Today I was offered a position at Treadwell Elementary School as an ESL teacher. Next school year I will take off the teal, black, silver, and white of the Pinon Eagles and don the Red, Black, and White of the Treadwell Eagles.
I am excited for this new experience. I have wanted to do more with my ESL certification for a long time. I love teaching History, Spanish, and Education Professions and I will miss my high school students. At the end of the day its the students that matter much more than the content that I teach them.
Here in Pinon I have taught in the High School and coached at the Middle School. Next school year as I start work at the Elementary School I will have worked with every level of student from K-12! I will have taught General Ed, Elective, and Career Technical courses along with a Support Subject. I will have literally done it all. I'm not done yet though. I am going to continue working in education with a large variety of students in a variety of subjects.
To adventure and new experiences!
Xander and Curtis
Our little men
Wednesday, April 29, 2015
Wednesday, April 22, 2015
Washington DC and Job Hunt
My student, JD Begay, qualified to compete in FEA at the National level. We are now waiting for our first flight out of Phoenix Sky Harbor. It is such a great opportunity to travel with this student and her mother as we go to our nation's capital!
It is also a very nice break for me. Since Pamela obtained her job I applied for over 100 jobs in and around Memphis. I finally got a bite with the Innovation Zone Schools in Shelby County. The "I Zone" schools should be a good opportunity for me. I have signed a letter of intent with them and I am now working on getting placed in one of the schools in that network for either an English as a Second Language Job or a Dual Language Immersion Job.
While I am excited to have a job I also don't have a job. It has been a major source of stress on the family. I spend a lot of my time checking emails and trying to make phone calls. I will still be doing this on the trip but it won't be as intense, I am here for my student and that is what matters on this trip.
For the Dual Language I will have to add new components to my teaching certificate. I will be looking into different methods of how to do this and talking to the state of Tennessee. We'll have to see what happens.
I am going to miss Pamela terribly on this trip. Tomorrow is our wedding anniversary. It does feel a little strange to be apart during this time of year, but our school board has a new policy that forbids spouses from chaperoning together. I am not sure why this policy is in place but it is what it is. It is nice that JD's mother was able to come.
I miss my little boys. Xander started pre-school last week and I have gotten to drop him off every morning. It has been a wonderful experience seeing him play in that colorful classroom and interact with the other children. Curtis enjoys getting his Grandma Jane and all of the toys to himself.
A complicated issue we have with Arizona and Navajo Nation is that Navajo Nation uses Daylight Savings Time and Arizona does not. Every time we go somewhere in Arizona our time changes. Not confusing at all right? So we have come to the airport very early. Oh well. It is not an issue that our family will have for much longer.
It is also a very nice break for me. Since Pamela obtained her job I applied for over 100 jobs in and around Memphis. I finally got a bite with the Innovation Zone Schools in Shelby County. The "I Zone" schools should be a good opportunity for me. I have signed a letter of intent with them and I am now working on getting placed in one of the schools in that network for either an English as a Second Language Job or a Dual Language Immersion Job.
While I am excited to have a job I also don't have a job. It has been a major source of stress on the family. I spend a lot of my time checking emails and trying to make phone calls. I will still be doing this on the trip but it won't be as intense, I am here for my student and that is what matters on this trip.
For the Dual Language I will have to add new components to my teaching certificate. I will be looking into different methods of how to do this and talking to the state of Tennessee. We'll have to see what happens.
I am going to miss Pamela terribly on this trip. Tomorrow is our wedding anniversary. It does feel a little strange to be apart during this time of year, but our school board has a new policy that forbids spouses from chaperoning together. I am not sure why this policy is in place but it is what it is. It is nice that JD's mother was able to come.
I miss my little boys. Xander started pre-school last week and I have gotten to drop him off every morning. It has been a wonderful experience seeing him play in that colorful classroom and interact with the other children. Curtis enjoys getting his Grandma Jane and all of the toys to himself.
A complicated issue we have with Arizona and Navajo Nation is that Navajo Nation uses Daylight Savings Time and Arizona does not. Every time we go somewhere in Arizona our time changes. Not confusing at all right? So we have come to the airport very early. Oh well. It is not an issue that our family will have for much longer.
Saturday, April 11, 2015
To Memphis we Go!
It is official the Maynard Family will soon be leaving our lovely Navajo Nation for the big city. My beautiful wife has signed a contract with Green Dot, a charter school organization. She will be a Dean of Students at Woodale Middle School, a school that the charter school is taking over. We will be moving as soon as her contract ends with Pinon. I am very excited for this new chapter in our lives.
I have been diligently job hunting. I have filled out over 50 applications and I have prepared to fill out several more. I have applied to nearby jobs in Tennessee, Mississippi, and Arkansas. I have also started packing up my classroom. It is very surreal in a way, leaving a place that has been such a major part of our family. My wife and I met and started our family here. This is perhaps the first place since Oregon that has truly felt like home.
Before we decided on Memphis I had filled out over 50 applications for jobs all over the country including North Carolina, Oregon, Texas (These jobs were close to where my brother Keith used to live), Utah, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Colorado, California, Washington, Maryland, Oklahoma, Missouri, Kansas, and Virginia. I was a finalist for a position in North Carolina that would have only have been about a half hour from my sister's house. I have since contacted them and told them that I can no longer pursue the opportunity. Their school district is about 11 hours from Memphis.
The Out Here in Pinon Blog has, in many ways, been an electronic journal to talk about my time here. Some years I have barely used it and other years I might have over used it. Soon I will sign off. Soon this page will be just a place to come and reminisce.
Who knows what I will do in Memphis? I could teach History, Spanish, or English as a Second Language. I could teach at the elementary or secondary level. My mother-in-law has hinted that I should go to Graduate School. No matter what happens one thing is clear, this moment is a cross roads in my life.
I am hopeful that I will here some good news soon.
I have been diligently job hunting. I have filled out over 50 applications and I have prepared to fill out several more. I have applied to nearby jobs in Tennessee, Mississippi, and Arkansas. I have also started packing up my classroom. It is very surreal in a way, leaving a place that has been such a major part of our family. My wife and I met and started our family here. This is perhaps the first place since Oregon that has truly felt like home.
Before we decided on Memphis I had filled out over 50 applications for jobs all over the country including North Carolina, Oregon, Texas (These jobs were close to where my brother Keith used to live), Utah, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Colorado, California, Washington, Maryland, Oklahoma, Missouri, Kansas, and Virginia. I was a finalist for a position in North Carolina that would have only have been about a half hour from my sister's house. I have since contacted them and told them that I can no longer pursue the opportunity. Their school district is about 11 hours from Memphis.
The Out Here in Pinon Blog has, in many ways, been an electronic journal to talk about my time here. Some years I have barely used it and other years I might have over used it. Soon I will sign off. Soon this page will be just a place to come and reminisce.
Who knows what I will do in Memphis? I could teach History, Spanish, or English as a Second Language. I could teach at the elementary or secondary level. My mother-in-law has hinted that I should go to Graduate School. No matter what happens one thing is clear, this moment is a cross roads in my life.
I am hopeful that I will here some good news soon.
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