Farewell Fall 2011

This has been one crazy semester but it is finally over. I have officially taken my last final and turned in my last paper. One semester of Grad school is over and behind me. How has middle school been going? Well that is a totally different subject. Let's just say I was lured in and hired under false pretenses and I am not one bit happy about it. Luckily I didn't sign any contracts and I am free to walk. I really despise being deceived. I was told that the teacher had taken a medical leave and would be gone until at LEAST March and there was a big possibility that she wouldn't return for the rest of the school year. I was told I would be getting paid one amount and then later I found out that this was a discrepancy and I would actually be getting paid less (I decided to ignore this minor issue and continue anyway). I was also told that they were not just looking for a substitute teacher but a certified teacher who could construct lesson plans, guide paraprofessionals, work on IEPs and lead instruction. I was so excited to be able to construct and implement my plans and eagerly planned things. I observed the students and the paras and familiarized myself with what had been going on. First warning sign....Where were the IEPs? I was told that the teacher had all this information at home and they would be contacting her to get it. (She had already been on leave for 2 whole months by this time). Second warning...all the students did was work on worksheets with help from the paras (that was ok, I was already brainstorming unique ideas to get them up and working on hands on activities). Third warning....Me to para: I notice that they are all working on the same worksheets, do they ever do work catered to their own ability but different from the other? Para (blank stare): no we always do the same exact worksheets for everyone but we just differentiate certain instructions. I don't think they should do different work....
Fourth warning..the principal tells me hey we were wrong Ms. So-and-so won't be out all year, in fact she won't even be out until March. She has decided to return in January...
Do you want to know the last and final warning? The warning that burst the bubble...Ok here goes....
I get called into the principal's office and here is what he said....wait for it.... He wanted to clarify my role in the classroom. Since Ms. So-and-so is coming back sooner than we thought, I really don't have to do a thing. He wants me to sit back and let the paras teach and instruct as I observe them (observe, what is this college? And excuse me, did he say observe the paras? my turn to use the blank stare). I should also do whatever the paras think I should do. Also although he wants me to relinquish control to the paras, if anything goes wrong I am the one who will be blamed (yeah he actually said that)
So basically I am the teacher on paper yet I am expected to perform the duties of a paraprofessional and observe and take orders from the other paras since "they have been there all year and know how things should run"
I am still shocked and I honestly don't know what to think but I do know that this is not where I want to be. My instincts say RUN and RUN FAST!
BTW I was called by an elementary school principal yesterday and offered the chance to interview for a long-term job there...