Member-only story
Good Bye, 2024
It is been quite the year.
When 2024 began, I didn’t make any New Year’s resolutions. I realized making resolutions was a waste of time for me. I never stuck to my resolutions. All I wanted to do at the beginning of the year was to continue working at my substitute job, pick up another job, and stack my paper.
That’s essentially what I did for the first half of 2024: I subbed at my school, obtained a second job at a college, and was able to continue paying my bills. When the summer came, I picked up a summer job at a local university and maintained my part-time job. Summer 2024 was all set financially.
But I was worried about the fall. I hadn’t landed a permanent job with the school, so I looked around and applied to whatever I could. Fortunately, I returned to the school as a permanent teacher. I had benefits and a salary once again. I was relieved and looked forward to working with the students and my colleagues.
Relief soon became stress.
As a permanent teacher, I had demands on me that, as a sub teacher, I didn’t. I had to teach a curriculum without adding my creative touches and academic reinforcements. I felt constrained and restrained. In addition, after having only two classes the year before, I now had four classes. The load was a lot more than I had anticipated. I also had to deal with observations and…
