Alright, so I have a good shot at a job in a good district, but the school is about an hour away from where I live. Everything seems great about it aside from that travel-time and I'll be honest I'm not sure I can handle being in the car for 2 hours of just driving every-single-day. Not to mention I'd probably have to leave the house at about 5-6 to get there at a decent time since it's Chemistry and that requires a bit of setup (most of which can't be done and left out). I would probably also end up staying much later because I just don't want to drive... It's a fairly small school. In fact, there are about 5-6 teachers per department compared to the usual 11-13 teachers and there are fewer students. If it were 30 minutes away I would jump right on this, but I'm on the fence with it. I just turned away an LTS position because it didn't feel right (Biology...) and I can still wait it out for a little bit, but I get the feeling I'll be waiting it out until next year in March/April and then waiting to teach until next August. Ughh...
It is almost September- I'd take it since you know it is a great district. You have to start somewhere!
I just realized there would be traffic because roads are dumb right where I live. I would leave early when there's no traffic, but getting back would be a nightmare and I'd probably end up taking an extra hour on the way back. I'm less worried about my sanity and more worried about the car's durability... Bah...good opportunities 60 miles away. Honestly, if there was a road connecting the two interstates I live next to it'd probably cut the trip to 40 miles and 40-45 minutes. Blah
Can't believe I'm still awake... I might be able to in a couple of months. I've already started looking just to get an idea and this happens to be a place with many more homes than apartments/rent-homes. It's just far from places and things I enjoy doing. Atlanta is the center of "stuff to do" and then it diminishes as you move outwards until it just suddenly vanishes and you get very rural settings that are 2-3 hours away... I've been looking at the prospective school and it scores very well--it's pretty much slightly better than most schools around where I am right now (and they are good schools) and it has 50-60% less students. The student:teacher ratio is 16:1 which probably means about 21-28 students a class not to mention I'd be one of two people teaching the specific subject (at least the first year). Again, it's a great opportunity, but it's a fair distance from my social center--long enough that it would be weird, tiring and possibly unrealistic for me to get back every other day or so. Am I being too picky? I feel like I am being too picky now.
I think you have to weigh how badly you want to teach against the inconvenience involved in such a long commute. A number of people on our faculty commute an hour-- in good weather. On a snowy afternoon, the ride home can be LONG for them. So they keep a comfy change of clothes, a bottle of water, and some snacks in the car, and make sure they hit the restroom before leaving on those days. One listens to books on tape on the way in, two others carpool, and one listens to his favorite CDs. Only you can decide whether that would work for you.
If you can move to lessen the commute, that will help your day to day. I lived an hour away from family/friends for 6 years. It was pretty easy to drive on the weekends for activities.
Congratulations for thinking ahead about this possible opportunity. I am reading between the lines here (and tell me if I'm wrong) but I think the idea is a little scary for you and thinking it through in advance is a good idea. Tough decisions fast may be ahead of you. Weigh how badly you want a job- any job - and make the decision. That does seem like a long commute (my longest was 45 minutes), but it's doable for the short term. Then you can find a small, inexpensive apartment closer to the school. Don't make too many changes quickly. Once you love the job, you'll be grateful to be closer since you do have the labs to set up for. I hope it comes through for you!
I agree with Aliceaac. In the end, you have to decide what works for you. Remember, the kiddos are your #1 priority and if you feel you can't be your best for them with that commute or the commute is just going to be too much for you, don't do it.
Made up my mind on this. I'm going to do an interview (if they indeed want to interview me) and gauge my enthusiasm and interest from there. My biggest worry is that I'll end up moving for the job and find that it isn't a good fit. Or that I'm getting cut next year because of budget issues (it's a rather stagnant area population-wise) or some other issues. The closest modest-rent apartment I could find to the location is also 30 minutes away at best. I wasn't even being picky when I was looking--there are apartments in town, but I don't want to be in-town and I can't even tell if they exist anymore. Before any of this...must do the interview first. I don't think I'm going to enjoy the 1 hour ride there thinking to myself what I could do wrong and then the 1 hour ride back anxious about what they think.
I would do it. Long commutes are quite common in my state. My mom commutes an hour for her teaching job and has for several years. If I had found a job within an hour commute we would have stayed where we were living when I was job searching. We had to move for my job, which is about 1.5 hours away from where we used to live, but would have taken well over 2 hours in traffic. (I'm in SoCal.) It was 100% worth it...to me. That wouldn't be the answer for everyone. It's a very personal decision. Best of luck to you.
