The Bait and Switch

Maybe I shouldn't jump to conclusions. The whole purpose of this blog is to document my experience as a (mostly) first time teacher. I'm entering this school year with the assumption that it will be tough, that my students will present many different challenges, and that my efforts to adjust to this new setting will exciting enough to write about on a regular basis. Maybe I'll be wrong. Maybe it won't be hard to adjust. Maybe my high school students will all love me and will behave and study hard in order to make me happy. Maybe this year won't be a challenge. Maybe.

Here is a summary of the events leading up to this school year. After receiving my B.A. in History and my M.Ed. in secondary social studies education, I found myself in the all-too-common state of unemployment. I began substitute teaching in DeKalb County, Georgia, hoping to be first in line if a high school social studies position opened up in the middle of the year.

After many frustrating months, with no ideas as to where to find a real teaching job, I began praying that the Lord would just drop something into my lap. Last March I was subbing at Dunwoody High School when the Assistant Principal informed me that the school was suddenly in need of a social studies teacher. Within 2 days I was a full-time, real, live high school teacher. The experience of starting my first teaching job with only 9 weeks left in the school year is a whole different story, but the important thing is that I was finally employed.

I made it through those 9 weeks, signed a contract with the county for the 2009-2010 school year, was told that I would be returning to Dunwoody in the Fall, packed up my school supplies, and went home to enjoy my first summer as a teacher. Dunwoody is consistently cited as one of the best schools in DeKalb County. It is closer to the suburbs than most of the other schools, and is in a nice, well-kept part of town. It has a very even mix of students and faculty members, and is only 4 miles from my house. Some might call it ideal.

With only 3 days left until I was supposed to report to Dunwoody to begin pre planning, I received a short email from the DeKalb Human Resources. "Miriam Camp, teacher at Dunwoody High School, is reassigned to Avondale High School. Please make the necessary adjustments in the system." And with that, I was transferred from one of the best schools to one of the worst. If you aren't from Atlanta, this may not mean much, but Avondale High School is off of Memorial Drive in Southeast Atlanta- very near a prison and a MARTA station. It is a failing school, which means that many students in that district who can afford transportation have transferred to other schools.

From what I can tell, this is a very different sort of situation from my brief time teaching in North Atlanta. I'm not quite sure how I feel about it yet, but I'll be there bright and early on Monday. I was angry at first, but am beginning to see this as an opportunity. Maybe I can make a difference. Maybe some of those students need me to care about them. Maybe this is a ministry. Maybe.