2001-09-04
First day of school, posted at 10:01 a.m.
Epiphany in Baltimore has moved to epiphanyinbaltimore.blogspot.com I apologize for the lack of updates, but I've been busy and without an easily accessible computer.Last week, we had a lot of mostly boring training and orientation type of stuff to get ready for the year. There was a city-wide inservice on Thursday that was abominable, but otherwise it was pretty tolerable.
I got my classroom all set up. It looks great, if I don't say so myself. I've got a lot of posters, photos of authors, and quotations all up. My Spartan flag is in the corner.
Over the weekend, we moved into our new house. The old tenants, despite saying that we could move in early, used up all of the possible time they had in the place. They didn't move out officially until Friday evening, and we moved in on Saturday morning. We never would have taken the place if we had known we wouldn't be allowed to move in until September 1. One of the reasons the house was so attractive - besides the location, price, and reasonably good condition - was that we could move in early. So the old tenants were jerks, as far as I'm concerned.
But we're in there now, and it's wonderful. It actually is starting to look homey. I'm unpacking now, and it's fun. Some of the stuff I haven't seen since April. I've taken the basement bedroom, and while it's the messiest and needs the most work out of all the rooms in the house, it also has the most potential. It has a lot of room, too. I spent yesterday unpacking a bit and clearing out the cobwebs and broken tiles from down there. The first orders of business for down there are buying a dehumidifier, a bed, and a carpet. The dehumidifer, which I was expecting would be less than $100, was $220 at Sears. I can't afford that right now, so that's kind of putting the other stuff on hold. But we get our first paycheck on Friday, September 14, and then I'll be buying stuff I need. Getting the house set up to look like a home will be a long task, but generally a fun one as well. I hate spending money, but I think buying furniture and stuff will be fun.
Gale, Erin, and Nate bought me a dresser for my birthday, and I attempted to put it together over the weekend. It was a horrible, four-hour long task. Then, when I was carrying it downstairs, it collapsed. It's now in about a hundred pieces. I'll try to build it again soon. Otherwise, the weekend was a good one. The third roommate seems cool, and his folks donated a couch and a chair to our living room.
I still don't know Baltimore at all. I stayed most of last week at a colleague's empty apartment, alone. It was a pretty lonely week. By the end of it, I was craving interaction. I would go into work at orientation, talk on the surface with a bunch of people I didn't know, then try to drive around Baltimore to figure out where things were, then go back and sit in the quiet apartment until I fell asleep. The Orioles game that I was supposed to go to on Friday fell through - the guys couldn't do it. That was a big bummer. By the time Saturday rolled around and I finally saw Jason again, I was really needing any sort of companionship.
Jason is doing okay. He finally got placed in a middle school, replacing a teacher who, after 33 years in the same classroom, decided last week that he wasn't returning. He has to teach Math and Science, the latter being comical because all through college, Jason hated science. He is freaking out about teaching it, and I've been kidding him about him being all that's wrong with education in this country - folks not teaching in their area. He'll be fine, though. My third roommate is freaking out a bit, too. I feel like I'm pretty prepared.
Yesterday, I got invited to a barbecue at the house of a english younger teacher here. He's about 30, and is married with two kids. He's a really neat guy. The bbq started at 1pm, and I showed up at around 1:45. I figured I'd stay for a couple of hours. I ended up staying until after 8. I had a great time. There were a lot of fellow teachers there, and the day made me realize how much I was craving non-work social interaction. Living in the dorms for the last six years, I was very used to having a lot of people around to talk to all the time. I had such a good time, and finally feel like I've made some friends here.
Work is going well. That younger teacher who I mentioned asked me if he could have a copy of the letter I am sending home, introducing myself to parents. Apparently I had left one in the copy machine. This made me feel good, that he was asking me for stuff. He kept saying last night how much I'm going to help him, and he's about to start his 7th year teaching. The guy is hilarious. He reminds me a bit of Ernie from last year - always the center of attention with an extremely quick wit.
Today is the first day of school. I have first period planning, which is why I'm able to write an entry right now. I've decided to bring my computer into school, much to the chagrin of my roommates. The computers they provide us with here at school are pretty much useless 486's. My first kids come in in around 20 minutes, and I'm pumped. My syllabi, student data forms, and assignments are all copied and ready. I've been half watching this woman who is sharing my room while I write this, and I've noticed she's pretty strict. She's a really nice woman. Maybe I'll have to play it strict, too, at first. An old teaching adage is not to smile until Christmas. We'll see. I'll play it by ear. I can't be someone I'm not.
I finally got to send out my contact information to all my friends, old colleagues, and old professors. I sent it off to almost 100 people, and many have replied with kind messages. I'll post it here:
*******
Hi everyone!
I hope summer is going well for you. I apologize for how late this message is going out and its "form letter" tone. However, I finally got around to entering you all into my contacts list and wanted to send a quick update to all my favorite people!
In late July, I was hired as an instructor for Baltimore City Public Schools. I wanted to move to a big city a bit farther south than Michigan (brrrr...). Baltimore, after offering a nice salary, seemed like a good fit. A visit with Gale confirmed this, and I signed a contract here. After that point, I was told to contact schools to let them know I was in the system, and ended up hooking up with (my schooll). I glanced at their website and liked what I saw, and I was hired without an interview, based on MSU's reputation in education and my on-line teaching portfolio.
Little did I know what I was getting into with this school. I knew it was a public magnet school focusing on liberal arts, but that was just the start. It has an incredible history (it's been around since 183 9... it's older than MSU!), and it has graduated a number of important folks, including the last three governors of Maryland, a former U.S. Vice President (okay, so it's Spiro T. Agnew...), and a number of Congressmen. Last year, 92% of its graduates went on to college (the rest going onto the military) and 99% graduated on time. The place looks like a castle. In short, it's a very good school, and what is unusual about that is that it's right here in the heart of inner-city Baltimore. The school is internationally recognized as a model for urban education. Almost all the students are minority and poor. The Principal says, "We're making the American Dream come true," and it seems like this is the case so far.
I'm teaching English and Literature to Freshmen and Sophomores this year, as well as Advanced Writing. The school is on a block schedule, meaning classes are 90 minutes long. And I'll be helping out with a number of organizations, including the coaching of JV Baseball. I can't wait. School starts on Tuesday, Sept. 4.
It's taken a while to get settled in the city, but have luckily had the help of some friends in West Virginia (thanks Bart and LaShonia) as well as some of the other teachers here in the building, who have lent their couches for me to sleep on. Along with my roommates (Jason, my old college suitemate who moved with me from Michigan, and Mike, who we met here - we're all first year teachers in the system), I'm renting a house only a few minutes from my school. It's 4 blocks from the mayor's house, a few minutes from Johns Hopkins University, about ten minutes from the beautiful inner harbor area,
and a couple blocks from a nice lake. It's a four bedroom house we're getting for a very good deal. I can even have a dog. Woo-hoo!
Anyhow, things are good. Here is my contact information:
(if, god forbid, I forgot to send this to anyone who needs it, just e-mail me if you still want to be my friend :) )
If any of you are ever in the area, I expect you to let me know! Baltimore is just 45 minutes from Washington DC, 2 hours from Philadelphia, and 3 hours from NYC, and it's a beautiful city in its own right. There's so much to do here, and the inner harbor area is incredible. Come on down!
I miss you all, and please stay in touch.
Sincerely,
me
PS - Sorry again for the form letter.