My 4 Jobs

At the end of Tuesday, January 22, Hans remarked that I had 4 jobs! I asked the boy to explain and he did very well.

He reminded me that, on that day, I did an interview for the March issue of the magazine; then, I did half a day of supply teaching and came home to do two tutoring sessions and finally cooked some dinner for the family.

Yes, he was right!

I am a content coordinator for a local magazine. I am an occasional teacher. I am a private tutor and I am also a domestic worker. Most days, I do 2 out of the 4 jobs listed and some days, I do 3 or all 4. This has only been true for about a month now.

And the boy who made note of the changes in my daily schedule has also been the one who has been most supportive!

I used to wake Hans up at 7:30 am and now, on his own, he wakes up by 7 am. He eats his breakfast without a fuss and is ready by 8 am. That is when I leave for my new job as well, if I have a school assigned. Prior to that, I would have to keep reminding the boy to eat his breakfast within a reasonable amount of time, go to the washroom, brush his teeth, change his clothes and make sure to have his bag ready with everything. He would be struggling to get out of the door by 8:20 am. There were days I would be upset with him for possibly being late for school.

Since I got my 4th job, the boy has ensured that I am on time for work and that he is not a cause for any concern for me. He has literally been my sunshine.

The other consistent rays of sunshine have been my new friend Kay (from the paternal ancestral land), Craigley and ASid. And exactly in that order! Craigley is the father of my children and obviously, he has little choice in the matter. However, Kay has been great with pickups and drop offs with Hans. Even ASid has chipped in, in his own way!

Hans has been worried for me from Day 1. He has warned me about kids misbehaving and treating supply teachers unkindly. He knows because his own class has a history of getting into trouble with supply teachers. There are some unruly and rude kids in his class. On one occasion, they collectively made a supply teacher cry; not in front of them, but in the privacy of the Principal's office. This person swore to never come back to Hans' school ever!

So, I am aware of the perils of my new job! But as Craigley said many times in the last few weeks, "As long as you leave a classroom with all students alive, you have done your job!"

Yes, my 4th job currently seems like glorified babysitting; however, it is not that bad all the time. I have had some amazing moments. After a miserable half day in one classroom where I felt like I failed all the students, a quiet little girl from that classroom told me very quietly, "I like you. You are a good teacher." Apparently, that is how that classroom is on a daily basis. I decided to not take it too personally!

So, these days, my 4 jobs keep me super busy. I really do not have time to reflect or over think. I can't afford to! In fact, one of the side effects has been increased efficiency. I seem to do more in a day than before. The biggest downside is that I don't spend as much time with my friends. But then, they have been understanding about it.

Overall, I consider myself lucky. And as mentioned in the previous post, I come home and I am thankful for the kids I have! And just so I am very clear on this, being a parent has always been a source of joy for me and NEVER felt like a job!
 

Half way there!

On February 13, I completed 12.5 days towards my mandatory basic minimum of 25 supply teaching days. It felt really good. Some people wondered if I "cashed in some favours"?! I did not. I got assigned jobs by an automated system that called me at random times of the day and I also used my good sense to choose some jobs online when available.

I believe strongly in giving credit where it's due; however, I give way too much credit to anyone and everyone. Moving forward, I want to acknowledge the fact that no matter what the advice is, it really wouldn't make any difference if I don't act upon it or do something about it! Eventually, where I end up depends on the choices I make on my way there!

I believe I made good choices.

I have been at a few schools in the last 3 to 4 weeks, and each time I have come back home, I have been thankful for my own kids. The main concern I have is for the lack of respect that students seem to display in the classrooms - for learning and for teachers! Maybe because I am a supply teacher, the lack of respect is part of the package; still, why does it have to be?!

My best experiences have been in Special Education despite a pinch or a punch here and there! My most hopeful have been in Kindergarten classrooms. Currently, Grade 8 students are my least favourite lot. I do not entirely blame them; they are on the cusp of adolescence and they know not what they do!

In spite of the varied experiences in a short time, I am glad I chose to be a teacher. I don't care if I am in a classroom for 50 minutes or for the whole day, I want to teach. I don't care if the students don't show any respect for me, I want to leave them with something to think about.

I will not let a bunch of kids disillusion me.

