I'm not meant to teach junior high school students. I thought I was safe from this happening when I got my teaching certificate in physics, but alas, I sealed my fate when I politely declined the offer to go back to the regular high school after a year of teaching alternative. When the board cut the alternative budget in half, the opportunity to go back to the regular high school was long gone, so there I was in junior high school.
I left that school after a month, and the last week was spent with the replacement teacher I found for them. Did they really need to keep me for that last week?? It was a long, drawn-out goodbye, made more difficult from the instant attachments that junior high school students make. Those delightful students gave me a send off, including a goodbye card:
Yes, I cried. I also brought baked goods. I've baked for all of my students, and I wasn't going to ruin those stats just because I only had them for a month.
With my penance served, I was off to the new school. What a transition! I'm not sure I've ever had to change so much in so little time. It's not like moving from one job to the next. Truly, an accounting department runs pretty much the same everywhere, for example. Teaching has so many unspoken details, from whether the students need passes to go to the bathroom, to how to handle things as they go wrong, my default button was set to the previous school system. Adjustment after adjustment was made, and I hope I don't have to do this again. The district feels like home to me now, and next year should be significantly easier.
But this is a baking blog! So I'll get to what I came here for...
The first true adventure of the past year was in making a Milk Bar Cake. If you're not familiar with the Milk Bar, here's the link: http://milkbarstore.com/main/party-cakes/
Fun stuff! Well, Veronica asked me if I wanted to try making it for a friend's birthday, and I was all for it. The cake itself is loaded with sprinkles, and it features a crumb topping that also has sprinkles, as well as about 10 pounds of buttercream frosting. Just looking at the cake can release insulin:
Where's the cake, right?? This heavy thing made it all the way back to Brooklyn via train and subway, and was still a little frozen when it arrived. It was everything it was supposed to be, and it was super fun to make.
Other adventures included macarons. Pearlized pink edible glitter was added to the top of these cookies, and it was really quite satisfying to make them:
By this time in the school year, I had adjusted to living alone on top of other adjustments. My son had moved out, and my dog passed away. This past year had it's cruel moments, mixed in with little successes along the way.
As for the summer, it's officially started and I expect it will be filled with many baking adventures, paired with multiple sewing adventures. I have lots of crafts to do, but for now, I'm due some serious lollygagging time.
Anyway, it's good to be back :)
