The divorce has been finalized. We're just signing papers.
It seems every place I move to I end up living a shorter and shorter time. My new place is beautiful, a bit outside of town with lots of open space around, not far from the water, and extreeeeemely expensive. I am to share it with the new teacher for grade seven whoever s/he turns out to be. I hope this new person appears quickly - I can't afford to pay for this palace on my own for very long! I'll post some pics once I move in and have internet again.
This morning, I met my homeroom. I won't actually teach these kids until next term, but they seem nice. I will get to know all the kids in the high school. I'm finding that I'm really energized by having students again, although I know teaching them will be a huge challenge.
I spent most of the afternoon doing two things: looking at apartments and cleaning the art classroom. I say again: the art classroom is one of the best-equipped art rooms I have ever seen. But it is totally disorganized! I have found lino-block carving tools and paint rollers tucked into places all around the room. It's insanity. There's also a kiln, kilos and kilos of clay, a potter's wheel, an airbrush kit, oodles of paints of all kinds, easels, brushes, drawing materials, pastels, storage and drying racks for artwork, leather-tooling materials... and I feel like I'm leaving out a bunch of categories. Oh yeah - fabrics and paints and dyes for tie-dying, batiking, silk-screening. So far I haven't come across anything about which I'm totally clueless, but my mind is boggling at the possibilities. One small weakness in the plan is that I'm far from an expert in art. I like it. I dabble in lots of forms. But there are a bunch of things I've never tried, and a whole heap more that I've done once or twice but I'm probably not qualified to teach.
I believe it's important to be an expert in what you teach. If you can't be 100% sure of what you're passing on, your uncertainty will come through. And besides, bad things can happen if you aren't competent. So unless I become an expert in kiln-usage, it is possible there will be no pottery this year. I would really like to figure it out though... that would be so much fun.
2 comments:
I thought that the rent was included in your pay? Anyway...hope that it does all work out and your roomie comes soon!
I am not sure that we have to be able to teach only what we are experts at. I think that we do need to be passionate about the subject. Kind of like singing... some people are not that great at it, but they take such joy in it that they sing with their whole heart.
You are going to be a fine art teacher, bec!
nope, not in nunavut. here we pay everything through the nose. it's very communist. in a bad sense.
I think you're right, but you do need to be competent. you need to feel comfortable and know enough to be able to prove to newbies that they should listen to you.
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