If You Had One Shot, Or One Opportunity, To Seize Everything You Ever Wanted, One Moment, Would You Capture It?

The job market is tough right now. Has that become a cliché?

I don't know if I chose teaching, or teaching chose me, it's just always been the underlying thing I wanted to do. Which means I am now trying to break into a very difficult job market. I've been at it for 2 years, and it's been an uphill battle. The key really just seems to be patience; that, and hoping more people would retire!

I graduated from teacher's college in June 2009, and it wasn't until that November that I finally got onto a supply list. Sadly, it was a school board that I do not live in, it's to the west; the closest school is 45 minutes away. There was no real job in sight. The local Catholic board seems to have blackballed me for some reason, and the local public board keeps posting and retracting job openings for the supply list, plus I've been told they won't hire you if you live right in the city - too many people already on the list won't travel to outlying areas to supply teach.

In April 2010, I got onto another school board supply list, this one north-west of my area, and with only 3 high schools. I had a promising interview for a short-term job that I didn't get because they had already had someone else in mind, then supply taught in the school steady for a couple of months, and then suddenly I seemed to have just dropped off their phone list. Then I heard that the board had hired more supply teachers, even though many weren't getting much work to begin with. I haven't worked in that board since January.

Last summer, a friend gave me the heads up that the local public board (that she had magically managed to get a permanent job with, I have no idea how) was desperate for summer school math teachers. I jumped at the chance and taught 4 weeks of summer school at a school 45 minutes away, albeit in my local board. I thought for sure that it was my chance to get my foot in the door and be added to the supply list. Surely if they would hire me to teach summer school, I could be added relatively easy to the supply list. At the very least, the next time they were hiring. But once I got to class, I realized many of the summer school teachers worked in other boards; they could not get into this board on a regular basis. One man had taught in the private school system for 15 years and they would not hire him for the supply list. I still had hope, but in the end, all I got was my paycheck. I don't scoff at that, but I had high hopes that after a year and half of harassing the HR department, I finally had a shot. I got a good reference from the VP, but that was it.

Finally this winter, I got a call for a short-term job at a school in the first board to hire me. I love the school and the staff, even though it is a 45 minute drive. The short-term job turned into the entire semester. I had classes of my very own for an entire semester, for the very first time. It was magical and I truly loved every stress-filled moment. It was everything I wanted in my career, it was where I worked so hard to get to. But of course the semester must end. I had wanted to teach summer school again as I had last year, but the local board apparently only posts internally, and I of course was not considered internal. Good enough to take the job that nobody else seemed to want, but not good enough to re-apply for it the following year. I lucked out however and got 2 weeks of summer school teaching at my last school. Just 8 days, grade 9 and 10 math. But at the school I love (if only it was in town). I only dream that I will somehow end up back there in the fall.

This past weekend, I got a message from another friend who works in the local board saying that they were desperate for math teachers for the last two weeks of summer school here in town. Without even thinking, I jumped at the chance, and she passed on my number to the summer school principal. So the same man who speedily interviewed me last summer left me a message this morning. And once I called him back... I now have two more weeks of summer school ahead of me! And I finally get to work somewhere locally. That alone is exciting; no more commuting! Well, at least not for 2 weeks.

Luckily this year, I go in it with no expectations. I will happily take my paycheck and the extra experience on my resume and assume nothing else will come from this school board. Anything else will just be gravy. And I get two weeks with a new batch of kids, from the sounds of it, a mix of 9's, 10's and 11's. Just another opportunity, and I will gladly take it. Even if it means my summer vacation will start 2 weeks later than I expected. =)