Thursday, January 31, 2013

The sun will come out tomorrow

I finally got out of the house yesterday and took the trusty netbook with me. (This thing was well worth my time as a supply teacher just to be able to afford it.) I went to the gym for the first time since Jan 2nd too. After that, I grabbed my mug of coffee and sat at the cafe in the park to continue on my project.

The sun was out for the first time since forever, the sky was blue, and although very windy, it was a nice day. No snow cleats, no boots, no heavy coat. I could have done with some thermals but, what can I say, I’m a wussy Floridian who can’t function in anything below 70s F.

Or rather, I used to.

Anyway, so now that the weather has perked up, so have I. Even though it’s going to get cold again, I’m finally feeling that brand of hope that the New Year always promises. I have hope that I’ll get my project done, and I have hope that I’ll get my driver’s license. Even though I failed the test again on Monday.

This time, I knew what I did wrong. I screwed up the gear changes on a really steep hill, going about 20mph. I also hit a curb. Now, if you live in Florida, you’d think this means I’m a really reckless driver. Oh no. Here, the curbs are long and jut out into the street so you have to “be aware at all times.”

Yeah, you have to be aware of 100 things at all times. I’m surprised more people aren’t given Valium just to handle the undo stress of driving around here. But someone else yesterday told me not to give up hope because they passed their test after after five attempts. These are people who have lived with this road system their whole life! The main irritant about the whole thing (aside from being chastised by the driving instructor each lesson) is that it costs £62 plus the cost of the lesson because you have to use the driver’s ed car. I could have put a hefty down payment on my own car by this point!

Anyway, I’m just going to keep on keeping on. I’m also going to sign up with an office temp agency next week so maybe I can find a job I’m actually good at for a while. Every time I see someone praising a teacher for their wonderful lesson or fun activity in the classroom, I know Primary and Secondary School teaching is not my calling. I’ve never had training in things to make school fun. I asked the Department of Education yesterday if I could take any college courses to get myself more accustomed to working in the UK classrooms; the answer was, “no.” Since I’m already a certified teacher, I can’t take any teaching courses. Isn’t that insane?

They suggested I shadow a teacher, but from what I’ve seen, those girls are busy as it is, and I want fact, examples, reading material, creative ideas, Q&A… I may as well go into a classroom as is, and try to fumble around to find a place where I can be re-trained. But that’s what I’ve been doing since 2003 and without that initial teacher training, it’s just not as easy to put all the puzzle pieces together.

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