On the Joys of Teaching Part Time
Regular readers of ITAT will know that my daughter, the Cute Deaf Baby, has some special needs. We've known about her deafness since she was a month old; the concern is that her hearing loss might only be the tip of the iceberg.
After the appointment with the developmental pediatrician things were....different. Deaf we were dealing with pretty well, but deaf + heart problems + syndrome + OT + PT + SLP + Guild School added up to a sum that had both Mrs. and I thrown. I wouldn't say sad, exactly, but I don't think that either one of us had balance for the few days after the doctor's appointment.
The place that it was showing up the most was in the classroom. One morning I was sitting there before the kids came and everything sort of landed on me at once. I felt like I was doing a lousy job as a father, a lousy job as a husband, a lousy job as a union officer, and a lousy job as a teacher. The teaching part was really eating at me. I made a commitment to my wife that I would be there for the doctors appointments and I was going to honor that commitment, but that meant that I would miss a lot of dats in the classroom. It was showing on the kids. The days that I was there were a treat, because they pretty much expected a sub in the room. The routines weren't sticking. The rules were fluid. It was pretty plain to see that being there for my wife and daughter was hurting my class, and while the "Family first!" catchphrase sounds great, it felt like an anchor there at my desk that morning.
I was a half-assed teacher.
But could I be a full-assed teacher half time?
The thought came from the ether like a bolt from the blue. If I dropped down to half time I could job share with my student teacher from the year before, who knew the classroom inside-out and was one of the most naturally talented teachers I'd ever seen coming out of college. If I needed to be gone for one commitment or another she could be there to substitute for me. The kids would have the stability that I felt like I was stealing from them, I would have the time to be the kind of father that I wanted to be, our childcare issues would be solved. Sure, there'd be a monetary cost, but *uck the money--there was positive potential here to make many, many areas of my life better.
I talked about it with Mrs. over the weekend; she liked it immediately. The Monday after I went and visited with two ladies in my building who had done job shares before, and they both said they had no regrets about the experience. That day I emailed the superintendent, and she said that the district would absolutely support me in this. Two weeks later it was all set up, and I was on my way to half-time relaxation.
All of that went down a couple of weeks ago, and it's been great. The kids responded to my job share partner immediately--I knew they would--and the parents have been unanimous in their support for the arrangement. Granted, it's hard to criticize the dad trying to care for his sick kid, but I think it's been an honest, positive reaction.
It's also shown me the power of team teaching. The way we worked it out is that I teach in the mornings, so I can do the reading, while my partner works the afternoons so that she can do the math and science. We're both working in our strongest areas, which is a plus, but there's also a lot to be said for being able to focus on doing one area and getting it right. We're nailing the building block pieces, absolutely nailing them, and I'm just ecstatic to see how far these kids can go this year.
Life has gotten a lot better. The daughter's medical situation feels a lot more under control than it did, I feel good about being here for my family, and I don't have to worry about the kids in the class any more. It's one of the toughest decisions I've ever made, and it's also one of the best.
After the appointment with the developmental pediatrician things were....different. Deaf we were dealing with pretty well, but deaf + heart problems + syndrome + OT + PT + SLP + Guild School added up to a sum that had both Mrs. and I thrown. I wouldn't say sad, exactly, but I don't think that either one of us had balance for the few days after the doctor's appointment.
The place that it was showing up the most was in the classroom. One morning I was sitting there before the kids came and everything sort of landed on me at once. I felt like I was doing a lousy job as a father, a lousy job as a husband, a lousy job as a union officer, and a lousy job as a teacher. The teaching part was really eating at me. I made a commitment to my wife that I would be there for the doctors appointments and I was going to honor that commitment, but that meant that I would miss a lot of dats in the classroom. It was showing on the kids. The days that I was there were a treat, because they pretty much expected a sub in the room. The routines weren't sticking. The rules were fluid. It was pretty plain to see that being there for my wife and daughter was hurting my class, and while the "Family first!" catchphrase sounds great, it felt like an anchor there at my desk that morning.
I was a half-assed teacher.
But could I be a full-assed teacher half time?
The thought came from the ether like a bolt from the blue. If I dropped down to half time I could job share with my student teacher from the year before, who knew the classroom inside-out and was one of the most naturally talented teachers I'd ever seen coming out of college. If I needed to be gone for one commitment or another she could be there to substitute for me. The kids would have the stability that I felt like I was stealing from them, I would have the time to be the kind of father that I wanted to be, our childcare issues would be solved. Sure, there'd be a monetary cost, but *uck the money--there was positive potential here to make many, many areas of my life better.
I talked about it with Mrs. over the weekend; she liked it immediately. The Monday after I went and visited with two ladies in my building who had done job shares before, and they both said they had no regrets about the experience. That day I emailed the superintendent, and she said that the district would absolutely support me in this. Two weeks later it was all set up, and I was on my way to half-time relaxation.
All of that went down a couple of weeks ago, and it's been great. The kids responded to my job share partner immediately--I knew they would--and the parents have been unanimous in their support for the arrangement. Granted, it's hard to criticize the dad trying to care for his sick kid, but I think it's been an honest, positive reaction.
It's also shown me the power of team teaching. The way we worked it out is that I teach in the mornings, so I can do the reading, while my partner works the afternoons so that she can do the math and science. We're both working in our strongest areas, which is a plus, but there's also a lot to be said for being able to focus on doing one area and getting it right. We're nailing the building block pieces, absolutely nailing them, and I'm just ecstatic to see how far these kids can go this year.
Life has gotten a lot better. The daughter's medical situation feels a lot more under control than it did, I feel good about being here for my family, and I don't have to worry about the kids in the class any more. It's one of the toughest decisions I've ever made, and it's also one of the best.
I've got no cause to piss and moanWith apologies to Stevie Wonder.
The clock says 12 and I go home
I'm happy to be a part time teacher
Meet after school, I must decline
I'll be at home, the chair reclines
I've got feet up, a part time teacher....
posted by Ryan at 8:36 PM
1 Comments:
I am glad that you were able to work this out in a way that everyone benefits.
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