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

An Easter Lesson

I decided that this break I was going to stay home and spend the week doing things I have not done or haven't done in awhile. It all began Thursday night with Ballroom Dancing, which will continue on Monday and Thursday with lessons. Saturday, I bought a couple of new outfits. Today brought both something I hadn't done in awhile and something new. Today, I went to church which was pretty cool in itself. I went with someone I just met the day before. (I am sure that is no surprise to any of you who know me.) We made plans to meet up at church. It was different from any church I had been in before. The chairs were set up "in the round." There was no piano or organ to accompany our singing. People were in and out throughout the 90 minute service. No surprise, the place was packed. The service was your typical protestant service, minus the organ, of course. It had been awhile since my friend had been to church. Many in the congregation flocked to him at the end to gi...

The Christmas Ache

Christmas. For many it is a joyful day filled with family and good food, for others it is a struggle to get through the day.  Yesterday was my final Christmas waking up in an empty house. I don't want to do it again. The 50 plus years of waking up super early to either sneak to the tree and open my stocking or hear my kids do the same has made the silence of Christmas morning unbearable. The last four years, I have been waking up to an empty house. I had invites this year from every member of my family. I declined them for a variety of reasons, which do not matter in this piece of writing. What matters is today I talked to people who also struggled through Christmas day.  When alone, one can get caught up in one's feelings and think they are the only one going through whatever it is. In this case, being alone on Christmas. The ache inside begins. The tears flow. It doesn't help that the Hallmark channel is playing the formulaic Christmas movies. You know the one. It ...

WABDR: Section 1

Section 1  We end at the beginning  Does it feel like this trip will never end? Epic adventures tend to last a bit longer than just an average one. So….on with our tale.  We got our bikes all packed up and continued over White Pass. The first time we went over it, it was a cloudy day. Thus, the visibility of the mountains was not much. I was expecting the same on our return trip to Packwood. Therefore, it took my breath away when I saw the mountain off in the distance for the first time. The beauty was so overwhelming, I teared up.    I continued to watch the mountain until I could see it no more. Soon we were in Packwood. Back where we started. After a quick breakfast at the local coffee shop, we were on our way. I may have taken a few minutes to ride the big bike first… Not too long though, because someone was ready to get moving.  Jennifer had some friends that were camping at Walupt Lake, which is right on the trail for Sectio...