Wishing This Was The Bottom

01:49 pm March 17th, 2011




			Slowly Rolls The Stone - Wishing This Was The Bottom

ebenstone


	Wishing This Was The Bottom
	Pink slips went out today. I, to the best of my knowledge, am not going to be a recipient of one of said slips...I don't know what my "number" is, but it's pretty high. It's a shitty day to be working. And from what I've heard, more are to come. It sucks. No one is smiling and their is a palpable feeling of gloom. I won't rant about our top heavy district (we have more assistant to the..., coordinators, directors and their staff then we do teachers). I want to discuss the emotional toll this has on people, especially me. (Cause we all know that's all that matters!) It's such a strange feeling. I am crushed for many of these people (including one phenomenal special ed teacher that I worked very closely with this summer) on one hand. On the other, and this worries me on some level, I am relieved that it wasn't me. Now, I know I said that I am not on the block (fully certified, tenured, 6 years into the job, well-liked by administration, etc), I've been fired from jobs and I know the feeling. I can't imagine how they feel. I still worry, though. Big time. Not for myself, per se. Like I said, I've lost jobs before. But this is the first time in my life that I've ever had people to genuinely provide for...and that scares the shit out of me. Natalie is, by far, the most important thing in my life and the thought of not being able to provide for her terrifies me in a way that words cannot describe. If that wasn't enough, look at the rundown of the shittiness that has been the last 36 hours for me: My wife got her minivan stuck in the mud in the backyard. The sewer backed up into our basement. (Good times there!) Natalie is having an allergic reaction to something and we don't know what it is. Well, hope that brightens your day. Oh, GO ORANGE! Tags: life, school Current Mood: nervous

5 comments or Leave a comment


	Comments

	From: blood_of_winter	Date: March 17th, 2011 06:15 pm (UTC)		(Link)

Im sorry to hear that about your co-workers. My cousin, also a teacher, was laid off recently. I just dont get it - more students for fewer teachers. Go American education!

(Reply) (Thread)

	From: foxywriter	Date: March 17th, 2011 07:32 pm (UTC)		(Link)

I hear you about the pink slips. (Esp since I was given one 2 years ago, had it canceled out, then last spring I was a non-reelect who couldn't find a teaching job since because SO MANY districts in Oregon and California laid off so many teachers.) It fucking sucks in education right now -- no nice way to phrase that. The librarian I've been volunteering for at my old high school just got word she's out of the job after this year (since the local district is laying off 50% of the librarians, possibly 100% due to budget issues). I hate this so much. I hope I can wind up teaching again...because seriously, there's nothing I'd rather do with my life.

(Reply) (Thread)

	From: tk42one	Date: March 17th, 2011 08:54 pm (UTC)		(Link)

Well talk about shitty. For them and for you. What's really sad is my wife has been teaching for years now but there's so much drama in the county that we're both afraid to speak up about it because we don't want her to lose her job. Just plain shitty.

(Reply) (Thread)

	From: saetter	Date: March 18th, 2011 01:27 am (UTC)		(Link)

For 9.5 of the 10 years I worked at my former company, there were periods of stability amidst the normally scheduled quarterly layoffs. So, believe me when I say, I know how survior guilt sucks. Both sad to see other people get laid off and also very relieved you dodged the bullet. It's normal to feel that way.

As far as being the provider, let me ask you a straight up question: how much money is in your rainy day fund? When I got laid off last year, I was lucky. We were living with my wife's folks down in Ecuador and my wife had a job. Even so, we ate up a good portion of the money set aside for a new house (money I'm tring hard to replenish now that I'm employed again).

And I'm right there with you, about top heavy school districts. Makes me sick.

(Reply) (Thread)

	From: kmarkhoover	Date: March 19th, 2011 12:25 am (UTC)		(Link)

One thing I noticed right off when I was teaching was all the "deadwood" that was log jammed in administration. So, of course, they fire teachers instead.....

(Reply) (Thread)