New Job, Same as the Old Job

*Ring*

"Hello?"

"Hi JOT, I had a call from HR this morning and have a job you might be interested in. Can you call the Harridan of HR post haste?"


So I call. Her voice oooozing with that special sincerity the emotionally retarded reserve for use in only the rarest of cases, she answers her phone with "Oh JOT! How ARE you?" I can just see the smoochy face. "Yeah, good, say, my Rehab Worker told me about the job at C.El, but I'm really not ready to come back yet"

And the rest of the conversation is polite "Thanks for the call" "No Thank you for letting my know" "No, thank you for thinking of me".....etc.

Everyone was a little surprised that she had just Out of the Blue offered me a position (temporary, just to the end of the year). But here was the weird part-- there were several other jobs posted that week that I would have liked.....what was going on? When I checked back with my Rehab worker, apparently, the HRH is suspicious about my credentials. Apparently, she questions whether or not I have what it takes to teach anything outside of Grade 4. I look forward to disabusing her of that notion.

It was time to go to the top......in this case, the top of a Dung Heap, but still, to the top I went.

Part B--Taking Kryptonite to SuperChin

I booked an appointment to see the Superintendent just before I left for the Retreat. In fact, she isn't the ACTUAL Superintendent, she is the ACTING Superintendent. I like to say that "Acting Super" is what she does best. In any event, the irony of talking to her about this situation was her suggesting (rather firmly) that I not revisit past *wrong doings* as she was not Running the Ship (I said ship) back then, and bore no responsibility. She did note, however, that they had made an absolute mess of my position last year, but obviously has never put 2 and 2 together to realize her role in that--because she hired one of her friends for a job that I was so patently the best and most obvious candidate--so much so the beneficiary was horrified to learn what had happened--she assumed I must have turned down the offer of the position.

In any event, sitting in the Presence of Superness, I laid out my frustrations with the lack of vision and support (and accountability) in the office of HRH (a position, incidentally, filled by a person with no experience in Education beyond her own 3 years finishing grade 8). It seemed to be getting more and more difficult to explain to her that while in her last job in the lumber industry it may have been appropriate to require certification and tickets for certain positions, a teacher with a K-12 license is actually qualified to teach (get ready for it) From Kindergarten to Grade 12.

I'm not at all sure we will make progress on that score (it seems too challenging a concept for HRH), but SuperChin and I did make some headway. She would Guarantee a Transfer for me for next year (really, not much of a gesture, since part of my Back-To-Work Durability plan includes the non-negotiable clause signed by my Doctor that I not return, ever, to H.El(l).

And I said to SuperChin: "I'm really struggling with the idea of leaving teaching altogether--I don't think it's healthy for me here anymore, but it bothers me that the best and brightest are being forced to leave Public Education"

Score 1-0, JOT.