Hey all,
What a crazy summer job… holy hell. So I did 3 weeks of a job that was supposed to be 6 weeks long. A day before my birthday I was approached by the camp director and given the ‘choice’ to step down to part-time hours or quit/be fired. LOL. I loved teaching the kids but holy hell was she a super micromanager and hated everything they did (especially abstract art). My classroom was 104 degrees on the worst days, and 89 on the coolest days. There was no air conditioner, we were on the 2nd floor of a big school building. My teaching assistants and students were succumbing to heat exhaustion and one of my TAs actually collapsed in the classroom and I had to call staff to get her icepacks and I took care of her, while still teaching. The director didn’t want me mentioning heat exhaustion/heat stroke because ‘the kids can’t feel the heat if you don’t talk about it’. She said she’d never had a teacher so ‘badly affected by the heat’ (meaning me!) and that she was unhappy with the work they were doing (they loved it, their parents loved it, and it was very impressive for their ages and skill levels).
I got what I wanted out of the program, the kids, and I was completely happy with what I accomplished. I took lots of photos, had lots of ‘fans’ from the kids, and did my best until the last day. I quit/was fired on my birthday! I know, impressive. I realize now when she said she wanted professionals and education in the classroom, she really just wanted cookie cutter lessons on ‘how to make a pretty flower, heart, etc’. I worked with a classmate who is also a high school art teacher and SHE said I did some amazing things in my classroom and that she was shocked I was able to hold my ground against the director who was like a fire breathing dragon down our necks. My friend actually would hide in her classroom in the mornings with her lunch to avoid interacting with the director in the office. She promised me this experience, to us both, was basically a horrible art teacher bootcamp from hell. She said if I survived it, I can work anywhere (so fuck my disabilities) and that I’m an amazing teacher (makes me feel better).
So now I’m out of 3 more weeks of decent pay and really pissed I don’t get to see MY kids anymore. They begged me to stay and I had to tell them ‘something came up’, which of course is bullshit. I hate that the parents on the last day asked if I’d be there next week (the 2nd part of the camp) and that they’d signed their kids up just because of my classes, and asked if I’d be back next year. Sadly, I highly doubt I’d be back.
I did 5 – 6 miles a day in my classroom on my feet, I survived 100 degree temperatures with 85% humidity 10+ hours a day in my classroom, I was the queen of the peanut-free zone/table of the cafeteria, I kept my TA from having a medical emergency with heat exhaustion, and my kids learned and created some amazing stuff and I have photos and memories and finished art (I made samples) to show for it.
So I’m happy with everything except the heat, the director, and her bullshit. Don’t hire me and sign off on months worth of lesson plans that I custom make for your program and then tell me ‘it’s not what I was expecting’. You didn’t fucking read them, don’t lie to my face, tell me my kid’s art is ‘absolutely awful’ and act like I baited and switched YOU. Ugh! I literally wrote out everything we’d do and told you what art was coming down since before the camp started. END RANT!
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ANYWAY – I’m open to commissions for the rest of the summer! Limited spots!
Single character Ink Pinup – SALE 50$!!!!
5 Page comic Inked – SALE 400$
5 Page Ink Sequence – 100$
Other commission ideas can be emailed to me and I’ll give you a price estimate. You can email me at smokingpendotcom[at]gmail.com and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can. First come first served!