Mama's got a new job!

Some of you have already heard, I got a new job as an online teacher. There is a school out there called K12 Virtual Academy. It's public school, so it's tuition-free, and it's awesome. It's the perfect homeschool for those parents who don't want to or don't know how to find their own curriculum, because it's certified teachers with test driven lessons and curriculum, all online. I'm sure it's adjusted for littler kids so that they get the reading and writing practice they need (I've also heard that for little kids there are field trips and home visits, but I don't really know), but I'll be teaching High School. English. I'm now a High School English teacher. And after teaching 7th grade in a classroom for almost 5 years, this is going to be WAAAAAYYYYY different.

So I don't really know a lot about this job...yet. I know that I will be working with at-risk kids (so, nothing has changed there). I was asked a lot of questions in the interview about my experiences with at-risk kids, how I feel about that demographic, etc. Luckily that's all I've worked with and I've developed a special place in my heart for these kids. But again, with High Schoolers, it might be a whole different animal.

When I became a teacher I had dreams of becoming the best teacher my students have ever seen. I wanted to do projects and go on traveling school overnight trips, I wanted to help them get jobs and visit their places of employment in my free time. I wanted these kids to love me and submit my name for all sorts of teacher-of-the-year awards. I had visions of being on Oprah and The View and there being made a movie about my career. But then I got my first job and I quickly realized that education these days (at least in Arizona) is all about testing. My job quickly became statistics and data, it was about testing, evaluating the test data, and then reteaching and retesting. Sayings like "data driven" and "laser focused" became everyday language and things like traveling school and projects and fun learning were pushed aside...unless I could fit them into my ELL objectives and find a way to test them using multiple choice.

So now I have this new job at an online school. And I know it's at-risk kids and that I won't have a face to face in the classroom relationship with these kids, but some of my dreams are returning. I still want to be the best teacher these kids have ever had, I still want them to love me and nominate me for awards, but most of all (and I think this is what I've always wanted) I want these kids to know that I love them and that my job isn't just to make money, I'm there to make a difference in their lives.

PS. And having a stay-at-home job allows me to continue to have moments like this