Introspective babbling and worry...
Jan. 17th, 2008 09:45 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
candylandAll righty, here we go...
I've been thinking a lot about this coming summer. I know I need to get a part-time job. Fact is that I really can't afford not to. I'm planning to apply at the usual places like Hy-Vee, Target, Wal-Mart, etc. Nothing fancy, but eh, it's a paycheck.
I did some figuring--the minimum wage in Iowa jumped to $7.25 as of the first of this year. If I can swing twenty hours a week somewhere at minimum wage, that's about enough to cover my student loan payments for the summer, PLUS almost one month's rent (this is before taxes, so it might be a little off). And I'd still be getting paid from the school--they take our yearly salary and divide it by twenty-six.
So in short, twenty hours a week would equal probably around an extra sixteen hundred dollars in my pocket. Sixteen hundred dollars I can save to put towards other things, or use to put a little extra towards my loans. Twenty-five hours would be even better.
*siiiiiigh* I really am not fond of the idea of going back to the part-time world--that's why I went to college and everything--but I realize it's a necessity. And it'll get me out of the apartment, as opposed to me sitting here doing nothing. Although as someone pointed out, I'd have a lot more time to write. This is true ^^;;
...to be honest, I'm having nightmares about getting to the end of this school year and being told that I suck so bad they're not going to renew my contract--in other words, that I'll be fired. There are no words to describe how much that idea scares me.
See, everyone tells me that it's perfectly acceptable and normal for new teachers to make mistakes. I've accepted that, and I have made some mistakes already--nothing too major as of right now that I'm aware of. But...I find myself wondering if the number of mistakes I'm making is disproportional to what most new teachers make.
The way things work in Iowa, to get my permanent teaching license I have to teach for two years (or three if advised as such by my administration), and then present a portfolio based around the eight teaching standards and all those lovely benchmarks--have a feeling I'll be really sick of those by the time that's done. This portfolio is supposed to contain an artifact for each benchmark to demonstrate that I have met it.
So ideally, I'd stay at this job for at LEAST the two years needed to get my full license. Which is another reason why the idea of them going "You suck, GTFO!" at the end of this year has me waking up in a cold sweat.
...maybe I should go ask my mentor tomorrow, just for reassurance ~_~;; He's really awesome--especially when the first concert was coming up. He promised me that yes, it is perfectly normal to feel like you're a disaster on legs. Good guy, good guy ^_^
I've been thinking a lot about this coming summer. I know I need to get a part-time job. Fact is that I really can't afford not to. I'm planning to apply at the usual places like Hy-Vee, Target, Wal-Mart, etc. Nothing fancy, but eh, it's a paycheck.
I did some figuring--the minimum wage in Iowa jumped to $7.25 as of the first of this year. If I can swing twenty hours a week somewhere at minimum wage, that's about enough to cover my student loan payments for the summer, PLUS almost one month's rent (this is before taxes, so it might be a little off). And I'd still be getting paid from the school--they take our yearly salary and divide it by twenty-six.
So in short, twenty hours a week would equal probably around an extra sixteen hundred dollars in my pocket. Sixteen hundred dollars I can save to put towards other things, or use to put a little extra towards my loans. Twenty-five hours would be even better.
*siiiiiigh* I really am not fond of the idea of going back to the part-time world--that's why I went to college and everything--but I realize it's a necessity. And it'll get me out of the apartment, as opposed to me sitting here doing nothing. Although as someone pointed out, I'd have a lot more time to write. This is true ^^;;
...to be honest, I'm having nightmares about getting to the end of this school year and being told that I suck so bad they're not going to renew my contract--in other words, that I'll be fired. There are no words to describe how much that idea scares me.
See, everyone tells me that it's perfectly acceptable and normal for new teachers to make mistakes. I've accepted that, and I have made some mistakes already--nothing too major as of right now that I'm aware of. But...I find myself wondering if the number of mistakes I'm making is disproportional to what most new teachers make.
The way things work in Iowa, to get my permanent teaching license I have to teach for two years (or three if advised as such by my administration), and then present a portfolio based around the eight teaching standards and all those lovely benchmarks--have a feeling I'll be really sick of those by the time that's done. This portfolio is supposed to contain an artifact for each benchmark to demonstrate that I have met it.
So ideally, I'd stay at this job for at LEAST the two years needed to get my full license. Which is another reason why the idea of them going "You suck, GTFO!" at the end of this year has me waking up in a cold sweat.
...maybe I should go ask my mentor tomorrow, just for reassurance ~_~;; He's really awesome--especially when the first concert was coming up. He promised me that yes, it is perfectly normal to feel like you're a disaster on legs. Good guy, good guy ^_^