My new school district is a little bit snobby. I realize that I'm not the best person to judge this, as I went to a slightly ghetto high school and have never even been slightly rich, but I think almost anyone would see the apparent privilege in the school system. And I'm okay with that. I've taught farm kids for 8 years and it's time for me to step into the big leagues.
This morning, I met with the woman whose job I am filling as she is going to be a vice principal at another school in the district. She had been part of the committee at my initial interview, but I didn't remember her. I walked into the school and she bustled up to me, her pregnant belly sticking out so far I thought she would fall over. She is matter-of-fact and sardonic and she swears like a sailor and I liked her right away; she was obviously competent, apparently a free-thinker in the education world, and she knew her shit. She gave me a quick tour of the building, showed me her old room (my new room) and went over four huge binders that she had put together to explain how to teach each of her classes that were now my classes.
As she talked about the classes, I realized that I was in a whole new world at this school district. The grading was different, the expectations were different, and the resources were different. She rattled off huge universities that would come in to give speeches at the drop of a hat, and partnerships with major corporations. I think I almost drooled a few times. So, I will need to work my ass off as a teacher, but I believe that I am up for the challenge.
After an hour and a half with her, I moved on to my new teacher orientation (part one of four) at the board office. As I pulled into the parking lot there, I realized how crowded it was; there were many people at this new hire orientation. As I found a parking space, the guy who had previously parked a space away started to walk past me. When I saw him, I laughed and laughed.
This guy was probably about 23, and he was gorgeous in a print-ad-model way. He had blonde hair that was impeccably gelled, a pair of khaki's, and a dapper button-down shirt with a tie. He walked in this purposeful way as he clutched a huge portfolio. He made eye contact with me, and then he kind of flipped his hair, and I think I looked around to see if someone was filming for a shampoo commercial. Then he kept going towards the board office.
I parked and hopped out of the car. My silver little Saturn Ion with the jaunty personalized license plate and the two atheist bumper stickers looked sadly out of place in the lot filled with big fancy cars that I would know the name of if I were a guy. I reached inside and tried to throw a little of the trash and books in the back seat over the car seat to try to hide it and make me look "rich and hip" like the other kiddos, but that really didn't help. It just made me look like a sad, dirty child abuser.
So I wandered over to the board office and walked inside. There was a short line of people at the main desk signing in. I walked to the end of the line and made some offhand comment that made Ken Doll chuckle (his deep, likely fake tan made that look painful) and made the secretary give me an annoyed look. Whoops. Soon, I signed the paper ("a few of these ladies in front of me have dotted their i's with hearts. is that a requirement? should I color them in or leave them bubbly?" "please just sign in, miss.") and was directed to a conference room across the hall.
When I got in, I was told to wait in line to get my building picture taken. This gave me time to look at the two dozen or so teachers who were there before me. Everyone's hair was perfect and the majority was blonde; mine was curly, dark brown and escaping any semblance of organization I had attempted earlier. Most people wore ironed, tailored, expensive-looking summer suits; I had on a big, fluffy silver skirt and a tight little green shirt. The footwear ranged from shoes that cost more than my monthly rent to strappy little sandals that I'm certain had real jewels embedded in them. I had on a kicky pair of sandals from Target that were around $8 (plus tax). Beyond their clothing, everyone just looked so young!
After my photo shoot, I settled down into a seat in the back of the room. Most of the people in the room were chatting with each other about what school they were at, what they were teaching, yadda yadda yadda. I was not feeling especially chatty. After a while, the presentation started, and the very nice people in charge told us a lot of information about what we had to have, what we needed to turn in, and choices for insurance and things. It was boring. Well, no. It would have been boring, if it had not been for the young folks around me. The girl to my right - she was teaching 8th grade math! She was excited! She wanted to tell me all about her husband and their move here from California! - kept asking me inane questions about the forms we were filling out. "When it says 'social security number', do they mean MINE?" "uh huh"... "What do they want here, where it says 'total insurance expense'?" "The, um, number at the top of the page that says 'total insurance expense, likely.' ... And then, the other people! They were all confused because they were on their parents' insurance, and they didn't know when they should switch over to their own insurance. Many were relived to find out that they could wait "all the way 'till they're 26!"
The hours dragged by, and I left with a big old packet, and lots of work to do in the following 10 days. On the way out, I asked my secretary friend if I could use the restroom. She smiled sadly and said that they didn't have a public restroom. I asked her if, once I turned in all my paperwork and was officially hired, if I would be considered an employee and not "the public". Seriously, where does she piss all day? Ugh... whatever.
This school district is huge, and they're good. I know that they know what they're doing when they hire people. Maybe these kids were the kind of people that were common sense dumb and book smart. Or maybe there's someone hiring teachers who has a liking for sexy bodies. I figure that this new experience will either mean a great teaching experience or great fodder for my jokes. Either way, that works just fine for me.
After my photo shoot, I settled down into a seat in the back of the room. Most of the people in the room were chatting with each other about what school they were at, what they were teaching, yadda yadda yadda. I was not feeling especially chatty. After a while, the presentation started, and the very nice people in charge told us a lot of information about what we had to have, what we needed to turn in, and choices for insurance and things. It was boring. Well, no. It would have been boring, if it had not been for the young folks around me. The girl to my right - she was teaching 8th grade math! She was excited! She wanted to tell me all about her husband and their move here from California! - kept asking me inane questions about the forms we were filling out. "When it says 'social security number', do they mean MINE?" "uh huh"... "What do they want here, where it says 'total insurance expense'?" "The, um, number at the top of the page that says 'total insurance expense, likely.' ... And then, the other people! They were all confused because they were on their parents' insurance, and they didn't know when they should switch over to their own insurance. Many were relived to find out that they could wait "all the way 'till they're 26!"
The hours dragged by, and I left with a big old packet, and lots of work to do in the following 10 days. On the way out, I asked my secretary friend if I could use the restroom. She smiled sadly and said that they didn't have a public restroom. I asked her if, once I turned in all my paperwork and was officially hired, if I would be considered an employee and not "the public". Seriously, where does she piss all day? Ugh... whatever.
This school district is huge, and they're good. I know that they know what they're doing when they hire people. Maybe these kids were the kind of people that were common sense dumb and book smart. Or maybe there's someone hiring teachers who has a liking for sexy bodies. I figure that this new experience will either mean a great teaching experience or great fodder for my jokes. Either way, that works just fine for me.
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