One more:
Alright, now that we have that out of our system. Here are some details, or 'tails if you are Tom Haverford. The short version: a couple of weeks ago I was offered and accepted a position teaching English at Valor Christian High School in Highlands Ranch.
The longer version, for those inclined to hear it: To those who have had much contact with me in the past couple of years it would come as no surprise that I was less than engaged at my current place of employment. Water under the bridge, bygones being bygones and all of that, I will just let that comment stand. About a year ago I really started considering seminary as an option, a sort of lifeline. I started an application and got counsel, but for some reason I could never really commit.
A couple of months ago there was an opening at the Christian school in our little Kansas town. A friend told me about it and recommended that I apply. I didn't really want the job because I did not want to stay here, but I filled out an application anyway. Part of it included writing a statement of teaching philosophy. It took me about ten minutes to write it. Not that its great writing or anything, but it just flowed out of me. Writing that out was sort of an epiphanic moment. I realized that while I didn't want to teach junior high at a school in Salina I did want to teach.
The next day I started looking for jobs, starting in Colorado of course. There was nothing available that I could find on the website that I was using so I decided to be a bit more proactive. I went to the website for Vail Christian and emailed the headmaster. I told him who I was, what my background was, and asked him if he were me where he would start. He told me they would have nothing available but pointed me to two schools in Denver, one of which was Valor.
I went to their website and they had an opening in the English department listed for next school year. I browsed further and got really excited. It seemed to be the perfect fit. I filled out the online portion of the application that day. A good part of the job hunt consists in being excited, but not too excited. I tried to suppress my anticipation and just trust that if this is what God had for us then it would happen. Two days later I got an email telling me to go through to the second part of the application, which included answering about a dozen questions in essay form and the school making contact with my references.
As a sidenote, this was easily the most rigorous application process I have ever been involved with (I'm still ending sentences with prepositions until I start teaching). I wrote over a dozen essays that probed deeply into my beliefs, theology, and teaching style. It was very intimidating, but it also only served to confirm that this was what I wanted to do. A similarly intense process at a business job would have felt tedious.
About a week and a half later I got another email, this time from the head of HR, asking me to do a Skype interview. During that hour I was interviewed by the Director of Academics, the Academic Dean, the head of HR, and the head of the English department. At the end of the interview they asked me to come out for an on-site interview as well as a teaching interview (I would teach two classes). Given spring break and other scheduling issues it was not until April 7th that we were able to arrange everything.
I took the whole family out to Colorado for the interview. The night before I was preparing and Owen came and sat next to me on the couch. I asked him if I would do a good job at my interview tomorrow. He said no. I asked him if I would still get the job. He said yes.
Gentle reader, my son is a prophet. I felt tongue-tied and out of sync for much of the interview day, an eight hour whirlwind of teaching two sections, being peppered with questions by the rest of the English faculty, a spiritual interview with the Director of Spiritual Life, and a lunch interview with two other English faculty. I didn't feel like I bombed or anything like that. Interviews in general are followed by a round of self-incrimination where you go through what you could or should have said. When they last all day you only have that much more fodder for reflection.
In any event, my only option was to trust that if God wanted me there I would be there. I had to wait three agonizing weeks after my interview while other candidates went through the same rigmarole. And then I got a call while I was at work from the Director of Academics offering me a position. I thought I was going to jump through the roof. There was much sushi-ing, wine drinking, and general merriment in the Coffman household that night.
I was puzzled most of the time I was in Salina over why in the world I was here. I now have my answer. My discontent over my job here prodded me into reading about 70 books last year, dreaming of a world where books meant something to people. That time of study laid the groundwork for this job. In fact, it was mentioned to me during my interview that one of the things that caught the school's attention was the amount of reading I do. And from there everything clicked.
I am so happy to be moving close to family and close to my mountains, but more excited to feel as if I have found my vocation. There was a famous Latin saying during the Reformation: post tenebras lux. After darkness, light. I am awash in light.
No comments:
Post a Comment