Turning the corner

Well, I think I've turned the corner into spring and it's a good thing. The end is in sight, ladies and gentlemen. We do have 2 more weeks before Spring Break, and I can sense that they're going to be pretty long. But...Daylight Savings time is coming on Sunday, it's getting warmer and I can start wearing skirts again without freezing, and generally I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. This group of kids is definitely one that I won't be sorry to see go. There are a few gems that I love, but there are also many who are making teaching very difficult.

I realized last week that I'm glad that I will most likely be moving after 2 more years here. I like this job, but if I were to stay here a long time I would really lose enthusiasm for teaching. The reason is that I really belong with gifted kids, and I just don't get to do enough of that here. Even if we stay in Iowa, I'll probably look for a different job. I need to work on getting some courses about gifted teaching, although the U of I is one of the only places to get it and their grad credits are outrageously expensive ($350 for 1 credit hour...) I am learning a lot from being here, but I feel like I'm just not that great with the lower and middle level kids.

I'm a little nervous that I might not be able to get that kind of a job in the next place we live, either...but that makes D and me no different from any other couple who both have to find jobs in the same area. Hopefully we will be in a college town; usually they have really good schools and many high-level kids to teach.