A Year in Review; Jobless No More!

This has been a restful, satisfying failure of a year. After a lifetime of deadlines and schoolwork, I was glad to finally have a break and to work a job that didn't come home with me. For this first time, my time was my own, which was good considering I was also adjusting to married life. As my first year of marriage, it was (almost) everything I could have asked for. Sara and I have walked deeper into the foolish belief that two independent people with habits and modes of living formed over decades could live peaceably together, and perhaps even love each other, and found that it might even be possible. We have had a sufficient amount of leisure to enjoy each other's company, and have been comforted to see conflict come less and less often in our relationship.

And yet in some ways this year has felt like a failure. Not one that I regret, but a failure none the less. I have enjoyed tutoring to a certain degree. Working with some students over time and watching their successes, such as getting into grad school with the personal statement we worked on or simply just improving their written English, was gratifying. But it wasn't teaching. It was a year on hold. An extremely non-lucrative year on hold.

And then my life course altered drastically and suddenly. I thought that I was going to be employed by the tutoring center over the summer, only to be informed three days prior to the end of the semester that I wouldn't be. That, coupled with our growing student loan debt, prompted me to action. I had planned on applying to teaching jobs in the area, but there hadn't really been any openings in all of northwest Arkansas, so we decided that it was time to expand our search. One area that we had considered moving to was around Lexington, Kentucky, since it was a pretty area and because it was where some close friends lived. I found out that there was a job fair specifically for teachers near Lexington that week, so we drove up there and found that Kentucky wasn't really a viable option. Since I'm not certified to teach, I have to go into a non-traditional licensure program wherever I want to teach. The options in KY all cost in the ten to twenty thousand dollar range, whereas the option here in Arkansas cost $2,400. So, it took travelling to Kentucky to find out that I needed to stay in my home state. Also, it wasn't until we discussed moving to KY that we realized that we could move since Sara has one more year left in her MFA, but she can finish her last year anywhere (she's mostly just working on her thesis, which is a manuscript length compilation of poetry).

So the past three weeks we have been travelling all over the state for interviews. The first place we visited, which was in Humphrey, was, well, sort of pathetic looking. It was in a shoddy little building with a hand-painted sign, surrounded by the ugly flatlands of the Arkansas delta. Inside it was nicer, and there were exciting aspects of the school, such as the fact that every student has a laptop, but ultimately it wasn't for us. It was a charter school of only 40 students, so the position didn't feel very secure, but mainly the issue was that we didn't think we could live in the delta. I believe that everyplace needs good teachers, and I feel drawn to serving the underserved, but the brown flatness of it depressed us.

We had some other failures, most notably not receiving a job offer that I thought for sure I was going to get from Pulaski Academy, which is one of the nicest schools in the state, but ultimately we found a school that we both felt good about. I received several job offers, but I decided to go with the one from Harmony Grove High School, which is just outside of Camden. The reason I went with this school is threefold. First, I really liked the principal, superintendent, and teachers that I met. They were really enthusiastic about me coming there and it seemed like a good teaching environment. Secondly, I will get to teach the age range that I prefer, 10th through 12th graders (and probably an AP course). At a lot of the other schools I looked at I would have been teaching 8th and 9th graders instead. Lastly, Camden and the surrounding area seem pretty liveable. Sara and I are travelling down there next week to finalize the details, sign the contract, and find a place to live. Exciting!

Getting the job is still punctuated by sadness, though. We both really love Fayetteville, so it will be hard to move. We love being close to family and the friends we have made over the years, as well as being a part of our church, Vintage Fellowship. It seems somewhat like a miracle that there is a group of Christians that share our sensibilities and, frankly, don't scare us. So we are going to Camden with a mixture of apprehension and excitement, which I suppose is true for every move. I am optimistic about living in Camden, but I hope to find a job in this area and move back after a few years.

So, who am I and what am I doing? I am a teacher. I am moving to Camden, Arkansas.