There is this one school I swore I would never go back to! The other day, I saw a supply teaching job for that school online and kept wishing someone would sign up for it and it would go away. Then, the system called me and assigned me that job! I hated my helplessness to decline. I somehow managed to cheer myself and show up for this job the next day. After all, it was only a day's commitment!

I believe I did more than survive. I got to learn that in spite of not wanting to be at this school, I was strangely happy to be there. And I am going back to this school for a third time on Tuesday. It is for half a day. It will round up my number of days to 13. For some, that is an unlucky number. For me, it is a number that I have never feared and it is sweet that I get to it at a school that I feared so much until recently!

I feel good. 

Also, as of yesterday, it has been 7 years since my first blog post of "Hello World!".
 

It is not THAT bad!!

In the previous post, I talked about my first few experiences as a supply teacher. There was very little positive content in that post! I'd like to balance that out with this post.

I believe, with any new job, there is a period of adjustment. The first few days are naturally overwhelming. It helps when there is a stable work location with a standard schedule. With supply teaching, one needs to adapt to a new location and a new set of expectations every single day. That is the challenging and the frustrating part that I dwelt on!

Then my incredible friends from around the world read the post (which I requested them to read) and as usual, they were supportive and real with their feedback. So, here is the other side of my new job!

Last week, I focused on my work and not on the location or the schedule. 

Tuesday, I was with the same Grade 4 students for almost the entire school day. It felt “normal” for a change, but I ended up sending 2 students to the office which I swore I would rarely do. Given the circumstances, it wasn’t a bad call! I needed to remove the obstacles to learning even if for a few minutes!

Wednesday, I had to do "prep payback" and was in 5 different classrooms for that school day. It was all Primary classes. I was in 2 French Immersion and 2 English track classrooms, and finished with a Kindergarten classroom for the last 2 periods. I got to remember some French and teach some poetry. I also got to sing and got a hug from the most "notorious" kinder I was warned about!

Finally, on Friday, I was at an inner city Middle School. I met a teacher who runs the pizza lunch program there and who is trying to start a Robotics program for students at that school. It was heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time! He is a good guy who has a long way to go! 

And I realize that I have a long way to go as well before I can make a difference of any sort. I need to look at the positive experiences and keep the goal in mind. One day, I will have a classroom of my own and I will feel at home. Meanwhile, I get to be a guest and drop by many different classrooms and visit with many students. Each visit is a learning opportunity. It is not a bad gig at all!

What the heck was I complaining about?!

 

What the heck?!

I guess that is not a very original title, but then I am not really an expert in the art of swearing! I wish I could swear some obscenities right now, like a nonstop string of them. My inability, however, does not prevent me from getting my current frustration out of my system!

So, I write and share here, with my friends, in my safe space.

On Thursday, January 17^th, I accepted my first assignment to supply teach. That morning, I got a call 2 minutes after I dropped off Hans at his school. I dashed from there to this other school where my service and presence was needed. My first assignment was in a Special Education classroom. Yesterday, I took up another assignment at the same school. It was for half a day of Physical Education. I wasn’t aware that I was going to do that! Today, they called me back for a full day of Drama. They want me for the next 2 days as well. Tomorrow, I am filling in for a French teacher for half a day. Day after, I do not know!

I am an English teacher and I have been supply teaching randomly for other subjects. I taught Geography at one school and that was my weakest subject all through middle school and high school. That is why, I find myself in various classrooms and go “what the heck am I doing here?”

I have only done 7 supply teaching assignments – some half days and some full days. And I feel like I have been working forever. One half day took me to 5 different classrooms at 5 different grade levels. It was glorified babysitting and I swore to myself that I would be more discerning and make myself more useful!

But then again, do I really have a choice? I need 25 supply teaching days by June to stay on this gilded list. If I get all picky and choosy, they will get all picky and choosy on me!

One fine day, I may look back and smile. Right now, I am allowed to be upset.

Recently, I saw this show on Netflix. What one character said resonated with me! It was about loving your children, but not liking them. That is how I feel about my current employment – although I love teaching, I am not liking it right now!

 

Height, Weight and Other Technicalities

Last week, the boys had an appointment with their pediatrician. It was most likely ASid's last! In August, when he turns 18, we have to find ASid a "family doctor". Made it so ominous and official!

It was, as usual, a good visit. Both the boys show their remarkable differences even at their annual checkups. 

So, here are the unfortunate results. ASid is taller than Hans by 10 inches and heavier than Hans by 10 pounds. It seems terribly unfair given how one of them actually pursues sports and the other does not even care to watch sports on TV!

