Education/teacher

I Got my Work Permit


My Canadian work permit arrived on Friday. It’s somewhat of an anti-climatically thing however since the move to Texas appears to be back on – in theory anyway. We will know more next week after Rob chats with the man in charge of bringing all the project elements together. 

The first thing I did upon opening the envelope from the CIC was to glance through the Fort Record to see if there were any jobs of interest. A pointless activity as I have no intention of getting a job until my daughter is in school full time and even then there are more things that don’t interest me than do. Teaching for example is only of slight interest and drops to negative interest levels when I ponder the prospect of teaching in Texas. I turned down an offer from the Houston Independent School District long ago. In Iowa we are taught to believe that any school south of our own border is teaches Genesis in place of Darwin and a twangy version of English grammar. Besides when I was offered the position back in the late 1980’s it was well-known that Texas schools were just looking for new hire straight out of college fodder to plunk down in the worst schools. Socially and economically disadvantaged kids grew on trees in Iowa then too and I didn’t see the point of being underpaid in an expensive place to live when I could do the same thing in Iowa within my meager means. Anyway, I have a very negative view of the American education system right now. It stifles good teaching in favor of bad policy. And it’s not fun. Why would I want a job that is joyless to perform? Even if I am good at it. 

I sent out emails back in January, when I thought Texas was a surer thing, soliciting letters of recommendation. I got four positive replies and assurances I would have the letters by March at the latest but now we are into the second week of April – no letters. Hmmm. Whenever I have been asked for a letter and committed to writing it, I have them to the requester within days. But that is just me. And I wrote letters for anyone who asked really regardless of their work for me. The way I saw it was even if the person (a student usually) didn’t do much for me wasn’t any indication of how they would fare somewhere else. A lot of what we call “underachievement” is really just due to bad fits. Of course some people never find the right fit and that is another matter all together. Anyway I don’t have the interest in tracking any of these letters down, so I will just let it go but for this blog piece. C’est la vie.

So I have no letters, but I have one published writing credit to my name and about three rejection letters. I think that makes me a writer in most people’s eyes, but I don’t think you are allowed to include the rejections on your resume. I had a Technorati authority of 15 but it dropped a bit of late. Someone unlinked me I guess or the link expired. They do that. I don’t really understand the whole blog ranking thing. It’s a bit of a puzzlement and probably doesn’t mean much unless you are actually engaged in advertising on your space. In terms of writing resumes, blogging doesn’t count for jack even with that curious prohibition many literary outlets – paper or virtual – have on self-publishing.

Dilemmas. Dilemmas. I have a work permit. Now what do I do with it?

Going Back to Work or School


Lately I find myself looking at the job opportunities that I see listed in the local paper and The Globe and Mail. A pointless exercise because I am still waiting on my permanent residency application to be approved, but I do it anyway. There was a job at the local museum listed last week that sounded like fun. The director needed a temporary assistant to help coordinate school visits, plan activities and lead tours. A love of history and an education background were the two biggest requirements. Aside from the fact that the hours wouldn’t work for me until Katy is in school full-time, it sounded like a great job. Note that I did not say “career”. I am not interested in a career. I have one and that’s writing. Being a writer is where my heart and soul lies and I am not going to forget that again. However, I do miss the day to day that goes along with a “real” job sometimes and it would be nice to bring in a little extra cash to off-set expenses since we are talking again about building a house. And when I am not looking at want ads, I think about taking classes. I grabbed the Continuing Education Guide for MacEwan College today as I was leaving the Safeway. They have a professional writing degree program there that has a few classes that would help me out with my writing career – copyediting, magazine writing, creative non-fiction and web designing. Valuable skills all.

 

So why don’t I just work on my writing and not worry about getting a job or going back to school? Partly because I am in a rut again. I have a lot of work currently out and haven’t heard back on anything yet. While this is frustrating, the other side of the coin is my fear that by having work out I am breaking some sort of rule. I don’t think I am because no one is going to pay me money even if they do want to use my work. The magazines I have targeted tend to pay you in subscriptions or copies of the edition you are published in. It is one of those resume-building things that writers do. Trade pay for writing credits that you can use to get more serious publications, agents and publishers to take you seriously. And there is the fact that at ten months I am well over past the longest stint I have gone without working since I was 14 years old. One would think that after thirty years of working for someone else, being self-employed would be a nice change, but that just goes to show you how ingrained work ethic and self-sufficiency can be. I am a product of my generation – the Joneses (1954 -1964) not Boomers or GenXer’s, we are the stable middle that keeps those two groups from exploding on each other. I learned my lessons too well, as my generation is wont to do and know I feel a bit untethered. Not that I am not nearly always busy. I have much to do and the days fly by. But I miss beng around people who are not my family on a my regular basis than writing group or yoga class.

 

Despite my dilemma, teaching is not calling loudly in my ear. I should be able to obtain an Alberta license sometime this spring and knowing what I do about education, I could easily sub next year. I don’t find that as interesting however as working in a museum. Or maybe studying to become a yogini. Yes, there is a yoga studio that I am going to switch to that offers training and certification for yoga instruction. How cool would that be?

 

“So what do you do?”

 

“I’m a writer and I teach yoga.”

 

Or.

“I write primarily but I also work part-time at the local museum designing educational programs for elementary and secondary students.”

 

Yeah, substitute teacher just doesn’t have the same ring to it, does it?

 

Of course there is also Rob’s dream of building green houses.

 

“I write and I maintain the website for my husband’s company. He designs and builds green homes.”

 

Maybe I just want to be trendy? Not like most SAHM who venture back into employment by getting their realtor’s license or open up dayhomes. I don’t want to be anymore of a cliché than I am – teacher turn writer. Though in my case, it has always been writer with teaching being my side tracking.

 

I think that both employment and school probably represent nothing more than my frustration. I am hemmed in by a child who isn’t in full day school yet, a lack of status that keeps me from trying out jobs or classes and the interminable waiting that goes along with submitting writing pieces. The last is just a matter of finding that elusive audience for the things I like to write.

 

Probably what I really need is just a vacation.

 

 

First Day of the 2007/2008 School Year


Today is the first day of the school year back in Des Moines. Well, it is for the staff anyway. The majority of teachers reported back at 8 AM CST. There will be meetings. Some of interest but most are a waste of everyone’s time and patience. Cleaning and organizing and catching up with coworkers that you likely haven’t seen since the last day of school in June. Lesson plans need to be made and class lists beg for perusal. I would have had my room and lessons ready to go by today. It was my habit to spend several hours a morning getting ready starting at the first of the month. I didn’t like the rushed feeling that only three days of preparation gave me. There really are few things more conducive to productivity than an empty classroom and a near empty building.

I think it was harder a few weeks ago than it is today, wrapping my mind around the idea that I will not be teaching this year. That, in all likelihood, I will never teach again. Though education is a subject that is near to my heart and I can be very passionate about, it is no longer where my heart lies. I had a supervisor who would often remark that it takes less than a whole day to forget what it is like to be a classroom teacher. Once you have left the building, you have truly left. Like Elvis. I suppose I will see now how true that is.

Twenty years. Is it possible I spent that much of my life with other people’s children? Where has that 23 year old gone? She really believed that she was making a difference. Interesting that I don’t miss her.

Happy first day back to my friends and coworkers in the Des Moines Public Schools! Go get ‘em!