I worked at a school once that I hated. I asked myself if any amount of money would be worth keeping the job-- $10,000 more? No. $100,000 more. No. $1,000,000? I thought longer, but the answer was still no. I worked there less than 6 months.
This way many years ago, before any children were born. Today I found myself asking the same question. Although the money in itself is not worth it, the roof over my head, and that of my family, may just be. I need $2000/month to pay for my mortgage, and I am currently the primary breadwinner of the house. Unless I can find another job that gives me the same vacation schedule as my children (paying for child care eats into a paycheck) and pays me the money that this job does, I believe I am stuck where I am. Trapped is a good word.
The student that I mentioned a few posts ago-- the one that moved from Arizona and was thankfully only going to be in my class for 2 periods a day-- is now being moved into my room full time. I can't imagine what to do with him all day, how to keep his presence from messing up the system, or how to keep him from resenting that he is there. I can't imagine going back there tomorrow. I started off the year behind because I had two new kids with intense needs and I just keep getting further behind. Now I have another new one who is also intense.
I want to go to Cancun.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Ah, M&O, I wish I could help. Everyone makes different choices when they're making decisions for others as well as for themselves - you're not in a position where you can afford the luxury of deciding just what YOU want, sadly. My parents were in the same position about 15 years ago - on first moving to Adelaide, and having bought a house, and with four kids at home, only Mum could get work. She'd given up permanency in the Northern Territory school system to move to Adelaide, and the only work she could get (aside from a little bit of cleaning for a while) was a share classroom teaching position two hours drive away. She had the kids Thursday & Friday, and the teacher who had them the first half of the week did nothing but play games & left the classroom a mess. The town is also the site of a prison facility, so a lot of the kids in the classroom came from less than ideal home situations. It was an awful time, but she couldn't say no to the job because she was having to support us. Also, if she refused a job, her name would essentially go to the bottom of the list for anything else that came up... so she might get nothing, or she might get a worse job. It was a really stressful time, and at the end of the year they decided to move back to the Territory. It was a while before things really got better, and a long while before I understood what she must be feeling. But I guess what I'm trying to say is, you're making the best decisions you can under difficult and trying circumstances. That's all the best you can do - take the information you have now, and make the best decisions you can. It will be a long time, probably, before your kids understand what you're going through for them - but it is what you have to do for now, until you are in a position to make different choices. All the best. Really. I'm thinking of you.
I know about that new kid. I've had him/her. I'm still waiting for the pendulum to swing back to self-contained so that we only have the "regular"/unlabeled kids in the regular classroom.
Post a Comment