After 2 Weeks, This is How I Feel

I recently transferred to work at a different school, as described here. I hinted that I would be describing, in depth, all the pros of this change. I literally sat down 2 nights ago and wrote down numbered simplified points of all the pros I could think of, and guess how many I came up with? 50! That's pretty awesome. I'm going to describe them as far as my patience can go at the moment.

The drive is shorter in time and distance, relatively traffic free, and mostly stress free. This is such a simple fact, but it proves that my situation before was the opposite. The drive before, was actually very stressful. The current drive is also always when the sun is up, which makes me a happy driver. I hate driving in the morning when it is still dark out, in fact I hate being awake when it's still dark out. I work 30 minutes extra each day than whilst at my previous school, this means my paycheck will be slightly increased. Thus I arrive to work roughly 40 minutes before the students arrive, giving us time to prepare work and the classroom for the day. This also contributes to my morning drive being less stressful, because even if I get there a little late, it's no big deal because the students aren't even there. The location is also not even a mile from my cousin's house, where I work for one of my additional jobs. This overall cuts down on driving mileage. Woo! Plus I always get a decent parking spot, and never have to walk 5-10 minutes just to get to my car. Tied in with the decreased stress of the morning drive, I also sleep in a little, and get ready with little to no stress and not rushed. All further adding to a less stressful start of the day!

An obvious evidence of my lack of stress is that my stomach hurts less, I don't have as many IBS flare ups. My body, overall is less sore and less painful. This is both due to less physical exertion and oddity [some tasks I was doing before required odd and repetitive positioning], and due to decreased stress. I literally feel less stressed as well, and becoming less antisocial in my personal/social life.

I feel quite comfortable at the school, I've only been there for a total of 2 weeks but already feel a part of it. I transitioned quickly but well and feel very proud of that. I love that the school is small and diverse. People seem to judge me less and just let me be. This wasn't entirely an issue at my previous school, but I just didn't ever feel totally comfortable. Other employees say hi and make sure I'm doing okay since I'm new. It is overall more homey and I find comfort in it because the diversity [basically more ethnic children and families not in the higher tax bracket] is exactly what I had in school growing up. I feel I can relate to it more. I also can't get totally attached to this school because next school year, all the special education classes will be moving to a different school. I'm fine with the move, so long as it goes as expected. The pro to that is the next school will be even a little more closer to me!

Before I get to more pros, I want to explain my new position a little more. Before I was just a paraprofessional/paraeducator [para for short] to an entire self-contained classroom called Life Skills at a middle school. Now I'm a para in an elementary autism classroom, but my duties really only involve two particular students that are mainstreamed into regular education classes for more than half the day. So basically I'm like an aide to the two kids and mostly work with them in behavioral and academics. Thus these kids are higher functioning, more independent, but still young [only first grade!].

Due to the independence of these kids, I hardly have to do bathroom duties, in fact it is rare. And this is such a thrill for me. It's work I didn't mind doing, but the fact of the matter this seemed to be something I was constantly left to do at my last school. This was one of the start of my frustration and fury. So now, I won't have any more bathroom and poop jokes/stories, but oh well. There is not a whole lot of free time, which is good because if the kids stay busy they act up less, don't go stir crazy as much, which is good for me. Which then makes me busy all the time which is a real big change in pace. My previous position, while very stressful at certain times of the day, would be overall very boring and not stimulating for me. Not only am I constantly busy, but I am working with them on their academics. This is very stimulating for me, while it may be first grade level, I still have to sit down and break it down for the kids and keep them focused. It's a lot of juggling, and often the regular ed kids want my help too. Just the fact that I'm really only in charge of two kids is pretty sweet two. But do not assume that it is easy, nope. All of this is pretty cool because it is an entirely new experience for me. Which is an explanation I give to most people on why I changed schools, so I don't have to full out say that my old coworkers pissed me off. But essentially, seeking different experiences isn't a lie either. I have always been curious about different age groups and condition types with in the field of special education. So all this is a cool learning experience for me. I'm also happy that my students are more independent in some ways that my previous students were not. This means less interference on my part, but still leaves for other tasks that weren't required of me before. I love that there is more structure, I was in definitely need and desire for it in my work. When kids get bored, I get bored too, I prefer to be stimulated in work, and here I found it. Also, getting kids off and on the bus is so much more simple than at my previous school, which is a definitely plus.

