a road trip and a job

For that last several weeks, I've been thinking a lot about work next year.  My original intention was simply to spend my three months here and then go home and look for a job in the Marquette area, which promises to be a challenge, especially right now.  But the whole time I've been up here, and even over the phone before I came, people have been intimating that I should consider a regular teaching position in the district.  Back in February I mentioned it to Carrie, and to my surprise she was amenable to the idea.  It would be an adventure for our little family, and it would provide us with a financial cushion to face the tough Michigan job market the following year.


So I began talking with Robert Stewart, HR director for the district, about where they might be able to use me.  He told me he'd put me to work, it was just a matter of deciding where, offered me a contract before he even knew what positions would be open.  I waited to see.


And then a couple weeks ago I heard about a job in Saint Marys, the next village upriver, which has its own independent school district.  More than one person who had gotten to know me insisted that I would love it there.  They do a lot of active learning, like hunting trips with the kids, and try to present subject-area material in ways that are meaningful for them, in the context of their culture and habits.  The village actually grew around an old Russian Orthodox mission school.  The people who moved there originally did so because they valued education, so the community has a good disposition toward school.  That doesn't mean there aren't problems, but certainly makes for an advantageous starting point.  Further, it is run by a guy who really values active education, getting the kids doing things, rather than just reading a textbook and turning in homework.  It sounded fantastic.


I got in touch with the superintendent there, Dave Herbert, and he expressed interest in meeting me or talking on Skype.  My mentor here, Rusty Clark, was a strong proponent of finding a ride and actually going in person, so when Dave and I talked on Wednesday and I found out he'd be out of town the rest of the week, I started asking around to see if anyone would be willing to take me up there that afternoon.


Dmitri and Teresa came through!  Dmitri called his son Jackie, and for the cost of a couple quarts of oil and a tank of gas, Jackie took me to St Marys, hung out while Dave and I talked, and brought me home.  Longest trip I've ever taken on a snow machine (the term snowmobile doesn't exist here, as I may have said before), and I had to figure out how to be a passenger on one.  It was fairly bumpy and tossy, and there was nothing to hold onto, so I put my hands on Jackie's shoulders, turned my toes out, and gripped the machine with my heels--just like riding a horse.

Dave and I totally hit it off; he strikes me as an absolutely first rate educator.  I think he has the right attitudes on so many things!  One of which, sadly for me, is the importance of continuity in an educational community--meaning he wants someone who is committed to spending at least two years there, which is a promise I can't make.  Of course, in theory I could say Sure, I'll be here two years, and then just back out after one.  I wouldn't be on a contract or anything, so legally that's possible.  But I don't think I'd be capable of lying like that, even to someone I didn't care about.  To someone I have quickly come to respect and admire very highly, it hurts my heart even to imagine such dishonesty.  Not that I know for certain I won't be up here more than a year, but I'd compare the likelihood of that to the likelihood of changing my mind altogether about teaching and going back to long-haul trucking:  Yes, the future is fundamentally unknown; but realistically, it's just not in the cards.  

What kind of breaks my heart about the whole thing is that I passionately support his position.  The kind of community he has built around that school, and will be working to rebuild next year, requires the kind of continuity he's looking for in his staff.  The deepest and best kind of learning is only possible with a deep-seated trust, and that arises only in relationships that are fostered and nurtured over a significant period of time.  So I had to back out, and I dearly hope he finds the perfect person for his school, who will love the place and the kids and the community, and stay for years and years.

The other big factor for me is the certainty available here in LYSD.  If I was totally on board with the time commitment, it still would only have made me  a contender for the position; it's not like he promised me the job.  Then I would have had to interview again, with the board there, probably over Skype, and because Dave is taking the time and care that really ought to be taken with such matters (again, doing it right), I wouldn't have known until I was back home.  And then if I didn't get it, I'd be stuck in Michigan with no promise of employment there or Alaska, and no access to the people doing the hiring up here.  

Contrast that with this:  After making the decision Thursday, I stopped by the district office on my way home and signed a contract.  Next year, I'll be teaching middle school math and science in Pilot Station.  Done.  That's a serious comfort.  If I was twenty-two and single, it wouldn't much matter; I'd figure something out.  I've lived most of my adult life below the poverty line, and it never much bothered me; I've always had nice stuff and been plenty comfortable.  But now I have real bills to pay, and a family to support, and scraping by on whatever comes along doesn't work anymore.

So I took the job here in the district, and I feel great about it.  There is a part of me that's deeply sad at missing the chance to work in what truly looks like a dream job for someone like me.  But that sadness is part and parcel of a great joy at knowing that school is there, that those people are there, in a good place, doing good work, furthering the greater good.  There is no more gratifying thought.  I hope hope hope that Carrie and I will have a chance to make it over there for a visit next year.  I was so impressed with Dave, and with the place, that I feel like I want to maintain a connection and know what's going on there, even if I'm not involved.

Oh!  And one other cool thing about the job in Pilot--Stacey, my current vice-principal, will be the principal there next year, which should be great.  I like her a lot, and her kids seem really cool.  I guess her older daughter is graduating, and her younger daughter is below my age group, but it will be nice to have a couple familiar faces in the halls at the beginning of the year.  It's an incredible relief to have a job lined up before I go home.  I am very grateful.