I've been contemplating whether I should have written about my hunt for a job within the past few months, but decided not to -- I'm superstitious. Our economy has taken a downfall in the last year or so and of course, if you've been following my blog, I so happen to be one of those laid-off victims (maybe it wasn't a layoff, but I digress...). Ever since then, I've been looking for job after job after job. I was either over-qualified or I did not have the skills they're looking for. I tried everything in my usual charismatic power to convince employers that I could do the job to no avail. Just for kicks, and to satisfy the ones who dared me, I even tried McDonald's! Yikes! Tried temp agencies, like Volt -- nada. Tried dep't stores -- didn't want me: "Ma'am we're afraid you could get bored with the skills and education you posses." She sounded like she was joking, but...Hello?! They'd rather hire someone who is shallow? One of my friends told me that they're probably intimidated by my experience and are afraid that I'm going to take over their company and run for president. She also suggested that it's probably because I'm a "little" headstrong and too ambitious. Really? hmmm...I'm gonna have to do a personality-check on that.
Even as I am experienced inside a preschool classroom, I will not dare touch a lead position again. It seriously took a lot out of me physically and emotionally. When I observed and helped out in my son's classroom and at Roosevelt Elem., there was a tremendous difference in the kind of work that was done. It was mostly administrative and that's more my forte'. I love to write and talk , or in this case, teach. Once in a while there will be hands-on projects, but at least with older children - even kindergartners - they are much more self-sufficient and natural problem-solvers. All I have to do is teach. I know I'm glamourizing elementary teaching, but it's exactly how I feel when working with older children. Someone told me, "You've passed the baby-hunger stage because your kids are older." I think she may be right.
Having said that, I decided to look under "education" in Craigslist to see if there were any openings in a teaching field involving K-6th grade children. I was a bit disappointed at first as there were a lot of listings in childcare. It's typical because the turn over rate is really high. I think, too, that the pay isn't attractive: to be physically/emotionally overworked is probably not worth it to most. It's intimidating. One ad caught my eye in which they were seeking elementary school teachers, and it was way at the bottom. This ad listed the part-time hours, and the pay. It was just right. Only problem is, it's a 30-40 min. drive from where I live. It's actually not bad. The pay's even pretty good. Everything I saw on there fits my needs perfectly. So I jumped on the wagon and applied. Hoping that it is NOT childcare -- babysitting older children, I took a deep breath and sent off my resume/cover letter.
Within two weeks, I get a call from "Mary Gerald". She was impressed with my experience (finally!) and wanted to meet with me; so I rushed and got dressed and got there within one hour after she called. The area literally looks like a summer camp for kids; in fact, summer camp was in session when I arrived. I met her right away at the front door and she invited me to sit in her office.
She reminds me so much of my advisor at WWU -- she seems "motherly" and very down to earth. After a few minutes of small talk, I offered her to view my portfolio that I brought with me. The portfolio gives detailed accounts of my past and present experience in working with K-6th graders. A lot of it were lesson plans and my in-class experience from the last two sessions. As I love photography, there were pictures that I included in my port. She was really impressed to the point that she wanted to keep it with her to look over and give her and her staff ideas on building a portfolio. I, personaly, did not feel comfortable with that. Private information is not something I wanted to expose to complete and total strangers, such as my SS# which is included on my transcripts. I politely told her that I needed to look over my portfolio to take out certain items and that I could give it to her at a later time. She agreed.
After being with her for almost 45 minutes, she hired me on the spot. My heart practically leaped. She also gave me an orientation around the school (camp) grounds. I think this is going to be interesting. Their environment is rich in vegetation and foliage. It's definitely the epitome of the Emerald State. There are pine trees everywhere, ferns, alders, etc. And the air - so fresh! I am a little worried about what this place is like during the winter months. I think it might be tough. Then I remembered: I'll be working with older kids -- they DO NOT have to play outside. When I was in childcare, the little ones were required to go outside, rain, snow, or shine just to get their energy out. It was never my favorite part as Washington state has extreme weather patterns. The toughest part was putting on/taking off thick winter coats from the children because they do not how to do it themselves. Obviously, with older children, I'd expect them to do these things by themselves.
After I got home, my phone rings. Mary just got a hold of all three of my references and told me that she really liked what they told her. One of my colleagues called and she panicked thinking that she thought she didn't do well on that call. I reassured her that if she didn't do well, I wouldn't have been hired. Right when I said those words, she screamed with delight. I'm so fortunate to have such good friends from school.
I have been assigned to work with the 1st and 2nd graders with another teacher starting Sept 1. Because this is only an assistant job (I'm not qualified to legitimately teach older children, yet), I will not be doing any planning :(. One thing that Mary noticed about my personality is that I am indeed a leader - that's why she paired me up with someone who is very experienced than the other one who is new (certified teacher) to the program. I knew what she meant so I assured her that I'm there to pick up more techniques from a (lead) teacher and not step on anyone's toes. This will be a whole new learning experience for me. I hope that I will walk out of there with more tricks up my sleeve when working with school-aged children. I think this will be fun.
So not only did I get hired into a position that I wanted, but it took me practically seven months to find a job that will help me (and my kids) be financially stable. And that's what's much more important.
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