Woman Loses Job, is Offered New "Opportunity" With Strings Attached

That is the headline of my life.

So, I was laid off, right? You all remember this I think. Pink slipped. Not for any cause but California's stupid, stupid budget, which God forbid we fix. It was all "precautionary" - as in, "If California continues to fuck with the budget (and it probably will), then we'll need you to leave, stage right. Otherwise, you have a job. Thanks!".

That was in early March. It's been a rollicking good time waiting to find out if I really did have an appointment with the unemployment office.

It seemed very likely. So likely, in fact, that I was sort of assuming it would come to pass. Grace in the oncoming storm and all that. This isn't the first time I've been out of here, by gum. I've been "laid" off a few times. I'm tenacious.

Two weeks ago when my principal came to my room at lunch and closed the door I was a little worried. What now? I wondered. Do I have to start packing? Is there some sort of problem?

I worry like this when a cop is following me, too. Authority gets me.

People, he offered me a job. A job at this school. With people I know and love working with. Not only a job but a new career path. One where it will be nigh unto impossible to be laid off.

I am going into special ed.

We have a serious shortage of special ed teachers in this country. Serious. And there are all sorts of grants and programs and stuff to move people into special ed teaching. There are, of course, strings attached to those grants. Strings like, "for every year we give you money, you have to teach for 2 years".

And that? Is fine with me! I want to teach, people. I don't want to be unemployed. I like this gig. I like my students (usually). I like my resource students, and I enjoy working with them sometimes more than working with my mainstream or gifted students. The work is hard, but the payoff is enormous.

All of this boils down to the fact that I'm going back to school. It's not clear to me exactly how many classes I need - I'll be talking to an admissions counselor about that very soon. Probably a year or so - possibly as little as 7 months, maybe upwards of 15. But what's clear is that I'm going back for another credential because I got my "assignment" email from the district office and I'm officially going to be a resource specialist next year, and that requires that I be in a program towards getting this credential. I'll probably be the specialist for 6th grade, which I'm pretty jazzed about. I've been at the 8th grade level for 6 years and though I dearly love my colleagues and the curriculum, I could use a break from the attitude at this age. Incoming 6th graders are still a little freaked at the whole "junior high" thing, and they still tend to like their teachers. Puberty hasn't gone full throttle so there's less of the sex stuff to deal with. They're like Junior Junior High.

For someone who swore she was done with school after she got her (useless) B.A. in political science? I sure have taken a lot of classes...
Posted by GoddessKristin on 06/10/10 at 11:16 AM [link] [No Comments - Be the first!]