Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes

All of which is — needless to say — wonderful for a working mom. Nothing like picking up your cell phone on your prep period and seeing that your children’s schools have called you repeatedly every ten minutes for the last 2 hours, and then getting the voicemail from your husband that he’s left work (again) to go pick them up because they’re sick and the school couldn’t reach me. Which isn’t to say that I haven’t had my fair share of school pickups. In fact, I think my school’s secretary knows more about my kids’ medical condition than I do, since she’s the one taking calls from their schools while I’m in class and my cell phone ringer is off. In fact, since I started work back on September 16, I’ve taken off two half-days and one full day from school just to rescue and/or care for sick kids. And then my babysitter has done nurse duty for the little one twice already, too (which is convenient but a bit pricey at $50 per day).

Two days off in 2 months of employment is not, in my books, a stellar attendance record. And to be honest I’m slightly afraid that they might just dock my pay because I’m not sure if I’ve fully earned all those sick days yet. See, the thing is, I’m going to be leaving my job in two more weeks. No, it’s not because my kids are sick all the time (although I do slightly wonder if there’s a correlation between their poor health this month and the new 6:00 a.m. wakeup call we need in order to get out the door and get me to work by 8:00 a.m. across the city). I’m leaving because I was offered another job which I’ve decided to accept.

Leaving a teaching job mid-year is never easy to do. Unless you’re terribly mercenary, you will feel guilty about abandoning your students before the end of June. In my case, the guilt is magnified because I am already the second teacher these guys have had this year; their first teacher left after just one week to pursue a better opportunity. Plus, my assignment was intended only to run until March, when the regular teacher returns from mat leave. So by leaving I’m essentially dooming them to a year with four different teachers. Which totally sucks (I know this from experience because my older daughter is on her third teacher so far this year too!).

But, here’s the thing. I have been struggling almost since day one at my current job, for a lot of different reasons. Probably the biggest challenge I’ve faced personally is that I work at a religious school. Please don’t misunderstand me: I am strongly in favour of freedom of religion and I don’t judge people for being religious. Really. I work very hard at that, as a matter of fact. Because I once was having what I thought was a fair, open-minded debate about religion with a friend and she remarked, “you know, Katherine, just because I believe in God doesn’t make me stupid.” And she was so right. So totally right. She was (still is) one of the most amazing, smart, funny, witty, kind, generous and gracious people I have ever known. I loved spending time with her and I really thought she was a pretty fantastic person overall. But obviously my (not-so-silent) attitudes about religion and its practitioners had offended her, and I took it to heart. Mostly because it was so totally untrue (I knew for a fact she was the farthest thing from stupid), but also because it was, at the same time, completely and utterly true. Some part of me, somewhere, did think she was dumb for believing in God. Or maybe that she was just willingly ignoring the obvious facts. And her comment forced me to face down and examine that part of me. So since then I’ve made a very conscious effort to respect people not only for their right to freedom of religion, but for their personal convictions of faith. I may not understand it, but I have to respect it.

So…long-winded way of saying “please don’t hate me”, but the plain fact is, I am not a religious person, so working in a religious school has been a struggle, regardless of the religion. But there are other factors involved, too. My new job is with the public school board, which is definitely the jewel in the crown when it comes to teaching positions. The reasons are many, but here are a few:

• they pay better (a LOT better), 
• the benefits rock, 
• the pension is excellent, 
• funding, technology and resources are (usually) more ample (certainly in the case of my school they are),
• professional development opportunities are far better

This new job, unlike my current mat leave assignment, is a regular position, which means that although I have a probationary contract, it’s not a temporary contract and unless something goes horribly wrong this year, then next year I will have a continuing contract, which is what every teacher is ultimately shooting for, because then the job security factor starts to kick in. Also, the new school is much, much closer to my home, and will cut my commute in half. The day also starts a full hour later than at my current school, which brings the possibility of a reasonable waking hour back into the lives of my daughters. Also: the new job is in elementary (my specialty and preference) and French (my other specialty and love!)

So, yeah, I accepted the new position and yesterday I gave my notice at the Islamic school. And although I’m looking forward to my new position with more eager anticipation than anything since the births of my children, I will miss two things very much. The kids and the other teachers. 

The prayers? Not so much.