OK, so it's been a while since my last blog entry. What can I say? I'm easily distracted.
Distracted by the condition of unemployment brought on by recent budget cuts courtesy of the State of NJ and the school district of Pleasantville, NJ, I've spent the last six months glued to my computer looking for full-time employment. My position as an art teacher was eliminated. There were other art teachers, but Iwas the only non-tenured teacher in the bunch, so I got the ax. It had nothing to do with merit. Timing is everything and to add insult to injury, it happened seven days after I bought my house and signed a mortgage.
I'm beginning to think that at age 52 I have to abandon the one thing I'm best at doing and love the most. I worked full-time while raising my children and putting kids through college and going back to school for my own master's degree seemed like a selfish act. But now it is painfully clear that without a master's degree I simply can't compete with the new generation of 20 somethings who have them. Doesn't seventeen years in a classroom count for anything? It's a terrifying prospect that I may never teach again, or even have a career.
I could drone on about the corruption of the district and the corrupt nature of our teacher's union, and even our idiot governor, but nobody cares and it's just too painful for me to dwell on these facts.
So, in the interest of comic relief, here is a list of the top ten perks of my situation:
1) I don't have to make signs or draw illustrations for other teachers or administrators who think that teaching 100 students a day isn't enough of a job.
2) I will never again lose my lunch period due to a fire alarm!
3) I actually had the time to write holiday cards this year to people that I love instead of people whose asses I have to kiss.
4) I get to play doctor on myself since I lost my health benefits when I lost my job. I should have gone to medical school, I bet I wouldn't be in this situation if I had.
5) I can be proud of my dedication as a teacher and that I have 33 accumulated vacation and sick days that I never used. Guess I shouldn't have had perfect attendance all those years, huh?
6) I actually get through the day without anybody stealing anything from me.
7) I just love receiving automated telephone calls from my former district informing me in two different languages that a district event has been cancelled. (It doesn't matter that I've contacted the superintendent twice to please remove me from the district's calling list.)
8) No more missing favorite TV shows or family time because I'm grading work or calling parents.
9) No more losing hours of my precious weekend doing lesson plans.
10) My boyfriend moved in with me to help me with expenses. After raising three children and working my entire adult life I may have a career as a housewife afterall. NOT. It pays less than unemployment.
