I got back into town on Friday around 5:30 or so. Since then it has been a complete whirlwind of “Oh, God, what next.”
As today is Sunday (and I worked at my janitorial job last night), I am taking a rare day of rest. To update everyone on the events of the past week…
I drove down to Fayetteville, NC and interviewed for a teaching position on Wednesday. On Thursday I was offered the position. I notified the school that I would let them know on Monday what my decision was. I needed to drive back to Pittsburgh, talk to some people, and sleep on it for a day or two. Having talked to many friends and family and considering all of the ins and outs of the job, I have decided to accept the position. I will speak to the school first thing tomorrow to get some ironclad information regarding benefits and salary and such (more than has been discussed already, which has been ample).
The school year is already underway at this particular school, which makes things complicated. Unless they need me to come down immediately and are willing to put me up in an Extended Stay hotel, I will likely be moving and subsequently starting work in about 2 weeks. I will really hit the ground running (and as Mythbusters proved, likely stumble like a fool from the get go but eventually find my footing). I’m spending the next few days making preparations and plans for the first few days of class as well as some materials for the room so the kids aren’t walking into a barren chasm.
The actual school is…different. It is effectively a junior college. While still a high school, the students are all engaged in Honors/AP programs and earning college credits. The high school is actually housed within the campus grounds (and Education building) of the local university. The school also features a huge selling point for me – a non-traditional schedule. Block scheduling (I’ve only ever worked with period schedules, though I am familiar with block scheduling) allows 90 minutes with your students for half the semester, instead of 45 minutes for the whole year. It certainly makes for an interesting planning and approach. Likewise, I have a different start and end time than what normally happens in a high school. I am to report by 8:30 and the school day begins at 9:15 and runs until 4:15 (I report until 4:30). That schedule alone pays for itself in spades.
While I was in town I did take the opportunity (without having been offered the job) to look at available housing and such. I did find two nice, affordable places. One is clearly the front-runner, but I don’t want to say too much until I officially get the high sign that I was approved and can move in.
It is going to be completely nuts for the next few weeks. I will try to keep updating the blog. Frankly, writing here may be the only thing to keep me sane.
Oh, and 4 of the 5 people I interviewed with are die-hard Steelers fans.
Here we go.
Avoid the Clap 
Hey Walt, congrats man. Can’t wait to hear reports of how the kids take to fuckrants!! Without actually knowing you at all, apart from message boards, I reckon you’d be a kick-ass teacher. Good luck with the move.
Thank you, sir. I like to think I’m pretty kick-ass, but that’s yet to be seen. I won’t be able to speak too specifically or strongly about things that go on simply because of privacy issues.
It’s going to be an interesting few weeks.
Good luck.
glad to see good things happening walt. it’s really cool that you’re taking such a great jump. i always wanted to do something like move away (whether or not it was necessary for work) but i never got the chance or the cojones to make it happen. all the best, and try to update this blog if you get a chance, ya bastard!
I purposely made a number of life choices just so I could up and go if the opportunity presented itself. Outside of some family, I have no connections/roots/etc here. No wife or kids, no girlfriend (by design – it’s harder to uproot 2 or 3 or 4 people than it is just myself), no nothing.
The problem is the long, endless tunnel of hopelessness for teaching in PA, at least without years of experience otherwise. I may be back in a year or three, but I am/was a bad investment for schools in PA insofar that I hadn’t completed a Master’s degree on my dime, nor did I have any professional, contract teaching work.
It’s going to be a wild ride.
May a thousand lovely vaginas salute your achievement fella.
Can’t wait to hear about the dirt on the dirty south, though NC is basically just a bunch of Western PA’ers who got sick of Penndot and potholes.
By God, if I can find some southern girl who can put up with my bullshit…game over, man. I am powerless against a southern accent.
I did notice that – NC has become southwestern PA in the south. Lots of Steelers/Penguins fans there, lot of displaced yinzers, etc.
This time next week I’ll be packing up the moving truck. God Help us.