[Izulde]

Dusted off my manuscripts and have started reworking one or two of my short stories for submission.

I've also been researching possible careers outside of academia, just because of how brutal the market is, particularly for those in the humanities (English, especially.) It appears there's a growing number of PhDs who are leaving the academy and transitioning into teaching at private/independent high schools.

Have to admit, it's damned appealing an option. I've seen this semester what a life as an adjunct would be for me personally. I go to office hours, teach classes, go home... and there I sit. I have no social life beyond out of town friends coming in or my going to see them, and in the former case, that's only if they're interested in hanging out with me for an evening while they're here.

I've come to genuinely love teaching, discussion and seeing my students grow as writers and as people. Research? Hate it, and I found early on my graduate career that an academic PhD in English was something I had no interest in doing. A PhD in Creative Writing? Yes, would love that.

I know private school employment is less pay than most public high schools, and that there's service requirement expectations just as there would be for a TT position at the university level. But I'd be fine with that - love it, even, especially if I could get back into coaching.

Most appealing, I think, is that prep schools really focus on developing and fostering a sense of community and involvement, and require its faculty to be a part of that. So it wouldn't just be me doing office hours, teaching classes, and going home. And it's an easy trap to fall into. There are some people here who have been adjuncting for 20-25 years. I don't want that to happen to me. If I do that, I will consider myself as having failed in life.

The biggest problem? Teacher me never would have had the opportunity to instruct student me. Going to private school was never an option or possibility for me as a kid, nor did I have any interest in it. In fact, ironically enough, I won a small scholarship in high school by writing an essay championing public education over private at the secondary level.

But then another part of me realizes that I have no interest in teaching at a public high school, especially with the way the system has been destroyed, and even though I'd be at a private school, I'd have ample opportunity to help make my students far more ready for college than most of the ones I see are when they first walk on to campus.

Just me thinking aloud here.