Skip to main content

Contract up in the air


All over the nation, education budgets are being cut. Teachers and other staff members are losing their jobs. Books and supplies necessary to educate no longer available to teachers. Classroom populations grow close to 40 students to start the year. It does not paint a pretty picture for the education of our next generation. Closer to home, I am unsure of where or if I will be teaching next year.

I knew it was coming - the meeting with the principal that reminds me that I am a first year teacher in the county without tenure. (It was only four years ago I had one in Orland, Maine because I was the teacher with the least seniority. OCS is closing its doors to students for good at the end of this school year.) Teachers are being cut across the county. A teacher with tenure with a position cut at the school s/he is currently at has first dibs at my job. She expressed to me her desire to keep me and the other teachers in the same position as me. I will know more on Tuesday.

I am at peace with the unknown of what next year will bring. Something inside of me has changed in the last year. I don’t feel the anxiety of wondering if we will be a household with no employment. I am confident that I will be working next year. Whether it will be in Benson or not remains to be seen.

Comments

  1. Mandie I can so appreciate your situation. My job comes to an end June 24 the and I have no idea where I will be working next year or even if it will be in education. I only know that I won't spend my summer worrying about what will happen I know something will. I hope that your situation turns out successfully.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Mandie--I have conferdence in you. You will be working next year. That is the person that you are. Take care. Love you. Marguerite

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Aging sucks.....or does it?

Upon first thought, watching a parent age sucks. Unnoticeable at first. A bit of a stoop, some creaking in the knees, whitening of the hair. The doctor’s visits begin, as do the pills One for high blood pressure, another to thin the blood, and a handful of vitamins to top it off. The signs are there, but it is easier to see him as he has always been. My father, a pillar of strength. Until my pillar was knocked off-kilter. A simple surgery and the mortality of my father looked me square in the eye when the drugs took hold of his brain. Amidst his fidgeting and confusion, I realized…AGING SUCKS! And then….enlightenment dawned upon me….AGING IS BEAUTIFUL Wrinkles tell of smiles while silver hair speaks a life of memories. Knees creaky after years of kneeling in prayer, offering up a lap, and climbing up the stairs for one more kiss goodnight. Almost forty-eight years of memories nestled in my heart. Memories of my father. Taking us to church each Sunday Building and fixing ...

The Next Chapter Begins...

The first round of tears happened during the 8 th grade promotion. It has been such a wonderful year with all of them – 7 th and 8 th graders alike. The second round of tears came when I learned I do not have a contract for next year. I will not be returning to Benson Middle School unless the displaced teachers do not jump at the chance for my classroom.   Right after she told me, I did my best to remain professional and keep the tears at bay. Unfortunately, they came anyway. About the time the tears hit my eyes, an email a dear friend sent me when I first wrote about the contract situation came to mind: “There is always a reason for things. Maybe God wants you to move on and inspire other students.” I love what she says. I feel that with my whole being. However, it did not make hearing that I have no job any easier. So now what? I am floating off the edge again. My family began the year in two different states. We are reunited again in North Carolina. Both Tony and I ...

My Top 10 of 2010

At the stroke of midnight 2010, I was in New York City celebrating the year with a bunch of teachers from Uganda. I looked around me wondering how my life had gotten so good. My life was turning out quite different from the way I planned it 30 years before. Little did I know that 2010 was the year my life would begin anew. The year of reconnections. 10. The Unexpected From chickens to unemployment, private school to public school, house of four to a house of two, Sean moving back and a pimping Caddy, the unexpected continued throughout the year. It began with Stu Pecker Feathers, the chicken that wandered into our yard in the middle of the city of Pueblo. Stu found herself a place to roost and laid a dozen eggs before we said goodbye. As the school year ended, I found myself questioning if private school was where I wanted to be and Tony found himself out of a job. I found myself living in North Carolina with Patti, while Tony lived in New Hampshire with Sana. Surprisingly, Patti thriv...