School Politics

Several years ago, I came to the conclusion that the average school is a gossipy place, because most places with that many women are generally very gossipy. What I've just realized more recently is that teaching at a high school, in many ways, means that you are in high school forever. I've been having several "high school" days recently. First, there's the whole issue of people retiring and/or leaving the school. I know of several people's timelines for how much longer they will be at the school. These timelines actually do affect me, because it affects my teachings assignments. So, as I try to figure out what next year is going to look like for me, I have to discuss it with administration and one of my department chairs. The problem is that I know information that could affect their decisions and definately affects my decisions, but I really can't pass that information along. It makes me feel like I'm back in high school with all of the goofy stuff about gossip and not passing along people's "secrets."

Part of figuring out next year includes the possibility of teaching AP English Lit. I'm really excited about that, but I'm already getting a little stressed out about how far behind I feel already. I feel like I need to read every book on every recommended reading list ever for the AP test...and that's the stress that I dealt with before my first class even started this morning. I think that I'm kind of expecting more of myself than necessary in preperation for this class. Part of it is the fact that I'll start teaching AP so early in my career/at such a young age. I guess I feel like I have to be extra-prepared so that students and parents don't feel like they're being short-changed by getting me.

On the up side, starting this year means that I'll teach alongside the person who has taught this class for the past 15 or 20 years. I am very fortunate to have her as a mentor as I transition into teaching AP.