First day of new job goes well

Well, it is official. I’m a paraeducator. I have been for more than 24 hours now, and I like it quite a bit. Working with students is fun.

Tuesday was my first day on the job at Western Plains High School in Unified School District 106, located in Ransom, Kan., and I admit it was a different experience.

The starkest contrast from working at a newspaper is the confidentiality issues I face being a para in a high school and working with students with special needs.

In the newspaper world, information was open to all. Now, that isn’t the case. I can’t talk about what goes on in the classroom or with the students I work with. Mum is the word.

It is different for me, but I understand the rationale.

Another aspect of this gig that is going to take some getting used to is the pace. Things go just a little bit slower than what they did at the newspaper. It will be kind of nice to be able to actually have time to breathe, but I also enjoy the adrenaline rush of the last-minute push to meet a deadline.

I’m going to find a way to continue to enjoy that thrill. I promise that. Plans will be drawn up soon, I hope.

Other than adjusting to the different pace and the different information openness policies, the only rub is that I can’t appease my Twitter addiction as often as I would like.

That’s OK, though. I will cope I’m sure.

Besides, I foresee the pace picking up because now that I am onboard, there are a total of two paras in the high school, so we are going to actually be going out into the classrooms to help as opposed to just staying in our homeroom.

And the football coach approached me about possibly helping with his linemen, the yearbook teacher got excited when she heard I was a journalist, I’m going to be getting my CDL to drive bus and I’ve got a couple side jobs I might get going as well. Not to mention I’m still a dj and am slowly getting into the wedding and senior portrait photography business due to a demand from people who have seen my work.

Sure, my new full-time job may not be incredibly fast-paced, but I don’t like to let the dust settle. I’ll find things to keep my time occupied.

Even if some of my side projects don’t come to fruition, the people in this area are amazing, so I can always just hang out with them during my down time.

Please follow and like us: