Bush Style

     One of the things we really enjoy about teaching in a school like ours is the freedom we have in many aspects of our job: in teaching our students, designing curriculum, and just in creative problem solving throughout the school. A few weeks ago, for example, the principal, our itinerant guidance counselor and I sat down to put together our schedule for next year. Now, one would think that with less than 10 high schoolers, scheduling should be a breeze, but due to many highly questionable decisions made by the previous administration, we had an absolute mess of a schedule to contend with. We found ourselves needing to offer three different maths, three different reading/writing courses, and half a dozen history, science, and elective courses- all with one high school teacher, mind you. So we spent long hours meeting and bouncing ideas back and forth until we came up with a schedule that will work and that we're pretty proud of. Things like this just don't happen in the lower 48. There's a clear order to when classes are offered, and that's pretty much it. It makes for more work, but there's also more a sense of accomplishment when things get done. Of course, the freedom we're afforded often works as a double edged sword (as evidenced above), as many teachers and administrators unfortunately take advantage of our checks-and-balances-free way of getting things done in the last frontier, our "bush style."
     About a week and a half ago, Gary came in to my classroom at the end of the day to hang out and talk, a normal routine for us. Our conversation turned from the NBA playoffs (we're closely watching the Spurs-Clippers series) to the upcoming Spring Dance at the end of the year. This is another of our on-the-fly changes. With no graduating seniors, we were able to sidestep having a prom, settling instead for a much less expensive and involved Spring Dance. Gary told me about how dances have worked in the past here, and casually mentioned that the school hired a DJ every year, and paid for a charter not only for him, but for his entire family. The school was spending well over $10,000 every year for Prom, and well over half of it was going just for the music. That may be a reasonable amount for a large school, but for a school with 7 high school students and a small budget, that is a crippling blow.
     Horrified, I immediately went to the principal, Shannon, and told her not to hire a DJ for the dance this year. Instead, I attempted to convince her to invest in a DJ set up and sound system, which would cost the school half as much as a one-time DJ. Not only that, I continued, but this would be a purchase that could last the school 10 or 20 years. That day, the principal had me write up a list of equipment we would need, the next day it was ordered, and a week later the equipment arrived at the school.

So next Friday, I'm going to be DJing the Spring Dance. I've done weddings and parties in the past, but this will be a new experience. Hopefully, the kids will think my music is "cool" enough!

These are the same trusty speakers I have at home, purchased 10 years ago in high school.