Here's some little things that relate to me personally, and not necessarily the students. I snack less during the day, which is better for my weight and self control. Because my last position was in a self contained room, we mostly stayed there all day. Within our classroom there was a pantry and a fridge, where we had snacks or even brought our own. Boredom usually leads to hunger and since I had access to the food, I ate it. With my new students I'm out in different classrooms away from a fridge or any food really. This leads me to only eat when it's my lunch break. Lunch break! Oh sweet glory, I have it duty free and away from everyone! Before I would take my lunch just outside the classroom or in our second classroom [we had two connected rooms], but it became a big issue because students were always left unattended in there. Which essentially meant that I was the only one watching them, even if I had clocked out and was eating my lunch. This was something that pissed me off a lot. Eventually when the weather permit it I ate outside on a nice bench directly outside the classroom. From there kids would sometimes hangout or run outside, still unattended. I sometimes left campus completely but there was nothing close enough to really enjoy my lunch break. I also didn't want to eat in the teachers lounge because it's usually packed with people and is really awkward for me. So there, was a shitty frustrating situation. But not anymore! My students are taken care of by the teacher and other paras while I go do whatever I want for a half hour. I usually eat in the teachers lounge because there's usually no one in it. This was such a thrill to me. Furthermore, the staff bathrooms are away from the kids and located in more private areas so it's never uncomfortable to use it. Another thing is I don't have to wash my hands very often. Yes I still do, of course. But my last position involved a lot of direct contact with the kids, which usually includes any type of bodily fluids [such as drool, tears, boogers, blood, urine, poop, etc.] which required me to wash and sanitize my hands nearly every other minute [don't worry, we were gloves too]. My hands got so dry from that. Now because my students are more independent, I don't have to be so hands on with them. Another thing is due to the constant busyness and and stimulation, I am just exhausted at night. But in a good way, just tired and ready to go to sleep even if it's earlier than I usually would go to sleep. I was actually sick for my first two weeks there, so I'm not totally sure how true this is, but the fact that I was ready to go to bed 9-10pm is pretty good [rather than have stress and dread of the next work day keep me up].

Finally, let's get to the other workers in my main classroom. There is my teacher, let's call her M, and two other paras. While I don't spend as much time in the main classroom, I still see them for at least 2 hours a day. I could dedicate an entire post about how awesome the teacher is, but I just really won't get that into it. M is incredibly kind, determined, considerate, caring, intelligent, and spunky. She is very accommodating about my hearing, and always makes sure I'm doing alright. M is a wonderful teacher because she is open to trying anything to help a student progress, it's really incredible just hearing her speak of children. She's really passionate about what she does and I admire that. She is very helpful to me, is open to suggestions, and is right by my side when I need help, even if I am across the campus. Next, the paras are great too. They, are also, accommodating to my hearing and make sure I can hear them and ask questions about what works for me. This simple care to my hearing is a big deal, no matter how big or small they try. This is a key thing I notice in individuals on a daily basis, and is important to me. The [bad] teacher that I was possibly going to work for, did not show a single care or put a single effort to make sure I could hear her, and guess what? I couldn't hear shit. I can tell that the paras are very hard working and very good at what they do. I more I get to know them, the more I am impressed with how well they know their students and how to handle certain situations. They have been incredibly resourceful to me, along with the teacher. And the great thing is, I'm not responsible for them! My previous paras weren't the take-charge type, whereas I am, resulting in me leading them for pay that is actually less than theirs'! Because I am out on my own with my 2 students, I'm not really relying, so to speak, on the other paras. Thus, I am solely responsible for my happiness and anger. It is nice because no one really worries about me or watches me, so far I haven't even been frustrated with a coworker. My frustrations only really come from the students, which is totally normal in dealing with children. I get good vibes from my coworkers, they care and they can take care of themselves. I have a great deal of confidence in the adults in my classroom. The paras are straight forward with me, they don't socialize too much, they are kind but still mean business. Fortunately, we are all on the same page/team and understand when a student is acting out on his/her own, and know not to point fingers to each other and all agree silently on how to deal with the student. This is vital. Finally, for my last pro, one of the paras and the teacher both have worked with my cousin's autistic sons [that I watch for one of my other jobs], and they love them!

I apologize for the length and possible dry/tediousness of this, but for me it is vital to document for future reference.