Ok, it wasn’t a fluke.
This past summer my grad school asked me to come back and teach as part of a group for the Unit Planning module. Teaching graduate students how to plan out an entire unit of study starting from the standards and building up from there. I’d done pretty well with this as a grad student myself, and I was asked by one of my former professors with whom I had a pretty good relationship.
It was a great experience, and the pay wasn’t shabby either. Last week I got an email from the school again, this time from a different contact at the school who had heard of me from my summer colleagues. They wanted me to sub for a couple of classes for another one of my former professors. A man whose classes I legitimately enjoyed and whom I respect.
To a certain extent, all teachers have some level of kinship, as there are things we go through that nobody outside the profession really gets. But I feel like science teachers specifically have a bond (oh man, horrible, unintentional pun). We really dig our subject, and it comes with its own set of pitfalls and joys. Maybe teachers in other subjects have something similar… I don’t know. Inside jokes about the quadratic equation? So it’s always great to connect with these kinds of people.
Anyway, right now I’m struggling in my normal teaching. It feels like a million little things all piling up and no matter what I do it’s not enough. So to have this gig with grad school pop up and the huge wave of acknowledgement and appreciation that comes with it is doing my heart good.
I mean, this was how he introduced me to my new students:
You folks will have the privilege of learning from M… —veteran science teacher representing IS ### in Bushwick (and Relay alum!). Prof. S will reach out shortly to introduce herself more properly. All I’ll say now is that she’s a badass and you guys are lucky to get to spend time with her.
So, yeah. It’s going to be a bunch of work when I would probably rather be sleeping. But damn did I need a professional recharge.
Am I a Master? I don’t know about that. But I’ve definitely come a long way, and it feels good to be reminded of that, and celebrate a little.
Silver Tides 