A few days prior to that, we had dinner together at a restaurant and I got a little reminiscent about ASid. I recollected how the boy moved from the regular Kindergarten program to the early French Immersion program and eventually to the French School Board all within a 5 year time frame and before he turned 9! Hans listened to it with fascination and once I wrapped up, he wanted to hear his own "super hero" story from his mother. I did not have an academic story about the little guy, but I did have something to share. I let Hans know that he got his first job at 5 years of age and he worked 3 consecutive summers and earned $2850 before he turned 8! He could have made more if his mother hadn't decided to take him in another direction.

Both the boys are accomplished in their own ways and they should never compare themselves to each other and feel inadequate or resentful in any way.

In my own life, I know men who define themselves with how much money they make or men who define themselves by their jobs. If you take away their money and their jobs, these men are nothing. They are unremarkable and have accomplished very little beyond the obvious and the materialistic.

I want the boys to go beyond their perceived limitations. They could be the shortest in a room, but be giants for people in their lives. They could be the heaviest in a room, but be capable of pulling their own weights and carrying others' if needed. They could be the poorest in a room, but be lavish with their positive actions, valuable time and kind words.

I want the boys to never ever forget that they will always have a choice and it is how they choose that will eventually define them.
 

Who is a good friend?

Hans got that question from his teacher yesterday. He has a week to respond to it.

It got me thinking.

Whenever I think of the word "friend", I think of Smoggie. And for him, a friend is someone who is kind, considerate and trustworthy. Those would be the basic fundamental traits for sure, but when I recently revisited the 20 years of friendship I have with Smoggie, I discovered other essential traits!

Smoggie and I were called "The Collective" by our boss. We were like The Two Musketeers with the same motto as the original Three. We always presented a united front. We weren't always united though. Privately, we had a couple of major meltdowns. But we worked through it. I guess what mattered was that we were there for each other and could not imagine not being together! That was where respect and forgiveness became the next two necessary traits we needed to be good friends.

Smoggie is certified Mensa and I could be certified Mental (or what my brother calls Cent-i-Mental). I am not trivializing any mental illnesses here. It is just that I react very emotionally in most situations and it is disturbing for others; especially those with a logical bent! But between friends, there develops a respect for differences and different perspectives. And when there are disagreements and words are said in anger, there is no ego in seeking forgiveness.

And that is when we need that quintessential trait - communication. Most relationships fail due to a lack of communication and friendships face the same danger.

So, I guess a good friend is kind, considerate, trustworthy, respectful, forgiving and communicative. Really, the traits could be an endless list of positive adjectives. And they could apply to a good parent or a good sibling or a good teacher!

Then, who is a good friend?

I will have to read Hans' paragraph to find out. Knowing the boy, he will have a simple take on it that would also be profound at the same time.

Maybe I will share it here!

Addendum (3 days later):

Here is Hans' take - A good friend listens to you when you need to talk; a good friend cheers you up when you are down and a good friend stands up for you.

Just as I stated … simple and profound!

 

Missing my Milk Calendar

I am not sure exactly what year I started using a Milk Calendar to keep track of my schedule. It must have been 1993 or 1994. Each year, on the 1st of January, I would transfer valuable information from the old calendar to the new calendar.

The Milk Calendar kept me on track and I never forgot a date! This year, I do not have a Milk Calendar and I already forgot an appointment I scheduled! It made me feel terrible. I pride myself on not forgetting.  Anyways, I had to reschedule the appointment and I wrote it down on a piece of paper and stuck it on the fridge!

And before anyone dares to tell me about the calendar that is available on my smartphone, I will let that someone know that I started using an electronic calendar at the beginning of December 2018. I felt like I needed to finally catch up with 21st century ways. I guess it is going to take time adjusting to these new ways since I waited almost 18 years!

This year, more so than ever before, I need to keep track of what I expect to be a crazy busy schedule. Although I have secretly wanted to forget many things, this is not how I imagined the forgetting to take place! Not at all!

So, on this 6th day of the New Year, I wish for a Milk Calendar to make its way to my mailbox ASAP. Apparently, they mail it for FREE starting in October. 

Desperation led to acquisition of information that may have already been available at my fingertips. And it is delightful that the best things in life are still free!

Life is wonderful. Happy 2019 everyone!