Thursday, August 5, 2010

Summer of Interviews

I have decided to summarize my experience this summer with all of my interviews and the experiences I have gained from them. The word that best describes my summer with finding a teaching job is "perseverance". I was blessed enough to interview for 8 (yes 8) different school districts this summer to try to acquire a teaching position. With every interview that had passed with no job attained, I became more and more accepting to substitute for a year at home. In order are the school districts / I.U's I interviewed for
1.) Mercer
2.) Crawford Central
3.) Grove City Intermediate Unit
4.) Riverside Intermediate Unit
5.) Keystone School District
6.) Lakeview
7.) Wilmington School District
8.) Warren School District
I had many good interviews, bad interviews, 2nd interviews, twice I was one of the final 3 who were in contention for positions, ext. I had questions asked to me such as "Name me 10 things you can do with a pencil besides writing or drawing", "Do you like kids", "Who is your hero", and many other off the wall questions. I was a few spots away from teaching where I went to school at, from teaching with one of my closest friends, and to teaching 10 minute away at a very great school district.
What I have learned this summer though is to be patient, trust in God's plan no matter where it leads you, and to persevere no matter what circumstance is placed before you. I have acquired an emotional support teaching position that I have no experience in, but I am very excited to get my feet wet and to dive into the deep pool of education. I can not wait to start my new life in Warren at an amazing school district.
To all my friends from Mercer, I am going to miss you all more than I can describe. I was actually beating myself up a little bit for leaving because I have grown so close with so many people in the area. I now understand though that God has a special plan for me whether I see it yet or not. To end this post, a quote I heard on the Wonder Years that best fits my recent decision and all of those who I will leave behind but never forget or lose contact with:

"Growing up is never easy. You hold onto things that were. You wonder what's to come. But that night, I think we knew it was time to let go of what had been, and look ahead to what would be. Other days, news days, days to come."