Saturday, February 7, 2009

This is Only a Test....

So why is it, that when you declare that you want to be more positive about life, life throws you the week filled with curveballs?
This week has been filled with news of losses of people held dear by people I hold dear. One family friend of a coworker died in a house fire. Another dear friend had a miscarriage. Yet another former coworker had a nephew, not even 30 yet, die this week. A coworker's mom died..and a boss's mother in law passed away.
Today, the reality of the California budget crisis hit home with me as I received a letter from my district stating that they had my seniority date wrong and I will be listed with one less year of seniority. I thought I was pretty safe, but it could turn out, that if class size reduction is gone, I could also lose my job.
So.. how's my positivity working for me now?
Well, in the past, this letter in my mailbox would have led to an all out chocolate frenzy! Although the night is young, and the chocolate fest could still happen, my first response was more of a "what options do I have if this does happen? After an initial "get pissed off" reaction, I became more thoughtful.
I do have many connections through my tutoring and could possibly get hired at a private school. I can increase my tutoring referrals by building more connections in the community. I can explore any jobs that require a cross-over between my clinical psychology training and teaching. I can continue to focus on being the best teacher I can be and not rob my current class of the joy I have in teaching them.
I have to remember.. this is only a test...

2 comments:

  1. I can't even remember what path I took to finding your blog but I think it is funny that I found it today. I was "called" into the office today and told to be less of a counselor and more of a teacher. It was so upsetting combined with the one parent who is complaining about a final grade I was not feeling so hot today. But it is "only a test." There was so much good that happened this year. For the one negative email from the parent, there were 100 positive comments from kids and parents. It is kind of like getting a 98 on a test and focusing all day on the one question you got wrong I suppose...

    Great blog, enjoyed going through the posts. In a time where so many bloggers want to post lists of websites and others want to bash the world, yours does put some seriously positive vibes out into the world. Thanks.

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  2. Thanks for the comments Paul. I am glad for the timing as it sounds like you had a tough day! I am going to check out the blog post you mentioned on your other comment. Take care.

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