Well, the rankings are in, on both sides. Tomorrow morning, we find out where we will be teaching. Today, those who were willing to volunteer for the county schools were placed; Steven will be teaching at Dashu, and Tiffiany will be teaching at Dashe.
That leaves 3 more county schools to be assigned to people who don't want to go there, and 7 city schools. Which means we now have a 30% chance of leaving the city, or less, depending on how well we have been at reading each other--because honestly, the entire ranking process has been like a high-stakes game of poker, or, more accurately, a reality TV show. So here's my confessional.
Who goes to Exile Island? Who is voting for which school? Which school is voting for them? If everyone loves League D, but everyone knows everyone loves League D, how many people will actually put League D as their number 1? Is it worth it? Side conversations trying to gauge others' interests joined with heated--but measured--group outbursts of emotion and fears.
It feels good that now we're just waiting, but now we're talking in clusters about who we think will go where--some people have very precise and reasoned theories about who will go where--and waiting anxiously for the moment of truth tomorrow morning. At least we were able to talk Alex into telling us in our own room, rather than in a big group like they did last year, and even today with Steven and Tiffiany. So now we'll have a moment to process whatever our news are, at least.
Alex and Fonda came to our apartment today to talk to Brittany, who is paired up temporarily for our co-teaching practice, with Aware. The bottom line, which Brittany relayed with plenty of wonderful color, is that he can't speak English at all. But, as we've been learning, Alex doesn't have the authority to kick schools out, and the higher-ups are ambivalent because of political pressures. Tomorrow, the woman in charge of the school selections will be there, and I think Alex will have her sit in on Brittany's co-teaching with Aware, so hopefully that will help. Hopefully.
Hope. It's all I can do, and I'm not even willing to grab onto the concept too firmly--the chance for disappointment is too big and too real. At least Alex and Fonda are working to do what they can for us--today they said that, if it really doesn't work after a month, we won't have to co-teach any more, and we'll just have fewer classes (at the functioning school), and freedom to do other English-language activities in the schools. Which is an improvement, but still scary.
So tomorrow, we find out. And then have to put a smile on our face, no matter what and go and co-teach with our randomly-assigned co-teachers from today. Incidentally, I love mine, but how much worse will that make it if I don't get to stay with them? We click, and we now have experience co-teaching together, but there's a possibility, no one knows how high, of tomorrow and Friday being the only days we co-teach. Today we sat together for an hour and a half and lesson-planned; tomorrow and Friday, we'll deliver those lesson plans to classrooms full of kids. It's a bonding experience; I don't see how it couldn't be, if you get along at all. But it may all be incidental.
I know it will work out, one way or another, and I'm doing my best to keep a positive outlook. I'm just hoping that won't hurt my chances of getting a school I like; while others have been extremely vocal in their criticisms of the county, I haven't been, in large part because I didn't need to be. But will I be assigned outside of my ability level because they think I'm less likely to raise a fuss? I hope not.
There it is again, that word, hope. I can't wait to see tomorrow if it's justified...
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