Opportunities!!

(I [unfortunately] do not own Tangled or anything of Disney's, copyright-wise... this video is from YouTube which is from Tangled). Like Rapunzel here, I feel so close to getting where I want to be, where I've been working so hard to be since graduation and even before graduation.  I had some good news today that gives me hope!

So, I haven't (yet) found a full-time teaching position.  I have interviewed for them! Interview #5, a tutoring center, is willing to hire me, so at least I have some of a back-up plan in place.  They actually want me to start training on Monday if I can. It's a part-time job, though, so if I go that  route, then I'll be looking for another part-time job to complement it.  I really like it there, though.  It has so much structure and it's really organized.  I have to take a pay cut of $3/hr from my last job, but they said there's a chance that I can work my way up depending on how good of a job I can do.  I went in and took the SAT test for them and I'm pretty sure I did well on it... after teaching the SAT and being an English major, it's really not bad.

Interview #6 still hasn't gotten back to me yet.  I almost had an Interview #7, but it's for a part-time English teacher position at a Catholic school, and the EPICS program requires me to have a full-time position to qualify for the tuition remission.  I'm trying to interview there anyway for the reasons listed above (that it would complement my part-time job).

I can't remember if I posted about it or not, but I started on my CE licenses for English/Latin and my substitute teaching license.  It's actually easier to apply for a CE than it is to apply for a substitute teaching license, ironically...possibly because the process to getting standard certification is much more involved in the sense of long-term commitment.

In the meantime, calling to inquire about a job does pay off! I was looking at a charter school that was offering a part-time Latin teacher position for grade 8, so I called and asked about it (I had just put my resume to the place in the mailbox that day). The principal called me today and told me that the position was filled, but he offered me a position writing the Latin curriculum for grades 7 and 8!  I have some connections in the school, and the principal himself is a RU Classics/English alumnus, and he told me they had everything I would need to be able to write it.  I'm majorly excited!! It's not a permanent job, since it has to be complete by the day before Halloween (but he'd like it at least a week before that), but it pays pretty well for those two months and it's something related to the field and something to put on my resume.  That'd give me a little bit of time to finish up my CE and my sub license and save some money for loans and other teacher-related classes that I'll need to take.

I'm going to call the principal from Interview #6 so I can find out what the verdict is so I can plan my life accordingly.  I am getting some responses from the remaining schools I sent my resume to, but most schools at this point are closing up the deal if they haven't done so already.  Any school that hasn't closed the deal is really, really desperately trying to do so.

Keep praying!  I told God last night about how I need to pay my loans and making $12/hr for only a few hours a day wasn't going to cut it... and then I got this offer today for writing the curriculum which will pay significantly more for at least 2 months!  God provides, even though he seems to be running on Randalf time... (from Lord of the Beans... yes, I watch Veggie Tales on occasion): "Toto Baggypants, I am NEVER late.  I arrive precisely when I intend to."

With that, I shall end this post.

Interviews #5, 6

Ever since I was turned down by Interview #4, I've been dispirited... that had been my closest shot to being behind my sought-after desk.  In a last minute panic to find something, I've started looking into other options and seeing if I could get anything before the fall.  Here's a list of all the stuff that's happened:

• sent out 18 resumes/cover letters to various schools, public and private, in the area.
• called a principal about a part-time 8th grade teacher Latin job; he said call me in two weeks and let me know how you've progressed with your certification process.
• started my substitute teaching license application.  I am getting fingerprinted on Tuesday.
• started my CE (certificate of eligibility) license applications for Latin and English and got my tracking number. I need to collect my transcripts and Praxis scores and an Oath of Loyalty to the U.S.  (This cost $360.  I sucked it up and spent the money because principal in point #2 said public schools can't legally hire anyone unless they have a CE.  For Latin, he was willing to make an exception because he knows teachers are few and far between for said subject).
• scoured pages of listed jobs from various newspaper and online resources.  Found that if I wanted to have something teaching *related* from there, I would need to work with 3 year olds, which is not my intended age-group. 
• started Applitrak online applications to public schools.  Now that I know they can't legally hire me without a CE, I may not finish them (or I may... it depends).
• applied to Sylvan, Huntington, and Kaplan.  These are all tutoring/teaching positions, like the job I used to have.  I had an interview (Interview #5) with Sylvan today, and I LOVE it there.  It has an open space, autumn-colored paint on the walls, a classroom space for SAT prep, and you get 3 kids to a desk.  Plus, if your student cancels or fails to show up, there will always be something for you to do.  Plus, they have an EXTENSIVE training program... which is what I'm really looking for. As a new teacher, I need all the structure and instruction I can get so I understand what to do as it is modeled for me.  I think if I don't get a full-time job, working at Sylvan would be a pretty good alternative to give me the experience I really need. 
• got a call from a principal who received one of said resumes/cover letters from point #1.  Luckily for me, this school just had an opening for an English teacher at the time I applied. It's an all-boys school with a very good reputation.  It's not that far from home, so the commute would be ideal.  I have Interview #6 set up for tomorrow morning, early.  

