Welcome to this week’s Sunday Post. This feature is brought to you by The Caffeinated Book Reviewer, so swing by after you are done here and get the full list of participants!
- [9 Feb] Sunday Post: Valentine’s Day
- [10 Feb] One Eighty by Marie James ★★★★½
- [11 Feb] Fries Before Guys by Lani Lynn Vale ★★★★½
- [12 Feb] WWW Wednesday
- [13 Feb] Teacher I Want to Date by Mia Kayla ★★★½
- [14 Feb] #FreebieFriday: Valentines edition!
- Chasing Cassandra by Lisa Kleypas
- The Holdout by Graham Moore
- Meet Your Next BBF: Lucas Hunter!
- Nick at The Infinite Limits of Love rounded up some friends and they created an adorable Valentine’s post!
- Rachel at Waves of Fiction is participating in a Romance Giveaway Hop!
- Rowena at Weendizzle shares her Eye Candy Friday pick!
ARCs thanks to the authors and publishers:
I hope everyone had a great Valentine’s day! We had professional development that day, but it was a “chose your own adventure” so my department and I decided to stay off campus and explore college options for our students. We had lunch at a cool street taco place.
I have 2 interviews coming up!! I have my interview with the school I mentioned last week (I had a great phone interview so they moved me to the final round), and I have another interview on Friday with a different school. I’m excited but also terrified. This is seriously so stressful. How do you handle interview nerves? Either of these jobs would be amazing. These are both very highly rated and competitive schools which adds a big intimidation factor. So, prayers and good wishes please!
My replacement started on Monday. It was a rocky start. On the first day, she pointed out how all the public districts are glad she is taking over because they hate us. She ripped apart an ETR that my mentee wrote. She criticized everything we did as “not effective or timely”. It was ROUGH! On Tuesday, she realized she over stepped and didn’t say anything criticizing on Tuesday. She also didn’t really seem engaged in learning anything either. It was awkward. Thursday, she never left her office. She hasn’t interacted with any students and she has only been to 2 classes (we are inclusion intervention specialists so I attend class every bell in order to be a support for the students and the teacher). I don’t know how to repair this situation. I want to leave my students in capable hands and things are off to a rocky start. Training your replacement is rough and we will be doing this until the end of the school year (June!). Any have any advice?
So, whats new with you this week? Did you read any of the same books I did? Did you find any great book deals I need to grab ASAP? Let me know in the comments!
Oh, wow! Your replacement sounds like a nightmare. Lucky you won’t be working with her once the year is through. HOW EXCITING!!! I knew you would get the follow up interview. I am sure they will love you, and yes, interviews are stressful. Did you ever have to teach a demo lesson? That was the the biggest nightmare, when I was looking for teaching jobs. It’s such an awkward and inauthentic situation. Good luck, prayers, and good vibes being sent your way.
Thankfully I never had to do the demo lesson thing. I never thought that was a good idea. Its the most unauthentic thing ever. Thanks for the prayers!
Congrats on the interviews, I’m so excited for you! I know it was a bug decision for you to leave your school, but I know it will pay off. For interview nerves I just rehearse answering questions a lot. That way I feel in control and ready for anything they might send my way.
As for your replacement, I think the best policy is talking. Maybe start by asking her how she thinks last week went and then sharing your feedback. And then say something to the effect of, I think we both want what’s best for these kids, so let’s make a game plan together. We’ve got several months ahead of us together, so we need to figure it out.
Best of luck and have a great week!!
Yes, I agree. I need to talk to her. Last week she didn’t really seem interested. She pretty much stayed in her office the rest of the week. Hopefully next week we can make some forward progress.
Wow, I didn’t even know what kind of advice to offer with your situation with not being a teacher, but Berls (above) seems to nail it. Great advice! Congrats on your interviews and good luck!
I hope Chasing Cassandra was good! I’ve loved all the other books and can’t wait to pick it up. 🙂
Chasing Cassandra was AMAZING!
Street tacos… that sounds good haha. I love food trucks and stuff like that. And good luck with the interviews!! It sounds exciting and terrifying at the same time. I hate interviewing haha, but then I think most people probably do. You get all stressed out in the run- up to it… I hope you get a situation that is a perfect fir for you. 🙂
The replacement issue sounds awful, wow I hope she gets it together and is more positive. Not much you can do that about that though, I guess. Hopefully, like Berls said, she is interested in working together with you in a good way.
Yes, I am hoping each week gets a little easier. The stress at work coupled with the stress of job hunting is horrid.
Wow, she sounds like a right asshole! Let’s hope she’s better at the job than she’s currently coming across as! I hate training replacements… It’s bad enough dealing with all the emotions that leaving entails without having someone potentially (or actually) judging! I hope this week is a better one for you and I wish you all the luck in the world for your interviews!
I think she might have felt the need to prove she was intelligent. She recognized she was “stepping on toes” but she didn’t apologize or anything. I also think I can be overly sensitive. Hopefully next week is better! But yes, training your replacement for 4 months is a special kind of hell.
I’m excited for you and hope your interviews go well! You’ll just have to see what the best option is if you get both offers looking at a variety of factors which matter to you. I always like a short commute but the actual job and people I’m working with are the top priority. Benefits can also be a factor.
I think Berls gave the best advice for handling your trainee. Crazy of her to start right out criticizing everything before she has any time there.
I hope this week goes very well and you enjoy some great reads!
Anne – Books of My Heart Here is my Sunday Post
Yes, shortening my commute is important, but so is the culture of a job. I am leaving some great coworkers which is hard, but the environment is toxic. Thanks!!
Wishing you all the luck for the interviews! My last interview was a nightmare. I hope your replacement gets over herself so you can work on a smooth transition.
Have a great reading week
First sending you prayers but you’ll nailed them samantha! Now about training your replacement…that’s tough. I manage two teams and usually when someone is rude or does not want to play, instead of crticizing and antagonizing I take the other route. I would tell her that it’s such a relief she will be here, that she has much to give to the students and that you can’t wait to see her in action. Does she have any advice? And blablabla… She will be flattered and will try ti impress, hence investing herself in the new job. And then you can offer advices if she is floundering. Do I make sense? That’s called revers psychology 😉
Wow, your replacement sounds horrible. I hope she gets her act together. Good luck with your interviews! I have no tips for nerves. I’m always a wreck at interviews. I don’t know why anybody hires me :). Have a great week!
I’m praying for you and I hope everything eventually works itself out, that sounds like a tough and nerve wrecking situation.