In the past two years of teaching, I've continually stated that I love the teaching but hate the grading. This semester, I'm teaching lab, and the whining has gotten bad. Since there are only 200 points in the whole class, my students are obsessing over every single point I take off their grade (going to be a real treat when I give them participation points, I'm sure, as not everyone will get a perfect grade for their participation in class).
In applying to jobs recently, I've diversified my focus and applied to quite a number of positions. Some involved teaching, but a good many went in other directions. Maybe it's my experience, or maybe it is a message from the universe, but the only interviews I received were for teaching positions. I've had several interviews in the past couple of weeks.
Therefore, it is with great delight that I announce that I have completed #71 on my 101 things list; at least, this is completed for the next year. I actually received two jobs in the past week, and the jobs dovetail nicely.
For the summer, I'll be teaching canoeing, kayaking, and environmental education at a local canoe livery and day camp. As a side benefit, I get free boat rentals, so I've got to start hitting the river sometime soon. I was hired for my environmental knowledge, so I am already starting to do some reading so that I can put together activities that educate the kids while we're having fun. This job goes right up until Labor Day weekend. Over Labor Day weekend, I will be moving . . . to Minnesota.
I realize this is in the opposite direction I intended (I was hoping to move to the DC area or somewhere on the east coast in order to be closer to family and friends), but the job is too awesome to pass up, and the area looks lovely. I'll be working as an naturalist educator intern for a nature center south of the Twin cities. It's a 9 month position, so I will have to look for a job for next summer (maybe that's my chance for east coastish?), but it will allow me to try out the job and build the necessary experience to continue forward.
As I said above, I've always loved teaching, and it is super important to educate everyone about science. If we can bring that education in with other fun activities, like exploring ponds or outdoor sports, so much the better. I hesitate to overthink, but it might be fun to work at an aquarium or zoo someday in the education outreach department. For now, I'm taking this one step at a time, and I'm glad that I've got this one item crossed off the list. Definitely a weight off my mind and an exciting opportunity for learning.