I love my job

I’ve been teaching year 10 and 11 Food Studies since the end of January and I know this is where I am meant to be. Every single day, after dismissing the kids I can’t help but question that I am actually getting paid to be here. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still teaching (what’s a spontaneous bathroom break?), but the pros vastly outweigh the cons at my school. 

A substantial but not exhaustive sample of the things I love about my job:

Teaching & Learning

• My classes: I am teaching four sections of year 10 foods and one of year 11. Plus I have one session a week of a social-emotional learning class with year 10s. I adore all of my classes. I also love that I am getting to reflect and adapt my lesson plans (~designs for learning~ à la U of M) because I have the four groups of 10s. My first group of the week has been so flexible when my mental plan doesn’t quite go as anticipated. All my groups are great, though!
• I love getting to know my learners and their needs and how I can best support them in the classroom and lab. This helps me better curate the learning experiences and differentiate them in an evidence informed way.
• The support that having a foods lab technician provides. My school has two full time foods teachers, and one technician. She does the sourcing and ordering of supplies (I provide the list), finances, receiving, sorting, ingredient prep, equipment maintenance, laundry, and so much more. I am such a fan of this set up. It allows me to focus on my job of creating learning experiences to deliver the curriculum.
• The curriculum of my courses. Here’s what we’ve covered (so far):
  • 10s: kitchen safety and hygiene, food poisoning and spoilage, knife and fire safety, food presentation, sensory analysis of foods, cooking methods
  • 11s: development of agriculture and food cultures, globalization of agriculture, industrialization of the food system

Administrative

• I love knowing my schedule. Being able to go to sleep knowing I have XYZ classes/duty/meetings is such a source of peace for me. I do not miss the chaotic and entirely spontaneous nature of relief teaching at different schools each day. Now, last minute changes still happen, but that’s a minor hiccup.
• Submitting attendance from my phone instead of having to juggle a laptop when I don’t otherwise need it. One of the little things I appreciate being where I am! This is especially appreciated when we are in the lab. I’ll mark the roll as students are getting “suited up” and queuing to wash their hands. I’m working on ironing out the kinks to optimize our time in the lab, cause that’s the most fun part of taking foods! So far, I have adapted the timing of delivery of the information for the day. I often cook in the first session of the day, which means I have stragglers coming in. Due to this, they are often missing part of the demonstration or safety briefing. As a mitigation effort, I’ve shuffled the order in which I do things, with the “less important” information (read: the recipe demo) before the safety information. The safety information is most imperative for them to get from me (in my opinion, anyways), hence the change. If students are coming in late and miss the recipe portion, then they can source that from a peer. It’s not perfect, but I’m learning!

Professional Development

• I have a great group of technologies staff that I share an office with. Being able to just ask a question when I have one instead of having to run around the school to find the appropriate person to ask, or spend the time to write an effective email is AMAZING. This setup is so much more effective for professional collaboration.
• I am getting to participate in school PD and curriculum meetings (nerdy, right?) on Mondays and Tuesdays. All teaching staff have to stay until 4:30 for these events. I really don’t mind, because it gives me a chance to learn AND get to talk to the other staff in a manner that isn’t just in passing when we both have classes to be in. Plus, because we have to be there and have that time blocked off, I don’t have to rearrange my schedule. It’s just a standing meeting.

Little Hidden Treasures of Not-CRTing

• I have my own desk in the tech office! A major upgrade from having to carry around everything I own all day at school. Having a dedicated workspace makes is so much easier to be in the mental space to do my planning.
• I don’t have to loan out a set of keys and a computer each day. Which is a minor inconvenience, but having to detour to the office at the beginning and end of each day is just a nuisance.
• My commute. Since I’m going to the same place every day, I don’t need to use the PTV app (which I love, for the record) to get there. I know when the train comes, which way I need to leave the station to get to my next mode of transit, and how to optimize for the physical setup of the infrastructure (i.e. where to stand on the platform to get off the train at the exit of the station). It’s 30 minutes from door to door, which is just right. I have a 10 minute train ride train and a short tram or bus ride. Or, if I’m feeling active, a 20 minute walk from the train station to the school. Sometimes my timing is off and I just miss the train, so it’s 50 minutes, but that’s only happened twice in three weeks. The perfect length to decompress, but not be feeling like I am just wasting time. I also like that it’s on public transit, so I can use the time (if I want to) for life administration tasks, of which there are no end! Adulting is overrated.

There are SO many things I love about my job, but I think that’s enough for now!

See you soon,

Kate