Volunteer Bug

For the last little while I've fallen into a bit of a negative attitude regarding my teaching career. I love teaching, and I always thought at this stage of my life I would be actively employed and enjoying a successful teaching career. My kids are old enough that they don't need me to be home all the time, and I really need the added dimension in my life that a job brings.

Unfortunately, getting a teaching job in this city is practically impossible. The reality that I am going to have to wait possibly two years to get on a supply list is very discouraging. I met with the principal of my kids' school yesterday, and she was very happy to give me some advice, but her biggest warning was "Be patient". She did, however, take me around the school and introduce me to several teachers whom I had not yet met, suggesting some volunteer opportunities beyond just my kids' classrooms. Since Christmas I have been volunteering in Janelle's classroom once a week, and I'm thinking I may bump that up to two mornings a week. Her teacher seems very happy to have me there, and it is a way of getting me into a school. I also met a kindergarten teacher who seemed excited about the possibility of having me join her class once a week.

Soooo... maybe I can work up a schedule that finds me in a classroom three or four mornings a week. It certainly couldn't hurt my career, and it would make me visible and familiar with the routines in this school so that when I do get on a supply list I'll be the one they want to call. I think I'm liking this idea. I think I've been bitten by the volunteer bug. I'll be teaching again. I won't get paid for a while, but someday I will. It is definitely a way of taking the situation and forcing myself to think positive.