Mean Girls.

I'm reading Margaret Atwood's Cat's Eye right now. The story is one of Western womanhood in the latter half of the 20th century, and the narrator just took me through her ordinary childhood where she was constantly ridiculed and evaluated by her three "best friends". Atwood captures this element of girlhood so perfectly that I felt pain reading it, remember my own tormentors from my youth. What makes it so real is that none of the teasing is bad enough to warrent adult attention.

Today, I subbed in a third grade room where I can watch these very same games being played out, where a girl may be "in" at the beginning of the day and then suddenly gets called names. And there's usually a ringleader, who twists and manipulates, and eventually rules by fear. It's not quite bullying, but it's not good either. Who teaches our young women to act this way to one another? Do we, as adults, unknowingly reward the popular one?

This past Thursday, I was asked to sub for a teacher whom I had met previously when subbing for a teacher consultant in his room. He emailed me the lesson plans early (an overview and discussion of Machievelli's The Prince) and pretty much left me responsible for the actual content, knowing that I'm certified in History.

Perhaps it was just this particular instance, or that it was just a really good group of students, but the day went very well. I even received a little posistive feedback, my favorite being, "You're different. Most subs come in all scared." Not sure what these other subs could possibly be scared of. In any case, whether or not the students cared for me, I lef the day feeling like I had contributed, presenting the classes with new material, generating discussion, and provoking thought. I miss that feeling, and I made sure to thank the teacher for letting me sub for him. (I always do, but sometimes I mean it more.) I also made sure to meet the ELA teacher across the hall. I always try to distribute my contact info to at least one person every time I work in a secondary setting.

A couple of updates and career-related items on my mind:

-I got asked to stand in as a permanent sub for one of the parapros at an elementary school that I frequent. I said yes, because, at the very least, it's experience. I'm curious as to what veteran teachers and hiring teams would recommend in terms of prioritizing experience with my age group (6-12), because this sub job is with kindergarten. Anyway, I'm excited to have a month or so of steady work, five days a week.

-I'm looking at day camp positions for summer work. It would be a ton of fun! Of course I'm shooting for a summer teaching job, but it doesn't hurt to keep other options open. I do not want to work at the restaurant full time this summer. No way.

-The local teacher job fair is happening in a month. I'm debating on what kind of things I can do to stand out. Any suggestions?

-I need to get crack-a-lackin' on studying for the GRE. It's coming, and I want to do awesome on it. I miss being a student. I'm in love with school/learning, as are most teachers.

Wait-time.

I've been trying my best to keep myself busy during the wait-time that this economy (and the state of Michigan) has bestowed upon us newly-ceritified teachers. I get warnings from the regulars at Bob Evans to "not do what Ronda* did" (Ronda being a long-time server at the restaurant who got a teaching degree and never used it).

Ways I've been entertaining myself:
-watching earlier seasons of Lost on Netflix.
-keeping my living quarters cleaner than I ever have.
-reading blogs. LOTS of blogs. Teaching blogs, gardening blogs, vegetarian blogs, urban homesteading blogs. I can't get enough.
-playing guitar, my most beloved pasttime.
-reading whatever.
-thrifting.
-cooking dinner. I'm getting better!

I've also been spending a lot of time with my puppy, Daisy. I couldn't have picked a better time to get a dog. How I went this long without one is beyond me, because she is my sunshine. She brightens my mood the minute I walk through the door.

*name changed.