While I would love to continue working on my true-crime memoir every day non-stop at least in daylight hours, I got bombarded this past week with a flurry of interviews for teaching jobs.
No complaints, by the way.
Well, with the exception of driving to Perth Amboy late Thursday afternoon for what would have been interview #3 that day -- an interview that fell through solely because no one responded to the front-door buzzer of the decrepit charter school where I was to be interviewed for an English/Language Arts teacher job (a job for which the only question they prepared me in advance to answer was "What strategies do you envision employing in a classroom where most of the students are still learning to speak the English language?)
Perhaps it was a blessing in disguise. Perhaps.
The good news is that I got called in to schedule a demo lesson just hours after interview-of-the-day #1 (one of two that took place in a district where the front-door buzzers actually work, in an affluent system in Camden County -- and I don't facetiously mean the City of Camden).It's a long-term substitute position, but it would be for the entirety of the 2011-2012 school year. No benefits, but it comes with a union-level salary.
I'll take it, if offered.
The interview in school district #2 -- this one was in Ocean County where I live -- likewise appeared to go quite well. In that instance I met with the district superintendent -- a Round Two Q&A that was the last stop prior to a final decision. There are three positions available, including one full-time regular unionized English teacher slot. The other two are so-called "long-term" sub positions, three and six months, respectively.
Next up? An upcoming interview for a full-time regular Special Education English slot at a Mercer County high school (which takes place right after the demo lesson in Camden County, with sufficient time to first stop for lunch). Plus, I have an interview the next day for a temporary maternity leave job for a middle school English teacher opening in Monmouth County.
I think I'll then take a day off from everything (except spending time with my gals), and will resume working in the memoir, which at last count stood at the 36,000-word mark. Regardless of whether I get hired somewhere or not (and hopefully I will), I intend to go on a marathon writing spree in the final weeks of August.
My goal is to hit 45,000-50,000 words before September comes. We'll see.
