Decisions

I found out today that my school has posted an opening for a .75 Special Needs teacher. I was really excited to see this because one of the women who works in special services had talked to me about the possibility, but then nothing came of it. They want to hire someone to start the position in mid October. I talked with that same woman today to get a little more information about the position and I am excited and torn at the same time.

Special education at this school is quite different than the systems I was trained on in the U.S. They don't use IEP's and there is not an emphasis on paperwork, rather they just try to make it work for the kids who are struggling. There are no students with severe disabilities, mostly students with learning disabilities or speech and language disabilities. Their program currently has two teachers that either push in or pull students out of the classroom to help them with their work and they need another person to help manage the schedule and caseload they are working with.

The first aspect that made me cringe just a little is that the position they are hiring for will work with all grade levels including middle school and high school. I am not opposed to working with these different age groups, but I don't have much experience with those students either. The real clincher was when she showed me the schedule they are working with and several of the classes they push in for are H.S. Physics. Yikes, not a class I would ever like to revisit! She said I had no need to worry about my own skill level in the various subjects because they both learn along with the kids and often take the textbooks home to "study" the material. I think this position would be a cool, new challenge, but I am not really sure I want to have to study to keep up with the kids I am supposed to be helping.

I already applied for the first grade maternity leave, but there is a chance I won't get that because there were several applicants. This is definitely an example fit for the phrase, "Beggars can't be choosers" because this is a teaching position, not an assistant position, and it would mean more hours and more pay. Not sure the details on those two aspects, but definitely more of both. I guess I know in my heart it would be silly not to apply. If I got this position, I would learn a lot and it would be a great challenge. I guess I am almost torn about which position I would want more. I don't really know the answer to that. I love first grade, and that position means working full time which I would really like. The SPED position, is more of a specialist position, which means working 1:1 and with small groups which definitely has its advantages, but it is not full time which means less money. Have I mentioned that about 45% of your salary goes to taxes? I am currently in a "mini job" so I make so little that I avoid taxes, but the high tax rate is definitely something to consider, especially when accepting a position that is not full time, yet still taxed. I might not even get to take home a lot more money than I am currently!

I have always hesitated at the thought of becoming a Learning Specialist in the U.S. because of all the paperwork and legal issues, however this is a golden opportunity to put my master's degree to work in a completely different special education environment. I think my strategy is going to be to apply for the second opening and then rely on fate to determine which one I get. I sure hope they would want me for at least one of the two. If, by some great fortune, they think I would be great at both, they can fight it out and make the tough choice for me! And if, for some reason, I don't get either, I will continue being the 3rd Grade Teaching Assistant which I love doing. I guess it's a win-win, I just like things to be easy and settled rather than up in the air!