The Two Francis'

So I got a job. Well, I got another job. And I just started said job last Thursday. In a nutshell, it has been a crazy five days. Crazy as in one day I'm working with random groups of kids on various writing, math, and reading projects, to that night (not even the next day) I'm pushing bookshelves and desks around and putting paper on bulletin boards in a classroom.

It's been crazy. But I'm loving it.

This whole thing has been in the works since the last day before our holiday break. I haven't wanted to talk about it in fear of jinxing the whole thing. Now that I've been there for three days and nothing drastic has happened (knock on wood), I'll give you the skinny.

On that last day of school before break, I got a phone call from the principal at our neighborhood school. It's the school where Eric and Mia go, the school that is the one where a lot of the professors' kids go, the school where I would love to work permanently. The principal asked me if I would be interested in doing a long-term sub job in a 3rd-grade classroom. I tried to act all casual and said, "Yes, I would be interested, but I really have to talk to the person I am currently working with." I didn't hear the next words or sentences or paragraphs that she responded with, because all I kept thinking was, Are you kidding me? A long-term sub job at that school? Of course!

To make a long story short, I had to sub at the school one day while the principal observed me (gulp!) and then wait a while until she got everything planned out. She called me two weeks ago to offer me the position and I started last Thursday.

I haven't looked back. I did have a hard time saying goodbye to the kids whom I worked with at the other school, but nothing compares to the feeling of having my own classroom. I have experienced having my own classroom when I had that other long-term sub position in the 5th grade, but this feels different. What a difference two years and a different school makes, eh?

Do you want to know the weird thing? I am taking over the class from another long-term sub named Mrs. Francis. And the fifth grade I had two years ago? I took over for a teacher named Mr. Francis. What are the chances?

So far it's going well. I've been told by my co-worker that the previous teacher was in over her head and as a result let the curriculum and her relationships with the parents slip. I have my work cut out for me, but I don't mind.

The kids in my class are really well behaved, which is always half (or more) the battle. The kids are so well behaved that I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop. I'm waiting for one of them to have a fit and throw something. I'm waiting for one of them to yell, "NO!" when he or she doesn't want to do something. But instead, I keep my voice at a steady level, feel relaxed enough to joke a little, and really feel like I'm teaching. Sure, there are more names added to the "names I don't like" list, but all in all, they're a great group.

Yes, what a difference two years makes.