[MenTeach: We like to read what is out there and found this teacher’s comments. Do you have any thoughts about his situation? Is it similar to your situation?]
Although the position is available to me, I probably won’t work at Kennedy High School next year. There is the appeal of more money and continued growth at my career, but I’m just not into the science teaching stuff right now. The program in China is ten times more appealing. One thing that I’ve considered is that I would probably have a lot of my current students if I took the position because it is for freshman-level biology and Kennedy is the high school that most of our kids go to. It’s for better or for worse, of course, but it would satisfy my curiosity about how well the kids learned and how they matured. I feel like getting students multiple times is something that doesn’t occur often and it would be fascinating to see if how our interactions would change.
Another reason I’m drifting away from this line of work because I’m not sure whether I’m doing anything. I think there’s innate value in my being a Black male teacher because actually, in my 3 years at various schools, I’ve run into one only other guy…and he was 60 years old! That was at Hayward High, too. I feel bad for not being over there working with Dr. Martin. He was really pleased to have me around. But I won’t feel guilty because, just like my current school, Hayward dropped me — I didn’t drop them. Certainly, the students have gained lots of subject knowledge and we’ve done many different types of assignments and they’re gaining skills, but there’s nothing tangible, I guess. It’s very rare to find an 8th grader or a senior who gives positive feedback to his or her teacher and maybe I’m just the type of person who needs to feel recognized a little more often. Who knows? Anyway, I need a job that doesn’t require me to work once I leave the office. Heh, which just means I’ll be at the office 24 hours a day.
This has nothing to do with anything but I was just thinking about womens’ basketball. March Madness just happened and the women’s final was the first week in April, right after the mens’ final. Then the WNBA draft happened the day after the final, with Parker, Fowles and Wiggins going 1-2-3. While watching NBA tonight there was an advertisement for the WNBA starting May 17. That seems like such a hurried schedule. Essentially, these players have a month to acclimate themselves to a new city, new teammates and a much more difficult style of play, not to mention the media and all of the additional responsibilities of being a professional athlete. The NBA draft is at the end of June and the NBA season starts near the end of October, so the men get a good three months in. It is what it is. I’m sure the new players are raring to get on the court, anyway.