The Road

It is easy to forget how much I love my job with all the crap that goes on. Since the beginning of school I have been in a world-wind of newness and obscurity. The fact that my boss, who is fantastic, trusted me and my team teacher to completely change our curriculum has been a pressure-cooker. I don’t want it to fail. But more importantly I don’t want it to fail my kids. We have a lot riding on the change…young people’s lives. In addition I was asked to head up the student government, without think of the consequences to my life and climbing I said yes. I have spent the last nine months asking a lot of question, going to high school dances, and becoming the one person on staff that people run in the opposite direction to in the hall way for fear of being asked to help out. Basically, for the past six months I have truly been questioning my desire to teach. My search for answers has ended a relationship, made my family think that I belong in a loony-bin for taking my frustration out on them, and hurt my experiences on climbing trips.

It took a twelve day work week, a school project that just does not want to end, a student fight, and a six hour drive to Bishop to allow me to come to the realization that I love my job. The 27 hours I spent last weekend at school helping the Junior class raise money for prom at game-day was not only worth it, it was fun. In the eye of talking about TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD for eight straight weeks with freshmen, I have been utterly amazed at their capabilities to organize and plan groups of forty to write, direct, and produce a modern adaptation of the story for the stage. Essentially, demonstrating collaboration skills far beyond that of divide and conquer. Hot-diggitydog they could be learning something! Today after school four young ladies got into a brutal fight (I know what you are thinking, what kind of twisted mind would think this could ever be positive?). Although, every stupid within the moment, lets just say that it was the relationship between students and teachers that allowed the fight to end, and then be dealt with. Lesson, we are doing something right; relationships are the way to get to students. Relationships lead to relevance which will eventually lead to rigor, in other words who would want to due anything for a jackass. After the fight I eventually got into my car and headed to Bishop, there is something about a long and empty road that gets the thoughts bubbling in my head.

-Peter Newman, Teacher