Well, this is crazy! Once again I get hired right before school starts with little to no prep time. I'm still taking it in. I still am shocked and amazed everytime I hear "you're hired!" I thought all the hiring was done for the 2013-2014 school year, but I guess not because there was one spot left... for me! (Imagine the scene in Legally Blonde when everyone is standing around the board to see who the interns are, and the only spot left is for Elle Woods and she says "ME!" with that "triumphant in your face tone," yeah that's my life). I almost didn't get it because of some state technicality, which doesn't really qualify a teacher for being good or not--really, English Language Learners, that's what was holding things up?
Last week, I randomly get called by the HR department at Bakersfield City School District, and they ask me about my license and CLAD (the California version of ESL certification), and I explained to her about the classes that I took in Arizona, and how I am getting that worked out through the Kern County Superintendent of Schools (KCSOS) and the California Teacher Credentialing (CTC). Well this started back in June, a week later I went to Utah, and other stuff came up that I forgot to follow up with KCSOS. After I hung up the phone with BCSD (saying they were interested in me, but needed to figure out what to do with the CLAD), I immediately emailed KCSOS to see if they found out anything, and the certification adviser emailed me back saying she hadn't heard anything, and that she would resubmit the information, and blah blah blah. So a day goes by and she emails me back with the sad news that California will not accept my Arizona credits because of a technicality (working in California is such a hassle, and it really isn't that much better than anywhere else, they just like to make people's lives difficult). So, I didn't think I would hear from BCSD again. Then, on Monday August 5 (wow! a magical day my nephew and cousin's birthday, and the day I was hired at SLHS), BCSD called again to set up an interview, and that they'll work something out once they make the decision.
The interview was really nice and pleasant. I enjoyed talking to the principal of Stiern Middle School. I explained the situation with CLAD and she made it sound like the school/district would work with me, so that was hopeful. Right off she said that one of the reasons she was interested in me is because of my experience working with English language learners (SLHS, Boys and Girls Club, Thailand, etc.). One question seemed really vague and hard to pin down, but she said I gave a really good answer (and she's not supposed to tell people that in the interview), and the last question about classroom management she said "I hit the nail on the head" with a keyword: consistency. (I can tell you that is a hard concept for me, but it is something I "consistently" work on.
At the end I asked when I would find out, and the principal of SMS told me she would be making her decision today, I didn't expect it an hour after my interview. I barely walked into the door, ate my bacon, egg, and cheese biscuit from Carl's Jr., went upstairs to change before I got the call (my nylons were still on), 49 minutes after I left BCSD.
Not that this interview came out of nowhere, but once again it was a miracle. There were signs along the way that told me it was right. I get nervous in interviews, but in the back of my head I felt that they wanted to hire me no matter how horribly I answered all 10 questions. So, maybe I am supposed to be at BCSD this year, whether everything with CLAD and my license status works out or not. The district called me twice, and CLAD was a concern, but they were looking for a way to make it work. Again, another answer to my prayers, another door is being opened up to me, and I am suppose to go through. People want to know all the details and all I can say is "uuuuh. . . I don't know. They just offered me the job, and I said 'yes.' Sorry I didn't ask for the details."
