Twenty years ago, had I been asked to name the doings of my future self, I would not have been able to envision the fall I’ve just been through. Concurrent with beginning this Master of Education program (though entirely unplanned and on a three-day turnaround while camping with my family in Saskatchewan), I also started teaching part time on a probationary contract at an online school for my local school board. My experience with online teaching has spanned a dozen years now, but this is only my fourth foray into actual contracted employment as a teacher — everything else was either as a substitute teacher or where I was technically considered self-employed. The previous three contracts were to fill a maternity leave (a duration of less than three months); a single fall semester, COVID-19-related part-time assignment for a board 500km away; and a summer school position this July for a fully established board for whom I’ve been working since 2016 (which makes it feel like coming home).
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