It's the morning after...
Jul. 22nd, 2005 07:22 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
the_vultureYesterday, walking across the courtyard to the English department after all the kids had left was a strange experience. I've been across it empty many times before, but never with the sense of finality that I did yesterday. I suppose the mood was enhanced by having just spent a half hour or so with the entire staff as those who would be leaving it (including myself) were given thanks and farewells (yeah, I did get a little misty eyed as one of my best friends in the English department gave a farewell speech for me).
I spent a couple of hours beginning the process of cleaning up my classroom. I went through a lot of thinking as I pulled paper from walls and emptied desks. I thought about how the kids had reacted to the news that I'd be leaving (it was announced in the newsletter two weeks ago). I know there are many that greatly pleased (relieved?) that I'll not be teaching them next year. However, none of those actually expressed those feelings. From all the "Good luck!"s, the "You should get a job at (insert school name); it's a great school,"s, and the "I'll miss you!"s, I've realized that, for all the grief I may have gone through with some of my pupils, I will be missed by many of them, as, in turn, I'll miss them.
'Course, I'm on my way to better things; in six weeks' time, I'll begin teaching as an art teacher (okay, art and ICT) in a budding department that looks to offer a great deal of opportunity for me, including possible head-ship in a few years time. Though I do have some dread of having to start again in a new school, I'll at least have a year's worth of experience to guide me. I'll also be leaving behind the many mistakes I made in my last school; I won't be starting with the reputation of being 'safe.' Having a better idea of how to be 'tight' and even 'dark,' I'll be better able to establish good discipline in my classes straight off. This, coupled with the fact that I'll be working in a smaller, all boys school with seemingly better behaved pupils, will help to make the coming year easier to deal with than the last.
I'll also benefit from being a lot closer to London (something like 20 minutes by train), making trips to there a lot more frequent. 'Course, the cost of living (especially rent) will be a bit higher, but c'est la vie (and at least my 'vie' will be a little bit more active!).
The big hassle, for the more the moment, is to figure out what to do with all the spare time I suddenly have. At least two of the six weeks vacation I have will be spent in Canada, and I do have a few things to square away (especially finding a new home), but the rest of it? Here I am, at about 8 in the morning (I got up at 6), having no clue what to do with the first Friday off I've had in ages. Oh, that life could be filled with such challenges! (chuckle)
I spent a couple of hours beginning the process of cleaning up my classroom. I went through a lot of thinking as I pulled paper from walls and emptied desks. I thought about how the kids had reacted to the news that I'd be leaving (it was announced in the newsletter two weeks ago). I know there are many that greatly pleased (relieved?) that I'll not be teaching them next year. However, none of those actually expressed those feelings. From all the "Good luck!"s, the "You should get a job at (insert school name); it's a great school,"s, and the "I'll miss you!"s, I've realized that, for all the grief I may have gone through with some of my pupils, I will be missed by many of them, as, in turn, I'll miss them.
'Course, I'm on my way to better things; in six weeks' time, I'll begin teaching as an art teacher (okay, art and ICT) in a budding department that looks to offer a great deal of opportunity for me, including possible head-ship in a few years time. Though I do have some dread of having to start again in a new school, I'll at least have a year's worth of experience to guide me. I'll also be leaving behind the many mistakes I made in my last school; I won't be starting with the reputation of being 'safe.' Having a better idea of how to be 'tight' and even 'dark,' I'll be better able to establish good discipline in my classes straight off. This, coupled with the fact that I'll be working in a smaller, all boys school with seemingly better behaved pupils, will help to make the coming year easier to deal with than the last.
I'll also benefit from being a lot closer to London (something like 20 minutes by train), making trips to there a lot more frequent. 'Course, the cost of living (especially rent) will be a bit higher, but c'est la vie (and at least my 'vie' will be a little bit more active!).
The big hassle, for the more the moment, is to figure out what to do with all the spare time I suddenly have. At least two of the six weeks vacation I have will be spent in Canada, and I do have a few things to square away (especially finding a new home), but the rest of it? Here I am, at about 8 in the morning (I got up at 6), having no clue what to do with the first Friday off I've had in ages. Oh, that life could be filled with such challenges! (chuckle)
