I started a new gig in Far Rockaway High School.  it’s 1 of those inner city schools you hear about.  first of all, it’s getting closed down in 3 years due to poor performance.  second, it’s actually 4 different schools in 1 building.  the tensions gets high.  my first day on the job, a dispute broke out between a student and the security and they migrated into my room.  luckily, it was empty and I was standing outside but it was 1 of those things that happens behind closed doors.  fists maybe flew.  yeah, that ate up 20 minutes of the period, which meant my very first class there started on a bad note.

and there are concerns of gangs – Bloods and Crypts.  and the administration doesn’t think martial arts is a smart idea to offer because it could incite riots or at least roudy behavior despite how I teach it.  I’m actually teaching martial arts and poetry there – my first gig teaching poetry and I am excited.

but despite all of that noise, it’s actually really awesome there.  today, 1 of my poetry students said, this class keeps getting better and better.  we were, uhm, studying metaphors and looked at Stars Over the Dordogne by Sylvia Plath.  I was excited – I had photocopies of the poem and everything, kind of like I was the real deal poetry teacher.  it also helps that I’m getting paid at a very comfortable rate and also that my direct superior is a fairly attractive.  she’s engaged and just bought a house (and is also my boss!) but I can’t help flirting with her a little bit.  I’m human.

the commute out there is a blessing and a curse.  it takes me 2 hours each way to get there from Queens.  I talked myself into believing I could use the time constructively – read a book or blog on my laptop or write.  we’ll see if it holds up … but it’s a blessing because the A train runs over Jamaica Bay and the view is gorgeous.  even in the wintertime, the sun is bright and illustrious at noon.  I’m also riding out there in the middle of the day so there are hardly any other passengers – very relaxing.  I’m going to bring a camera out there next time.  and today I was stuck waiting because the bridge that the train ran over was opened; boats were coming through.  I’ve spent my entire life riding subways, prided myself on it, wrote poems about it, made it part of my identity in Boston, and I’ve never had to wait for a ship to cross.

my Family Dynamics gig is going pretty well.  what with the holidays, we’re planning stuff like performances and staff dinners and secret santa.  it makes me feel like I’m part of a family, honestly.  and the funny thing is I worked with them during the holidays last year and we didn’t do any of that.  but at that time, we had my old supervisor – I think I’m beginning to see why she was replaced.

and the kids are awesome.  I was running them through their practice today, at the head of the class doing Tae Guk Il Jong.  I was looking over my shoulder and they looked like an actual martial arts class, not just some enrichment program.  they amaze me.

it’s funny – I originally started doing these out of school enrichment programs because I wanted to beef up my resume to apply for, you know, an 8 to 3 teaching job.  but now it kills me imagining migrating over from teaching the arts (Tae Kwon Do and poetry) to teaching, like, math.  right now, I’m doing something I love and, in the process, I’m making people healthier, smarter, more disciplined, and more aware and more appreciative of the world around them.

I want to go back to school for an MFA in Creative Writing.  but just like I can no longer imagine working 8 to 3, it’s kind of hard imagining putting my current employment on hold to do that.  sure, I could juggle both but I guess I have to sit down and think about that.