Today I found just enough space in my schedule to escape from my usual administrative responsibilities and projects to teach math. I am awesomely good at teaching math. Back when I was just starting out as an administrative intern and had more flexibility, I would often sneak into math classrooms with substitute teachers, and just take over the class. My reward is always the same--the disoriented look on kids faces when they realize (for the first time since forever) that they too can understand math. I love that look.
This morning I asked one of my math teacher friends to give me ten of his most clueless students. We all trooped over to an available portable, and went step-by-step through the questions on a worksheet. In a situation like this, I look and sound more like a basketball coach running drills on the full-court press. Contrary to all that is nouveau in educational research, my style is very teacher-centered. And instead of taking a holistic approach, I execute upon a strategy that is focused like a laser on the steps at hand. By the end of the hour the kids were so proud of themselves.
True story: at the end of last school year, I talked to my principal and asked if I could be a math teacher. (I had been a special educator all my career.) She shook her head and replied, "No school would want to hire you because you're not 'highly qualified' to teach math," referring to state licensing requirements. I wasn't willing to spend what little money my family had on taking coursework on a topic that I was already a self-made expert on. Over months, one thought led to another, and here I am now on a course to a principalship.
The irony is that if it weren't for some inane, bureaucratic state regulations, my teaching career would have entered a whole new second life. But no worries, once I become a principal, I'll be able to sneak into any math class I please.
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