That's everything that happened THIS WEEK.  I've been feeling like a maniac lately!!! Not getting the job at Interview #4 really got me worried that I would find NOTHING this fall. The EPICS program already started and finished it's 2 weeks of certain classes, and I'm sure the weekend class is running now.  They haven't contacted me all week, and I feel that that's probably not a good sign.  At this point, I feel like the marathon started without me, even though I've been running since I graduated to even get into this program.  It's not the end of the world (it took me a few days to get over this feeling, I must admit), and I'm already optimistic because I still have many options that are teaching-related and some way or another, I will get behind a desk next year yet.  I will.  I will have more time to explore different options if I don't find something, like other MA or MAT (or Ph.D) programs I could do.  We'll see! 

Latest News

Okay, so here's the latest...

The position was filled, but not by me (again).  I was very, very close to getting a job at interview #4, but I did not get it.  Therefore, I am back at square one looking for a new place in which to be awesome.  The EPICS program has already started and is in fact already 2 weeks into the program, which really breaks my heart because I am missing so much and I have been trying very hard to complete the requirements to finalize my acceptance.  They told me that I can make up the class, but I need to find that job for the fall. The prayers to St. Jude (saint of hopeless/impossible cases) should start now!  This really feels impossible at this point, and not too many openings are left.

I've updated my resume, printed out 17 cover letters (not an exaggeration), and I'm ready to do the final stretch.  I've started applying also to any public/private school positions that I see are open (most of them are for Latin... English teacher positions are being filled very rapidly, but that's been true since the beginning).  I also applied to Sylvan Learning Center at all the nearby locations, and they were interested in doing an interview (because they got 9 of my resumes), but there is so much going on this week that I really can't go.  I'm planning to apply also to Kaplan and to Huntingdon Learning Center because tutoring makes the most sense for me to do at this point - I'm not about to switch careers exactly.  I already took the PRAXIS II - it's not that hard to get certified after that's done.  If I don't get anything this month, then I'm also going to get my substitute teaching license done as well as my CEs (Certificate of Eligibility) for Latin and English, and then look into teaching programs I can do the year after that so I can get my MA in Education.  One step at a time, I will be behind a desk.

I can't deny that I'm disappointed that things aren't going as planned; I can't be angry with the world or with anyone because that's life, and there was always the risk that I wasn't going to find anything this summer (no matter how many interviews I went on!).  I always remember that poem by Stephen Crane:

A man said to the universe:
“Sir, I exist!"
“However,” replied the universe,
“The fact has not created in me
“A sense of obligation.”

No one should feel that the world owes them something. You have to earn your way.  Everything else is a gift which should inspire gratitude (gifts are not things owed, but things given freely out of good will).  I'm glad I have tried, am trying, and will keep trying.  I'm willing to put in the work to finding the job that I really want. Even if I don't find anything this fall, I had a couple of valuable life skills that I honed (making my resume awesome, writing a really solid cover letter, interview skills), which will help me as I go forward in any direction.  If I don't find anything, I will spend that time making myself even more irresistible for schools next year and use that time wisely.  You can make fairly good money (and connections) substitute-teaching, and you can gain very valuable classroom skills by tutoring.  Hard work and determination will give you what you want - giving up will never get you anywhere. I may not get there this year, but there is next year.  I got very, very close, and I only have so much experience and fewer credentials. Next year, after more experience and more credentials?  I'm sure I'll find something, especially since I have a great resume, I can easily write a good cover letter, and I have the interview skills. I just have to persevere. I don't expect anything less of myself than I would for my students.

Keep praying!

Webinar on the Alternate Route Certification Process (NJ)

This is a lengthy webinar, but it provides a lot of useful information if you plan on becoming a teacher... the simplest thing is to just do the GSE at Rutgers while you have the chance!

Webinar

No news...

Well, it's been exactly one week since I had a second interview at interview #4.  (I forgot to update it). I met the English department there and I don't think the interview went too well.  I was excited to hear I was one of the top 2 or 3 candidates for the job, but because it's been a week, I'm starting to feel like maybe I'm not what they were looking for. I am going to wait until tomorrow and then I'm going to call them to see whether or not they have made their decision yet.

I felt I should update just so people don't think I gave up on this blog endeavor yet.  At this point, it's all or nothing... I'm either going to be a teacher in the fall, or I'm not, at least, not a "formal" teacher.  If I don't get this job, I plan to do alternate route certification over the course of next year and get my CEs in English and Latin, and get my certification to be a substitute teacher, as well as find a center where I can tutor (run-on sentence much?)... plus find some students on the side to tutor through the internet. I loved my last tutoring center, but if I worked there, I would be breaking even (and that's without considering loan payments/etc)... plus, it's 2 hours away from where I currently live. I'm not losing hope quite yet, but nevertheless, it's August and I was hoping I would have something by now.