One Secret Revealed

Ta-da! I am a vice principal.

Now, I've know this since June 25th, but my district likes to increase the tension as much as possible, so I wasn't allowed to say anything until the board approved me. Of course, I said it to some non-work-related people, but still...it was tough.

I am very excited. It still doesn't feel real. I keep expecting a call: "Um, Hillary, we're sorry, but we made a mistake...Oops." I'm not sure when it will feel real. Maybe the meetings will help.

Oh, the meetings. Oh, the meetings.

Yes, I knew they were coming. I knew being a vice principal was not just about telling people what to do. But still. The meetings are terrible. The only thing to come out of a meeting--another meeting.

Don't get my wrong. I like to work hard. In fact, I am pretty much nonstop while at work. (At home is entirely another thing.) But I've come to the realization that "working hard" as a v.p. is wildly different than as a teacher.

As a teacher there is a simple formula for work: I teach, they learn, I figure out how much they actually learned (usually through painful essay reading), and we repeat until we are completely exhausted. And then there are the bells, the wonderful bells.

For the past decade, my life has existed in hour-long chunks. Now I am unsure what to do with myself. I am very worried that time management will be an issue. Yes, there are bells at my middle school, but they don't totally apply to me.

Wait, that's exciting.

Did I mention I get a walkie-talkie? :)