New Job, New Digs.

Apologies to all for neglecting the blog for a long time. Allow me to explain what I've been up to in the past eight weeks or so. I've started a new job as a history teacher at a mental health/special education high school in Concord, California, called Alliance High School. The students have mild to moderate learning disabilities. For example, I have one kid who doesn't even know the entire alphabet! There are many who are really intelligent, but have problems focusing or reading. All have issues - more issues than Time Magazine. Three or four of my students have to wear house arrest ankle bracelets, and I frequently write letters for students to give to judges, explaining how they've been doing in class. There are six psychologists/counselors on staff, and a maximum of 11 students in a classroom. There is always at least one special ed. assistant in the room with the teacher. My longest class only goes 45 minutes, and the later classes go only 33 minutes. Class finishes at 1:17 pm every day. However, there are lots of meetings, with staff, parents, and students, so I'm usually at school until 4 pm or so at least.

Naturally, I was quite nervous when I started this job. Before the first day, when my assistent and I were setting up the classroom, there was a stapler sitting on a table. She told me to put it away, or else it could be thrown at me by an angry student! I started to wonder if I should show up at school dressed as a riot cop. However, I've been pleasantly surprised by my students. They are very curious about the world, and love it when I show them my photos from the past five or six years of my life. They've responded quite well to most of my lessons, and I'm really pleased that they ask lots of questions. In fact, they ask more questions in one 33-minute class period than my Thai students did in an entire semester. Pretty remarkable, really.

So, yes, there's drama. There are students who are defiant, and there seems to be at least two or three fights every week. However, it's never boring, and I like the freedom I am given. So, overall I am pretty happy with this gig. As special ed teachers are a difficult commodity to come by, after I have my credential, I have a pretty good guarantee of employment and will probably make pretty decent pay. More importantly, I have a chance to make a difference in the lives of very troubled kids. I like it. You can see my picture here.

In addition to this, I have a new residence, high in the hills in the Berkeley/El Cerrito area. The view is spectacular, and I have deer running through my yard all the time. However, the commute is far more difficult, as I have to bike 30 minutes up hill every day on my way home, and I have to leave the house at 6 am every day. Yesterday, it was pouring rain, which makes biking quite difficult. Thankfully, one of my co-workers was kind enough to give me a ride. I will need a car very very soon, especially before the rainy season hits. But, I like it - it's a peaceful sanctuary after a long day of dealing with less-than-peaceful students. Riding to the train station every morning on my bike is probably the high point of my day.

See the pictures here. Hail progress!

The house where I now live.

This is what our house looks like to me as I bike up to it after work.

Our house, from the back yard.

This is the lemon tree in our backyard.

The view from our living room window. It has a partial view of the Bay - we can see the giraffe cranes of the Port of Oakland. The large trees block off the view, unfortunately. So it goes.

I live near the top of this hill.

My morning commute view. That's the Bay Bridge.

My view on the way to work each morning. I can see Alcatraz and the Golden Gate and Bay Bridges, as well as Downtown SF. However, I leave the house a little before 6 am, so it is dark then. However, it's still beautiful. Cruising down these deserted streets on my bike in the pre-dawn hours with this view in front of me is the highlight of my day.

Another one of the views I get every morning when I go to work.