Back in the Saddle Again

Well after almost ten years since I last taught school, I returned to the classroom this week! I am subbing for the special education teacher this week at the international school that Gaby and Andrew attend. I also accepted to teach there full-time next year. This week I am working with the elementary students. Next year I will probably work with grades four through eight (special ed.).

I was very nervous to go back to teaching, but it has been a great two days. You can’t beat the jobs at the international schools. You get small classes, good money, and very active parents. All the students I have worked with are all well behaved and they come to class and get busy on their work. It is so refreshing after the last teaching job I had. Ten years ago I was teaching at Rialto High School in California. It was a “suburban ghetto” of Los Angeles. Most of my students were in gangs and had zero respect for their teachers. We had gang fights, metal detectors, and random drug searches. It was one of those eye-opening years that you consider a great life experience and then you never do it again! I was very happy to start having kids and be done with teaching for a while.

Now I am fulfilling a dream to be teaching in the same school where my kids are students. One perk to the job is that they are going to let Colin attend the preschool for free, and my hours will be the same as his. It has been funny this week because Andrew keeps telling me I am not a teacher (I am just a mom, of course). Gaby is thrilled to have me right there, Andrew is not sure how he feels about it. I have more frequent reports on his behavior now! Gaby’s friends have been asking her what I am teaching at the school. She did not want to embarrass my students, who are some of her peers, so she told her friends I am teaching Arabic! I laughed at that. I can barely communicate in Arabic, let alone teach it! But her friends all believed her, and I thought it was sweet she did not want to draw attention to anyone who is in special ed.

So Colin is being shuffled around between friends this week. Thank goodness I had a lot of people who owed my babysitting. I have practically been running a daycare lately! So it is actually more relaxing to go to the school than to stay home. I have enjoyed no one whining at me this week, until I get home that is. I teach preschool at my house next week, so I’ll enjoy this week while it lasts. J