New Job, No Friends

Does anyone else hate starting a new job? I do, big time. In addition to figuring out how to perform your role, you have to meet a million new people and try to remember their names, figure out where the bathroom, the break room, and the copy machine are, and get through the first few weeks while striking that delicate balance of not screwing up and not asking so many questions that you become annoying.

This quandary is true when starting the same job (teacher) at a new school as well. They all run a little differently, and it takes time to get a feel for the culture and rules of the road. My current situation is, after three years at my previous school, I accepted a substitute position at my dream school. It eliminates my commute and gives me the chance to rub shoulders with some of the best educators in the region. Because I am only a sub, though, it also happens to be a step down in prestige and a significant pay cut.

Making things more complicated is the fact that this school hasn’t had a full-time sub before, so it’s a brand-new job and they’re still figuring out how it will work. I can’t just talk to the person who was there before me or read a job description to know what I should be doing. On the surface, the job is simple, right? If someone is absent, I cover their classes. It will give me the chance to work with students in grades 6-12 and in all the subjects, which I admit I find pretty exciting. Of course, it will be tough at times since students don’t tend to respect substitutes as much as they do their regular teachers, and I may find myself in over my head in terms of subject matter. But that part of the job isn’t really what I’m worried about. It’s what to do on days when no one calls in sick.

There are 60+ teachers at this school, so between absences due to illness and the pre-arranged professional development trips they all go on each year (think long weekend in Barcelona to attend a conference, all-expenses paid!), I’ve been assured that I will be busy enough. But still, there are bound to be entire days when no one is gone, and then, what do I do? Since I’m paid by the hour, I’m glad that the school has made it clear they want me onsite everyday, regardless of whether anyone is sick. I’ll make more money that way and probably feel more included in the school. But it’s slightly unclear how I should spend my free time.

What I definitely do not want to do is end up sitting in my office browsing facebook and twiddling my thumbs. I’ve had a desk job in the past where there wasn’t enough work to go around, and it was the most boring, mind-sucking situation imaginable. I hate feeling useless at work.

The other aspect of all this is that I’ve never worked as a substitute, except for a period here and there covering my colleagues’ absences at my last school. I’m used to doing the whole job. Planning, teaching, grading, and all the responsibilities that come with the role of teacher. Now I’ve been stripped of those responsibilities, which inevitably makes me feel less valued and important than my coworkers. Furthermore, I’ve gone from a school where I was looked up to as a veteran to a new environment where I’m the lowest man on the totem pole. I’m unsure as of yet how well I will adjust to this change in status. Will humbling myself and taking a year to learn from other, more experienced teachers be worth it?

Last week and this week were teacher work days, and I’m finding myself feeling very left out when everyone disperses to their classrooms to work or gets together to meet with their departments. I don’t have a classroom. I don’t have a department. And I don’t have anything to do if there are no students in the school. So, I’m a little apprehensive about the coming week and how I’m going to fill my time without going crazy with boredom and giving all my new colleagues a poor impression of me. I know I need to get out, meet people, learn their names, and let them know I’m genuinely happy to help them with anything they might need as they gear up for a new school year. But my introverted self has a really hard time with that.

Growing up, I never had to change schools and leave all my friends. It turns out, doing it as a teacher can be just as hard.