Although it is hectic, being a floating teacher is a badass job.  That's why I was so frightened to get the following email from the district:

**** ISD E-News
Oct. 9, 2008
**** ISD employees who want to participate in the "Voluntary Resignation During the 2008-2009 Reduction in Force" should sign and submit the appropriate form no later than Thursday, Oct. 9. The forms are available through the school principals and at the Human Development office.

Employees who sign the form will be accepting the RIF settlement agreement and will be on paid administrative leave through Jan. 16, 2009.


Due to some really poor planning by several people including the district superintendent, my school was going to lose 12 teachers.  2 of those would be from the language department.  The first people to get "Reduced" would be first year teachers with only a probationary certificate as opposed to standard.  Remind you of anyone?


Throughout the day, the administrators were taking teachers out of their rooms AS THEY TAUGHT CLASSES and telling them that they were fired.  At that point they could finish the day or leave on the spot.  Teachers were leaving in tears, kids were furious.  I joked to my students that when an administrator came into the room I would sit in a desk and pretend to be a student.  It was understood, by me, by the kids, and by my department supervisor that I would have to find a different school.


Somehow, the last period finished and I wasn't called.  My fellow language teachers didn't bring it up because they thought I was gone for sure.  Finally I went to my department chair (kinda the liaison between the teachers and principal, mine happens to be a total badass lady) and asked, "Um, is it a mistake that I'm still here?"  And she said, "I guess not."  And that was it, I still had a job.


We lost one Spanish teacher and one French teacher.  That meant that, midyear, each of my class sizes would double.  I was the only one teaching level one of either language now.  Kids were sitting on the floor and crammed into corners of my class room.


But:  I did get a class room out of the whole debacle.  It was completely necessary, considering I now had about 40 students per class.  However, it was still really sad.  When I walked in to start decorating the room, I could tell the teacher who had been fired from it was in a very similar situation to mine (although she had taught geometry).  She had just set up her desk the way she wanted and there were still pens in the drawers.  Across some of the chairs, in black marker, students had scrawled, "By Ms. Nguyen We Will Miss U."


Say what you will, but they are a loyal bunch.  




My very own classroom: it took fetching forever and I have to cover it all up any time there's a state test... but it's worth it.  One wall is French and the other Spanish.