Jobless

At this very moment, I am jobless for this next school year. Yes, yes you read that right. I more or less quit my current job. I do have other options - stay at home for a year or indefinitely OR transfer schools. I told my principal about a month ago that I wasn't enjoying part-time as much as I thought I would (from a teacher's perspective). I enjoyed being home with the kids in the afternoon and having time to go to the gym, but as a teacher I am out of the loop and never there for anything. I told her I wanted to come back full-time or I would probably take a leave of absence for a year. Three days before my deadline for turning in my leave paperwork, she came to me and said she couldn't put me full-time AND she had changed my position to solely teaching remedial math. I teach a remedial class to 6th graders, and while I don't mind one class, I didn't like the prospect of having three of them and not teaching regular math that I've been teaching for the last 12 years. So, I told her I would turn in my leave request.

The frustrating thing is that there is another 8th grade math teacher who just started this year and doesn't have a permanent teaching license yet. She has taken the test two times and has failed. They can't offer or give me her position because "it's not open." She has one more time to pass and then they would probably give me her job. I don't wish for her to not pass the third time around, but it would make my life a lot simpler!

At this point, I'm applying at another Littleton middle school who has openings. However, this school is east of where we live and the kids' daycare is 15 minutes west of where we live. So, we'd either have to find a new daycare (which we hate to do because Case loves his friends and it's a great Christian environment) or we're going to have to work out getting them there and back to work in the opposite direction. That's assuming I get the job. If I don't, I'll stay home with the kids for a year and hope that something opens up at my school.

As of now, I'm planning on packing up my classroom in May and not returning. I've been sad because I work with such great people and the location is convenient to the daycare and to where we live. I do get excited about the thought of staying home with the kids, however I feel that if I get my foot out the door of education, it will be hard to get back in if and when I do decide to go back. Who knows, but I'll keep you posted. The good thing is that I have a great husband, with a great job, who is supportive of whatever I decide to do.