new teaching blog...

i have a new blog...

http://middleschoolmaven.blogspot.com/

i will continue to use this blog for real life but for teacher jen read middle school maven!

first week...

the first week of school started today! i spent the morning at the oklahoma city public schools convocation! it was very interesting b/c we had a great public speaker!

i went to lunch with some of the ladies i work with and that was fun sharing stories about my new school. all i can say is that the academy might have trained me for some of this year :) i'm very excited and ready to get started. tomorrow we have a day at school with some professional development. woot woot!!

i'll keep you posted on how everything goes.

i have been busy the past few evenings packing a few boxes here and there! i have also been busy trying to find a job which means while i was finally becoming a "good" blogger again that will be gone.. :)

i will be on vacation until i move to oklahoma august 5th!

my life thus far...

I have wanted to teach for as long as I can remember. I have tried numerous different ways to become a teacher and until a few hours ago I thought this dream was finally going to be a reality. I am not certified yet because once again standardized tests and I don’t get along. I was one point from the passing the last time and I just took the most horrible test ever again this previous Saturday. It’s called the PLT and it’s horrible. It’s two hours of writing and more writing. I speak of this because I have yet to lie to a potential employer about my lack of certification and my issues with the PLT. With this knowledge I received two job offers from OKC public schools, and well I chose to take my dream job 8^th grade social studies. A few hours ago that job was taken away due to my circumstances. What are those circumstances? Are they new? Have I lied? No, but the principal either didn’t listen to me during my lack of interview or chose to ignore it I don’t know either way he took away my job with a two second phone call.

It sucks and I’m sad and I needed my nanny more than ever today but she’s in heaven and looking down on her baby. I haven’t really talked about my nanny’s passing because I was doing quite well with it knowing that she was no longer suffering and was in heaven with all her family but today wasn’t good for me. I have had a bond with my nanny since I was a young girl and I can’t explain it but she was always there for me, driving me to day camp, Sunday school, watching me try to dance in a dance recital, coming to my college graduation oxygen tank in hand. Nothing was going to stop my nanny from being there for her baby and that baby was me. I am not even the baby I lost that lovely title by six months but to her I was her baby’s baby and that was enough. We had a bond that can’t be explained but not only was she my grandmother she was my best friend, person I turned to when my mom wasn’t listening to me, who annoyed me as much as my own mother did, but I loved that woman. I have inherited her ability to speak my mind and speed like there is no tomorrow but I like to think that I learned that family is the most important thing from her as well. She believed that family was important and no matter what you stuck with your family. I believe that she shared that with me, and I hope that I can share that with my non-existent family.

That's what been going on these past few weeks. I will post more tomorrow.

what am i doing?

so i tried to quit my summer job the other day and well that didn't work well. not well at all. in face i just had my second meeting about it and have learned NOTHING....

oh well.. life happens and i'll just stick it out for six more weeks and have this as a lesson learned. what i will have learned i can't answer other than boo... ha ha!

i might have a job which is very exciting. i can't seem to get a straight answer out of anyone so that blows but whatever! keep those fingers crossed and when it happens i'll post.

hire me... please...

so i had two interviews yesterday in good ole greenville and spartanburg! interview number 1 was in sparkle city aka spartanburg and i walked out feeling like they didn't want me. sad i know. i was early (always a plus!) and they were 25 minutes late (not a plus!) then i had the principal and the assistant principal as my interviewers and when one is sitting next to you and the other is in front of you where do you look? i mean seriously where do you look? they read their questions straight off the sheet and well they didn't shake my hands. i don't have the swine people. i don't!

interview two was in gvegas and well apparently i wrote down it was thursday and the principal wrote down that it was wednesday .. oops and i once again thought I was early but apparently i was a day late. he was really cool about it and snuck me in and it was much more relaxed. he asked questions and i answered to the best of my ability. i go to oklahoma on wednesday and i can't wait . i have two job interviews and am hoping for some more. wish me luck b/c seriously i want a job.

COLOR YOUR DAYS BRIGHT!

Summer camp is a wonderful place to flourish and learn how to make friends, among other things! I miss BT and am spending some time at a new camp in North Carolina. It's not the same as BT nor is it even close but I chose this new place knowing all of this. I think the biggest thing that I miss is the happy, welcome home feeling I get when I see the Welcome Sign, or even better hear the Welcome song. There isn't a welcome song here and people here are welcoming but they aren't Skippy or Barb friendly.

I love camp and I like my new camp but BT will always be number 1 for me!