To everything, there is a season

“To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace. What profit hath he that worketh in that wherein he laboureth? I have seen the travail, which God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised in it.”- Ecclesiastes 3:1-10 (KJV)

I’m not a particularly religious person, but there are moments when certain passages from the Bible seem particularly appropriate. (I hope this is not a case of the Devil quoting Scripture for his own ends!)

Please allow me to explain:

I left my most recent job, voluntarily, in June of this year after posting my resignation in March. The position was not, for a variety of reasons I’ll not go into here, a good “fit” for me, and the stress of going to a job that wasn’t right for me every day was having an impact on my life outside of work. Leaving the job was the best thing for me to do for myself.

This is not to say that leaving didn’t create some (considerable!) turmoil of its own, but overall it has improved my quality of life and brought my family closer together. The improvements in my personal relationships far outweigh the other issues this decision has precipitated.

Now, despite the improvements in my life and in my own general outlook towards life, being unemployed presents some very real difficulties of its own; namely, how do I contribute to the support of my family without a source of income? I’ve spent the last 6 months attempting to solve this problem, searching for a new job in education.

Since June, I’ve applied for in the area of 60 positions, from classroom teacher to dean of students to assistant principal to principal to coordinator to director, and even a couple non-school jobs. I’ve interviewed for about 8 of these positions, and have received, to date, exactly zero offers of employment. I haven’t even been offered an interview for a teaching job; I suspect it’s because I am too expensive to hire, with 90 post-bachelors units and 14 years of experience.

Given this, it seems that the universe is trying to tell me something: the season of my time in education may have passed.

I’ve been working in this field for a long time, and i have invested a great deal of time, energy, emotion, and money into my career (those 2 masters degrees weren’t free, ya know!); however, if I can’t get a position in the field right now, I am obligated by my responsibilities to my family to find one in another field.

I don’t know what field that is, or what it is I’m going to wind up doing, but I have to do SOMETHING.

I’m not abandoning education altogether- it’s too much a part of who I am to do that. I’ll continue to read about teaching and learning, interact with educators on Twitter, and (I hope) continue to blog about education and life in general. But, and this is very hard for me to say, I don’t think I’ll be an educator, at least professionally, for a while. I have to focus my energies in a direction that will help me to provide for the needs of my family.

Perhaps the seasons will turn again soon. For now, though, “[There is] A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away…”

The time has come for me to cast away a profession I love and a field for which I am passionate, and to get something different.

The Tally So Far

Here’s where I am at this point, job hunt-wise:
Applied: 8 districts (plus 4 more I’m in the process of working on)
Interviewed: 3 districts
Call backs: 1 district, 2 times (didn’t get first opening, but called again to go after another one)
Paper-screened out: 2 that I know about for sure; may be 2 others that just aren’t telling me about it.
Out-right rejections: 1 so far, but one of the jobs I interviewed for is flying again. That is NOT a good sign!
Jobs pulled by district: 1
On the current position: I spoke with the Superintendent on Thursday. He was very sympathetic, said nice things about the district’s opinion of me, and that he hoped I would have a spot with them next year. Also offered to call a friend in another district and put my name in for openings they may have. I said, “Yes, that would be great!” He is waiting on some direction from the Governing Board as to how they want to see the slightly-improved budget for next year used, so I still have a chance at a my job existing next year. (Sidenote: I wonder if organizing a “Contact the Board” campaign to keep my job would work? I’ve heard from several sympathetic parents… Nah, probably not a good idea.)

Like I’ve said before, I understand the situation. It’s not personal, it’s personnel.But that understanding does not make this uncertainty any easier to take. I’m not freaking out over the situation, at least not yet. I figure more jobs will open as districts get a clearer picture of who’s going to be where in what capacity next year due to promotions and other attrition, and I don’t think I’ll be too nervous until later in the summer.
My wife, on the other hand, wants to see ink on a contract before the end of this school year. I can understand that, too.