The Job Hunt
11,000 Teachers Needed; 20,000 Looking!
by Anonymous
The principal rose and stretched out her hand to me. “Thank you for coming in.” She said mechanically. “We’re looking to make a decision about the position in the next day or two and we’ll give you a call at that time.”
I stretched out my hand and prayed that my palm wasn’t as sweaty as it felt. I murmured a polite “Thank you.” and turned to make my way out of her office and out of the building. I cursed my embarrassment the whole way to the car. I could feel my face still burning even as I was pulling out of the parking lot. As the quiet residential neighborhood glided smoothly past, I replayed their questions and my disastrous answers over and over in my head. Why did I say that? Why didn’t I say this instead? Good heavens! You’d think after as many interviews as I’ve done I would be able to anticipate anything. And yet, I’m always caught off guard.
According to a study published on the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) website, Illinois needs about 11,000 new teachers every year through 2011. Unfortunately, Illinois has almost 20,000 new and returning teachers looking for work every year. Figure into those numbers the fact that ISBE expects enrollments to decline, so things don’t look too good for me, and 9,000 of my closest friends. I didn’t know about that when I decided to go back to school. My decision to make a mid-life career change came like a bolt of lighting to me. Really. There was a grand moment when the idea struck me to go back to school for a teaching certificate and I was like, “Yes! That’s it! That’s what I want to do for the rest of my life!” I remember that moment vividly. Yes! My husband, who has spent years by my side as I found reasonable success in middle management but never stability, happiness or fulfillment, was super supportive. We huddled together at the computer looking at graduate programs and tuition rates. We talked about how to manage with only one income while I went to school. We were convinced that our three kids were old enough so that they could spare me a few evenings a week. Plus, the timing was right. I could finish school and be teaching by the time our oldest is off to college. Our kids were excited for me, and our expectations were high!
And so it began. I gave notice at my full time job and went back to school full time. Most of my classes were interesting. My favorites were history of education and my physical education methods courses. Beyond my elementary certificate, I took extra classes to get a middle school endorsement from the state, which qualifies me to teach physical education. P.E. is my first love and it’s the years of volunteer coaching that made me realize my calling was working with children.
As I took my classes, my kids loved discussing my class work and helping me with my lesson plans. I tested out ideas on them, and they shared with me things that their own teachers had done. My four months of full-time student teaching was in language arts at the sixth grade level. I didn’t feel it actually went very well, but I received a positive letter of recommendation from my cooperating teacher. After three years of hard work, I received my Master’s Degree in Teaching from Dominican University. That was a year and a half ago. I’m still looking for a job.
As I turned the car down my street I looked at the clock and realize that it had been only a half an hour since I left for the interview. The first thing out of everybody’s mouth would be something along the lines of, “Back so soon?” or “Wow, that was the fastest interview ever!” I couldn’t face them. I kept driving past the house and head for, well, I don’t actually know. Anywhere. Plus my eyes were bloodshot and my face was red from crying. I didn’t want my kids to see me like this. Beaten. Failure. Unwanted. Desperate. FAILURE.
I was so full of excitement when I first started interviewing. It didn’t occur to me that I might not get a job. I went into each interview enthusiastic and confident. If I didn’t get this job, then surely I would get the next. Or the next. Or the next. At some point everything was going to ‘click’ and I would be the one they wanted. My first interview was actually a total disaster. I can laugh about that one. I was barely done with my student teaching, and I called the HR department of a district where I had been substitute teaching and asked if I could interview for an open position. The secretary, who didn’t even look at my file to see if I qualified for the job I wanted, granted me the interview. Teachers in the district warned me that they videotape the screening interviews to show to principals before callbacks. Well, I was coaching a softball practice the night before and took a hard pitch right in the face. Totally stunned, I reached up and felt my nose. It felt funny and out of place. I pushed hard on the side on my nose and it settled back into place with a sickening, cracking noise, and all of a sudden the blood began to pour. Several bloody towels and an icepack later the bleeding stopped, but the next morning my nose was a glaring purple and my sinuses swollen. I talked like I had a massive head cold. So much for looking good on videotape. The truth is that even if I looked like a million bucks, that woman wasn’t going to hire me. It’s a very well-funded, district in a posh, suburban area with easy to manage, homogenous classrooms. They get thousands of applicants for just a few spots every year. They can fill their spots with teachers who have cut their teeth in tougher areas and now have the experience that these types of districts can demand. I could tell in the interview that she wasn’t even listening to me. Actually, she was looking at the clock most of the time. I seriously had the urge to say, “Excuse me, I’m over here!”
The days of enthusiasm and confidence are long gone. I’m so afraid that it’s ME. They don’t want ME. Every day a little more of my confidence erodes. I listen painfully to my husband and friends as they talk about their jobs and a lump starts to gnaw at my throat. I did laundry today. I mowed the yard. I rearranged the knick-knack shelf. I cry in the mornings. I exercise in the afternoons. I am lonely and can’t wait for my kids and husband to come home. I am broke.
I went back to my university’s career center for interviewing help. My friendly career counselor, who looked barely older than my oldest teenager, declared my resume impressive and my mock interview a success and sent me to a job fair. At the job fair, I waited in lines 20-30 people long to hand over my resume to people who in many cases, were not actually doing the hiring. Most of the school districts at the job fair were geographically unsuitable for me. I decided to remain positive and declared it a good experience anyway. After a few months I called the career center again and spoke to the head person there, who steered me toward some job search websites they are affiliated with. After getting off the phone with her I realized that part of the problem is that she really doesn’t understand the job search issues faced by would-be teachers. I diligently registered with the websites she recommended and uploaded my resume. Most of the jobs there were not teaching jobs, however. Worse, the more time that passes, the less I remember about what I learned in my classes and student teaching. I am losing my ability to answer questions in interviews because I’m not using my skills.
Unlike most careers, there’s a hiring season for teachers. It starts in the spring as is over by mid-August. By the time school starts, most districts have hired all they need. Except for the occasional maternity leave or the very rare mid-year exit, there are no more jobs until the following year. It hit me the other day that it’s now September and the window for me to get a job has again closed. My husband thinks I should go back to school and expand my qualifications. I am certified to teach kindergarten through 5th grade plus I have middle school endorsements for language arts, social studies and physical education. According to ISBE, the needs in the next few years are mostly going to be in the areas of special education and bilingual. My student loans come due in a couple of months and honestly, I feel like going back to school would be throwing good money after bad. It would take another year (at least) and thousands of dollars that we don’t have to get any other endorsement. In my heart, I think people should teach what they love. I should be teaching physical education. It’s my passion. It’s what I love.
I drove around for an hour after that last interview. When it seemed that enough time had passed so as to appear that they actually considered hiring me, I pulled in the driveway. When my kids enthusiastically asked how it went, I smiled and said my impression was that they were looking for someone with more experience. The principal very kindly called a couple days later to let me know they had chosen another candidate for the half-time kindergarten position. That was such a foregone conclusion that I had to contain my urge to laugh. I thanked her for the call, wished them well, and went back to the drawing board.