You'll be having those thoughts whether you're in the car or not. I think it's a wise decsion. Go and see. Make an informed decision. You might find that this school is the answer to your prayers. You might find that those 2 hours in the car are your opportunity to organize your thoughts, and they make the rest of your day easier. You may not. But you'll never know if you don't go for the interview. Good luck!!
I have an hour commute there and 1 1/2 hours home. It's not the best but I don't spend my ride thinking what I did wrong, I spend it singing to the radio, thinking about what's for dinner (nom nom nom) and reviewing in my mind future lessons. I also get thse family phone calls out of the way (of course hands free!) out of the approx 150 teachers, more than half commute at least an hour so it's pretty common to commute
I know...I know. I think I'm just getting cold-feet about the whole thing and trying to find an excuse. Part of my thinking is that the commute isn't an hour because of traffic, but because it's actually 55 miles away. I can cut it down to ~50 miles using other roads, but they wouldn't be reliable. With a 25mpg car that'd be about 4.5 gallons a day or about $85 a week on gas (with current prices) and $340 a month just for work. I've thought a lot through. And again, it's a pain to find anything to rent up there unless I can shell out $1000 dollars a month for a small house [which would be silly for one person and a dog]. Maybe I need to build a house using available sticks and twigs and just buy the twine that keeps it all together? Seriously though, if I go for the interview and I just don't like the school then I'll probably just end up waiting for something else even if that means until next year. I hope I love it so much that I'll come back here and gloat, but that would be a longshot and it would be rude hmy:
Lee...you seem to be talking yourself out of this job before you've even interviewed. It's self defeating. Go on the interview...if nothing else, it's good interview practice and the P might know another school closer to you to pass your name if this position doesn't work out. On the other hand, you may love it...you'll never know if you don't go for it. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
leeshis0019: I think that you are being very sensible here. Like you, I want to teach very badly. Last year I had an lts that required a 70 minute commute in the morning and a 1hour 40 min commute home. I did it because I loved the placement but I am here to tell you the commute time cuts deeply into planning time, let alone wrecking a bit of havoc with meals and unwinding. Keeping fresh to meet the daily challenges is important. If a long commute is something that you find draining it should be a consideration in any job. Perhaps I look at this differently as I spent 30 years on the private side and so I found that being in the situation you want is far more important than taking a job just to have one. The peripherals can be VERY important; just as your relationship with the administration is and curriculum and everything else. That said, I would definitely go on the interview. You may find that that this is a position that is right up your alley working with people you truly connect with. If that is the case, you will find a way to deal positively with the commute. Good fortune to you...
I agree with czacza, one thing at a time...interview first, although I'm afraid your mindset already is gonna hinder your interview (I hope not!). If you do well on the interview, get an offer and accept, think of it has experience for a year if that . Teaching jobs are hard to find and commute seems to be a part of all those seldom offers. Best of luck! Ps. Maybe try a trial run of the drive and see how it feels?
That's what I was going to do...trial run that is. I don't mind leaving at 5:30 in the morning to get there at a reasonable time and skip the traffic that suddenly appear at 7:00, but the ride back can't be avoided even if I stay two hours after the last bell. I'm not quite in any mindset at this point. It's a position teaching the subject that I want to teach and the school's ratings are very good (tests, graduation rates, etc.) not to mention it seems like a very close knit faculty and I get the feeling that they help each other out. I just don't want a commute to eat into that extra time (like Dr Kevlar said) that could be used in a more productive manner. I'm hoping a trial-run drive will prove that it might actually be a shorter drive then I think. I'm not really an audio-book guy. More of a sing-along with the radio in a strange-voice to pass the time kind of guy. Someone told me it was a scenic drive--though I drove 800 miles through Alaska and wasn't all that impressed. Haven't heard anything back, but it's a holiday for everyone so I'm going to stop thinking about it for a day and come back Tuesday then go from there. Edit: I just wanted to say that I don't want anyone to think I'm ungrateful considering it's a month into the school year here and there's no other positions on the horizon at this moment. I just like where I am right now, but would like it so much more if a Chemistry teacher would just retire already
