Thread: You ever just want to walk out?

You ever just want to walk out?

Doesn't everybody at some point? Every once in awhile, I find one of my colleagues standing/sitting outside their classroom, their eyes trapped dead ahead in a 1000-yard gaze. I think I've done it once. (It was years ago.) We all have bad days. And sometimes a certain number of commitments is too many. Slow down a bit- it will get done.

I got to school very early this morning. Found out that there was a gas leak of some kind, so a hot meal was off limits while someone went to the big city to get the needed part.

I was walking through our cafeteria with my first cup of coffee, and I was a bat lying on the floor. 8O Got the custodian and he took care of that dead thing. We were wondering if the day was worth being held at school. Guess it was.

Hang in there, Bitsy. It will get better.

I understand.

A couple of times per year I just want to get my stuff, walk out the door, and never look back. Then I cool off and figure that it's probably worse somewhere else, and I'll just try again the next day.

That's also why I keep a stash of dark chocolate, dill pickles, and cheez-it's in my classroom. (Those are all of my "stress eats".)

You ever just want to walk out?

Why do you think I haven't taught five years? I needed time away from education to clear my head. Now that I've had a chance to refresh myself, I'm ready to head back into the field for the 2007-08 school year.

Ok, David, how about switching places tonight

Today has GOT to be better. Right? I mean, how much worse can it get?

Originally Posted by Bitsy Griffin

Ok, David, how about switching places tonight

I wish I could. Actually, I may be closing the inn and leaving for Alaska in a month instead of next summer.

A school district has been looking for a third grade teacher to work in a remote village. After giving it some thought, I decided to apply for this job. I already have a tentative deal with a local seminary to sell the inn ... and I'm reasonably sure that the seminary would be willing to store my personal possessions and take care of my cats untilt he following summer in exchange for immediate rent free occupancy before we actually close on the sale.

The single biggest hitch is the fact that I'm not certified in Alaska but since I will need time to close the inn and purchase appropriate clothing and other supplies, I could just as easily apply for certification now - with the understanding that the job would be contingent upon having certification.

Since I was planning to move to Alaska for the following year, I've already done a fair amount of research about this general area. Groceries are horribly expensive ... $7 for a gallon of milk or a box of cereal, $4 for a loaf of bread, $10.50 a lb. for New York strip steak.

I found an on-line grocery store, Span Sales Alaska that, that will sell groceries in bulk for delivery to the rural bush. One of my favorite on-line vendors, Eurogrocer, purveyor of gourmet foods and game meats, told me that they'll also deliver to the rural bush. Purchase orders of $250 get free delivery just as in the lower 48, so instead of paying $10.50 a pound for New York strip steak, I could pay slightly less (with free delivery) for buffalo burgers, $7.99/lb. for Wagyu (Kobe) ground beef, $4.30/lb. for duck legs, $3.99 for organic chicken, $7.7 for rabbit etc.

Bulk order purchases from Span Sales would also give me a better price ... assuming of course that I have anyplace to store this meat.

The village itself is pretty rustic. The locals have a subsistence hunter/gatherer economy. They typically hunt moose with an average weight of about 800 lb.

Most of the houses do not have flush toilets. Residents use chamber pots which have to be emptied in the local sewer. Heating is via kerosene fuel oil, though some houses still have iron stoves.

There are no roads leading into the area. All supplies are delivered via bush pilots.

If I get this job, I'll be arriving just in time for the Alaskan winter. That should be cool ... and yes, that was a pun.



I don't actually expect to get this job. After all, I'm in Pennsyvlania. Surely they'll be able to find a certified teacher in Alaska?

We'll see ...

Should you get the job, let me recommend the following:
1) Model 77 Ruger rifle, caliber .338 Winchester- it can handle large animals
1) Model 1894 Marlin rifle, caliber .30-30 Winchester- ammunition for this gun is cheap, and it does the job on medium sized animals up to 150 yards
1) a large handgun, caliber .357 Magnum or .44 Magnum- I'd say revolver because it doesn't sieze up in cold weather
1) a .22 handgun or rifle to dispatch sundry tasks unworthy of the aforementioned firearms.

Sounds like a large outlay, but you'll save a bundle eating the local fauna- the guns will pay for themselves.

Every teacher feels this way on occasion, I think. It's built into the career, especially when you feel helpless in the schedule they've handed you, the one group of students who know how to push your buttons just right or the parent whose main goal in life is to hound you to death. Take a deep breath, and remember you can get through anything until the end of the semester or school year. Things change quickly in education. Next week there will be something that happens that makes you love the day you became a teacher.