Dear friends and wanderers,

I folded 'em.  If you're wondering what I'm talking about by now, I'm referring to my short career as a high school biology teacher.  After a long and tortuous six months, I decided to resign...and after what happened at that school today, it looks like I did it just in time.  There was a bomb threat and apparently a riot.  I got a first hand account from a couple of the kids who were there and it looks like it was a pretty bad situation all around.  It's possible that the kids are exaggerating, but based on the things I witnessed when I was there...I don't think so.  However, the school system seems to be trying to play it down to the media. 

Those kids are out of control and they behave that way because they know there won't be any real consequences.  Teachers can write referrals until their hands are numb and all the kids get is a few days of ISS (if anything at all, on several occasions I've gotten the referral back with a note to call the parent first...what do the administrators do then?).  What happened to the days of immediate and heavy consequences?  They're putting all their efforts into getting these kids to pass the SOLs, but how are they supposed to do that when they're allowed to run wild?  If there's ever going to be any hope of gaining accreditation, the disciplinary procedure is going to have to be revamped first.  Even the cream of the crop can't thrive in chaos. 

I can't say the experience was all bad.  A few (very few) of my students were a pleasure to work with and I feel so sorry for them because they have to deal with these types of situations.  I gave it a try--maybe in another place it would have been different.  I genuinely thought that teaching would be a career that I would enjoy.  I truly believed that I'd have students who were interested in learning.  Don't get me wrong, I wasn't expecting some utopia...I went to that school and I know better, but I was expecting it to be a lot better than it was.  It's a different place from the one I left ten years ago...and it definitely hasn't changed for the better. 

That place--that place is crushing.  I wasn't happy there at all and I don't believe in doing things that don't make me happy.  Life is much too short for that.  I took a gamble--I know that.  I took a gamble that would have devastated my life had things not worked out.  I was confident that I had a pretty good chance of getting this new job, but I didn't know for sure that I had it...but I left the school anyway.  I had to.  I firmly believe that money isn't everything.  Staying there wasn't worth the money...my life, my health, my happiness...that's worth more than $37,000 a year.

I won't dwell on what could have happened...I'm going to focus on what did happen.  I got the job I wanted and I didn't even have to take a pay cut for it.  I'm off to Atlanta on Monday for two weeks of training...I'm excited to embark on my next adventure.  I'll keep you posted.


Later days,

Cherra