Sunday, June 10, 2012

Weekly Wrap-up for June 10, 2012: Only One More Week.

Well, this is it. My last week of school in my current placement. And while I am excited for summer to be here, I am apprehensive about what this summer will bring. Each summer marks the beginning of a new hiring season. It is still super competitive and all summer I will have that gnawing feeling in the back of my mind-"Will I get a permanent job this year?" I don't have an answer to that question, but I hope that I have a positive answer by the end of the summer.

And a very big part of me is sad to be sending my students on to someone else. Because even though I am just a long-term sub, I care about those kids. I hope they'll do well in the future, and do the great things I know they are capable of doing.

So, this week marks the end of insanity. I'll be working only one job come Saturday. I'll have two days off a week (what AM I going to do with all that free time? Read!). It will be an interesting change. I am looking forward to the lack of grading though. ;)

In other news, the Victorian event is going along swimmingly. There has been such a great response to it, much like the Shakespeare event in January, that I am already thinking of a new event for the late fall (I'm thinking turn of the 20th century-authors like James, Wharton, Faulkner, Woolf), but we'll have to see. Planning these and keeping up with them is a lot of work. But I enjoy the community aspect so much. I love sharing pieces of what I love with those who want to know. In many ways, I see this blog as another form of teaching. But that best part of teaching-the discussion, the community, and the sharing of knowledge.

Anyway, the event is going well. My own reading for the event isn't stellar. I'm trying to finish a few other reading obligations this week so I can fully emerge myself in Victorians for the rest of June and all of July, so you'll have to wait another week to see more from me (I really need to finish Catch-22 today, as well as some of the other things lingering-Warbreaker, Oedipus Rex, and A Passage to India). I may just milk the last two, but the other two I want to finish. I know that some people can do amazingly well in having a million books in progress. Me? It just stresses me out. ;)

But I have done a lot of reading this week. I flew through a big chunk of Catch-22 the other night. I also read all of In the Path of Falling Objects by Andrew Smith for the big readalong extravaganza. There was also a big chunk of time yesterday that I got absorbed in Warbreaker. I only have a little bit left, so I should be able to finish it today (see? Now my obligations up there don't seem so bad). I've also dabbled in Nicholas Nickleby a bit, but I've been having a hard time getting back into it. I think I need to sit down on my first day off next week and just fly through the rest. ;)

Well, I have to head in to the park for a few hours. If you're a participant in the Victorian event, enter to win the copy of Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy!

Happy Reading everyone!

16 comments:

  1. Hope you get some relaxation in the summer alongside job-hunting and get to read some great books :)

    It always fascinates me how different the US school calendar is to ours in the UK. I've had this week off but have another 6 to go until we break for summer on July 20th. Our hiring season runs Easter - end of May, luckily I have a permanent position so haven't had that additional stress.

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    1. Lucky you! I wouldn't mind going year-round....there are some districts in the area that are moving that direction, but my district doesn't seem to want to make the switch!

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  2. Good luck with your summer and remember that everything will be OK eventually!

    Happy reading, Allie and thanks so much for this Victorian Celebration :)

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    1. Thanks for the encouragement!

      And you're welcome. I really love these kinds of events, and I love hosting! :)

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  3. I hope things get a bit easier on you once you're only working one job! :)

    So...I *was* going to enter the Hardy competition, because that's one I don't own, but I *do* have it downloaded onto my ipad, so I decided to let someone else have. :)

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    1. Lol. You can still enter you know!

      I can't wait to only be working at the park. Two days off a week! What a miraculous thing! ;)

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  4. An event dedicated to the 20th century authors? Sounds amazing, please make the plan reality!

    I wish school would finally finish here too, but we have another 4 weeks to go... I can't wait for summer :)
    I'm also having troubles handling several books at the same time. Up to 3 it's going okay, but currently I'm trying to read 5 and failing miserably. It's really time for summer break!

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    1. I think I'm going to have it planned for October/November. We'll see though. :)

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  5. Have a good last week of school, Allie! I'm really sorry you're about to enter another summer of feeling unsettled about your teaching position, but hopefully books will be a comfort. x

    I haven't entered your giveaways only because I already own the books offered. (Which makes me excited! I must finally be building a library!) Thanks for hosting!!

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    1. Books are always a comfort. :) I feel a lot more positive about things this summer. Matt landed a new (fabulous) job, so it gets rid of a lot of my stress (I've been the main breadwinner for the entire time we've been married). I'm optimistic that I'll be in my own classroom this fall. :)

      Yay for your library! I've been trying to mix up the titles-but a few are books that are more popular than others, and I have a prize pack of used titles from someone who donated to the event. It's been marvelous. And I've been amazed by the response! Now I just need to get reading!

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  6. "I'm thinking turn of the 20th century-authors like James, Wharton, Faulkner, Woolf" <---That would be perfect! Headed back to school this fall and one of my first courses is a seminar in 20th C. American Lit. ZING!

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    1. Awesome! Like we discussed briefly on twitter, I'll probably set it up for October/November. Especially now that I have events in August and September to look forward to. ;)

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  7. Oh man, The Lost Generation would be fantastic! Huge, huge fan of Faulkner and Woolf here.

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    1. Oh me too! I'm thinking of October/November, but obviously more details will come up soon!

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  8. Eek, I still haven't started any Victorians! This week, I promise!

    Good luck with your final week of school. I'm sure it will be nice to settle into just one job, but I understand the frustration of not knowing what the future holds. Fingers crossed that this is the year for a permanent job!

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    1. Thanks Amanda! I'm pretty optimistic this year, so we'll see what happens. :)

      I made myself sit down and read a short novella (The Lifted Veil by George Eliot), just so I had a start in the Victorian era. I feel much better now!

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