A change of course?

My department head took me aside the other day.

She'd been talking to the principal, and they thought I was the best person to take over the Senior English class - the current teacher is retiring. The course is a college prep one, and they want more of a writing focus to better prepare the students.

But there's another reason.

Next year's senior class includes a number of students with motivation and behavior issues. The administration wants a teacher that can handle them, and I've successfully taught some of them before. The only other teacher qualified to teach the course has had many of them this year, and had problems. The principal suggested that other teacher would "burst a blood vessel" if she had to deal with them again.

It makes sense not to have the same teacher two years in a row anyway.

So looks like I will take over the three sections of that class.

Doing so means I have to give up my writer's workshop, one of my favorite classes. And my sophomore literature class - one that's just getting the way I want it.

The other issue is that the current senior teacher has created a unique course - one the powers that be would like to see changed, but they don't want to talk about making those changes while the retiring teacher is still there out of sensitivity to her. And the summer reading lists and curriculum have already been announced, making it difficult for me to make major changes for next year. The department head and I are already considering a supplementary non-fiction text that I'll gradually phase in. But all of this has been talked about behind the scenes and nothing officially has been announced. Consequently, I can't do anything officially yet, or openly talk about the new book.

What that means is that if I do teach that class, which seems likely at this point, it will have to be based on the books already announced. I haven't read most of them, and one that I'm familiar with is one I don't really like or particularly want to teach.

Ah well. I'm stuck for now.

Guess I'll have a lot of reading and preparation to do this summer.

Barring any further changes, I'll be teaching two sections of AP Language and Composition, and three of Senior English.

A challenge, yes, but also a compliment: They want me for those classes.

And I'm lucky to have a job at a school I love.

But before I get to that reading, I have piles of papers to finish for this year.

Get to it, teach!

Pax et bonum