Tell Me the Stories Tuesday-An Unexpected Hiring

So I thought for today I would share how I got my first year teaching. I graduated from ISU in December 2000 and was substitute teaching in eastern Idaho until the new school year when I could look for a job. Robert was getting ready to get out of the Army. He had saved up a months leave to help look for employment and it was a situation of whoever gets hired first will determine where we live. On the day Robert was coming home from the Army (we were geographically separated because of work and school) I came home from subbing to have an message on the machine about an interview in Caldwell. I had never heard of Caldwell so I called my dad to find out where it was. Then I called the school and they scheduled a phone interview for a few days later (Valentine's Day). I found out that they had gotten my name from the college and since I hadn't even applied for the job, I had to hurry and get an application and fax it into the school before the interview.

On the day of the interview I finished subbing, got home, and shooed Robert out of the house with the kids so things would be quiet. Then I sat and waited for the phone to ring. This was my first real job interview (other than for fast food and retail in high school and college) and I was nervous. The interview went o.k. and then it was time for more waiting. Later that evening I received a call from the principal that they had narrowed it down to me and one other person so they wanted us both to come in and teach a lesson. The only day I could do it because of subbing commitments was the next day. The principal was worried about me getting to Caldwell and I assured her that if I left my home by around 6:00 I could be there by lunch time. So I then had to quickly come up with a lesson (on using adverbs and adjectives) before the next day. I called my mom (a teacher) for help and we came up with a lesson.

The next day we left Tyler, Britain, and Jesse with my parents and drove to Caldwell. I met the principal and the interview committee, taught the lesson for another 4th grade class, met with the committee and then went out to meet Robert in the car. As Robert and I were talking about the lesson, someone knocked on the window to the car.. She introduced herself as Karen the teacher of the class I just taught and a member of the interview committee. She had missed my lesson because her husband had been in surgery. She told me that she had an apartment above her garage that if I got the job I could live in until we got settled. Wow what charity and trusting to offer your home to someone you just met.

Well this entire time I was praying that I would not get this job. I was told upfront that this class was a nightmare. The teacher had been sick most of the year and had been in and out. This class would go through multiple subs in one day because they would leave and refuse to come back. However with my limited experience of teaching in Eastern Idaho in schools with high levels of LDS people in it I had no clue what this class would be like. So I prayed that unless Heavenly Father really wanted me there that I would not get the job.

I had to wait for the other candidate to teach her lesson the following day to hear the results. So the following afternoon I received a call that I got the job. There was a substitute hired for the following week and I could start after that. However I felt it would be better for me to just get in there and start rather than have to deal with them after more subs. So I packed up some essentials for me and Jesse (he was 1). Robert would stay behind with Tyler and Britain since they were in school until we could get things settled. I moved to Caldwell the next day (Friday). I had the weekend to get things ready to start teaching on Tuesday. The principal agreed that the first little while should focus on me building a relationship with the class and working on discipline since they had none. This gave me a few more days to learn the curriculum and get settled.

This was a very crazy year and a whirlwind of an adventure. From getting the first call to starting the job was about a week. However Heavenly Father must have really wanted me there because he provided the housing for me at Karen's, the school found me a babysitter for Jesse, and everything fell into place from the beginning. Amazing how things happen!