I'm going to incorporate some cultural aspect in there somehow, preferably Philippine folk dancing. There are also scheduled field trips once a week, too, so hopefully I'll get a chance to wander about different places in MN.

Training starts up the first week of June. I'm excited, nervous, anxious all at the same time. I just hope that I haven't lost it, you know? Not being around kids or in a classroom environment these past eight months has got me all jittery, but I hope it all comes back. Thanks for all of your prayers for this one- an answered prayer is a beautiful thing.