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Re: Unemployed but willing



At 17:58 26/08/97 -0500, you wrote:

I moved to West Texas recently with a certification to teach high school
math and physics and the intention to teach in the public schools.
Unfortunately, I am unemployed though I did my best to apply to all the
public school districts in the area by the second week of June.

I am substituting about 3 days a week here in Lubbock, but I have a
feeling I'll be busy with videos, handouts, or tests and won't actually
be asked to teach a thing.

If you've ever been unemployed (especially after relocating) when you
wanted to teach, what did you do in the meantime? How long did you have
to wait to get back to teaching?

I await some inspirational stories!

Keith,

As you can see, I am associated with a Physics Dept, and have been so for
the last 7 years. I hope that my story will ease your mind.

My wife is a Kiwi academic, so when my engineering job looked a little
uncertain in l989, I agreed to move to NZ and try for work, even though I
could afford to retire at that point (age 53). In NZ I took a substitute
secondary school math teacher job for a few months, but was clearly up
against "city hall" in terms of not having teacher
qualification/certification for NZ. During the 6 months without work, I
moved house, did a few projects and continued to look for a job as an
engineer or as a bureaucrat in the local university. Without work, I did not
keep my enthusiasm level at a high pitch. When I heard that the Physics Dept
was looking for a technician/demonstrator/jack-of-all-trades person, I told
my inside informant that I was not a super repairer and fix-it person.
Several months later, I repeated that response again when informed that they
were still looking for a person. The job eventually appeared in the want-ads
of the local paper, and again I failed to respond. A few days later, I
happened to meet my "insider" friend, and I asked if the job was finally
filled. He asked if I would be willing to chat with Physics personnel about
the job. Yes I took the job. Then, over the first few years, I turned it
into a lecturing position with time for following physics education
research/experiments, while also improving my own physics education with
experiments related to demonstrations. I have made the transition, learned a
lot of physics, and I resemble a kid in a toy shop.

Good luck in your search...and don't lose your enthusiasm for the physics,
the students, or the fun of working with other staff members. Marlyn