The job I lost
I was a teacher-public elementary school, 2nd grade.
What it's like being unemployed
I have been a teachers aide or a substitute teacher all my life. It was the 'dream job' I've always wanted. I went to night school and got my teaching certificate and I was so very pleased and proud of me!
I got a job 4 miles from my house. Then school budgets began getting cut. I had 1 day to teach before getting my tenure. My schools budget was slashed so very deeply that positions and teacher were simply eliminated. There were 40 teachers in my small rural school. 10 people were let go.
My bosses said they would of kept me if they could, but I had no tenure (did I mention I had 1 DAY to go?) and a tenured teacher who's art position was eliminated, took my second grade classroom. After all, she had tenure and couldn't be let go!
The previous year to my downsizing, my husband of 17 years, passed away, AND I'd bought my very first house because of my new job. Now I found myself with a new house, two children in college, no job and suddenly I was trying to make ends meet on 2/3's of my salary!
I search for work EVERY day, i have sent out thousands of resumes. I have applied for every teaching job, and there aren't many! I've applied for everything from bus driver to cemetery supervisor, every day care opening, every secretarial position , no one is hiring!
Now I am out of benefits, I have no clue how to meet my mortgage. I borrow from friends who are still working, gifts of love I have no way of re-paying. While my children are away at college I rent their rooms!
Now I have discovered that the grand Govoner of my home state has slashed school budgets for the third year in a row, which means state wide there will be 3,000 more unemployed teachers out there to compete with!
Advice
- I am getting used to visiting food banks
- I have scraped together a huge (to me) sum of money to re-finance the mortgage,
- eliminated my home phone,
- Downsized to minimum tv packages,
- Canceled paper deliveries, canceled movie clubs
- Shopped for cheap car insurance
- Cut back on EVERYTHING.
- We do not go to the doctor or dentist any more
- I have planted a garden
- My family has skipped vacation, long trips
- we don't eat out, nor order pizza or chinese
