Okay, so I had planned not to teach summer school this year, for the following reasons:
1. I am on the every-other-year-plan (at least in my head).
2. Last year was totally stressful, and the students were mean and terrible and made it impossible to teach them.
3. I want to take a class or two from the community college instead. I would like to someday move to the next column on the pay scale, and it's easier to do classes over the summer and earn more units in my time off.
4. We had planned to do a vacation in July. I still don't know if Isaac will get into Academy, so we may still do a vacation, and our income may not change if his job situation doesn's change.
5. With budget cuts, it looked like it was going to be very hard to get a summer school job this year at all.
6. I didn't get a break last year, and running right into new curriculum this year has been super hard, so especially not knowing what I will teach next year, a break is very appealing.
Then I got an e-mail this week from the Summer School Principal saying he thought I did a great job last year and would like to hire me on again this year if I was up for it. So I started to reconsider my no-summer-school-09 pledge.
1. Isaac may be in Police Academy May-November, which would cancel our vacation.
2. The kids might be better this year... not likely, especially since it is at the scariest junior high in the district instead of at the best as last year... but possible.
3. I could still take a class in the evenings. Since I already have a beautiful binder full of lessons and materials, all color-coded and ready to go, I would have less planning this year.
4. If Isaac is in Academy, he may not be able to work and at the very least, would have to cut back hours, and if no one hires him early on, we could be out a lot of money over the next six months, so the thousands I could make at summer school might be very useful.
5. Am I just being lazy if I pass up the opportunity to make more money?
(sigh) I have been sick this week, so maybe I'm just not thinking straight, but I have no idea what to do. I know I should e-mail this principal back soon with some kind of response, but I'm just at a loss. Do I suck it up and teach even though I honestly don't want to, or do I take classes and prepare for the fall and possibly suffer a shortage of income before the year is over (not that summer school would totally alleviate that possibility)?
Opinions? Poll in sidebar...
4 comments:
I just took the poll and you know what, I didn't teach summer school and that totally sucked not having extra money. I think I'm gonna teach summer school this year even though I REALLY, REALLY don't want to deal with the kids that are so mean and have the worst attitudes!! I know EXACTLY how you feel! Just think that the extra income will be worth it in the end instead of having to worry about it!...that's my two cents! ;D
I dunno... taking a break is very refreshing and therapeutic. If you're like me, you don't realize you need a break until you actually take it... and then things settle and your mind clears...I don't think you should do it JUST for the money; money will sort itself out if you're paying tithing and, you know, trying to work... trying, but not over-doing yourself. If you think it will make you a better teacher, if you think it will be an enlightening cultural experience, if you think it might be a little fun, do it. Otherwise, spend your summer with Isaac and Sophie... and me of course :)
Hard call. If I anticipate being low on money, I am always inclined to try to make more. However, I have had times where I just had to quit something, too. Because you already have everything planned out, it may really be better this time around ... if Isaac is free, would you be able to take a vacation as a summer school teacher?
No, you can't take time off.
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