The end of an (Pan)ERA - Feb 14

I went and observed at the school on Friday. It was exactly the type of school I want. Poor families, disadvantaged kids, and teachers and volunteers who could be at bigger, better schools but feel at home at this one. Sign me up! I think my day of observing went well and that I have a pretty good shot at the job. I know there was one other candidate who observed last week as well, and there might be one or two observing this week. The principal said that she hoped they would make a decision by Friday. I think there are a few things in my favor. 1. my age. I don't plan on this being a stepping stone to a better job. Many young teachers start small and move to bigger school districts. I have absolutely no desire to do that. 2. I've taught in a school very similar to this one. I could answer questions based on what I knew from that experience. 3. Living overseas and doing missionary work. I approached the job with a learners posture. I expressed a desire to learn about the community and the kids from those who knew them best...the staff at the school. I didn't come in with all the answers.

We'll see.

I also quit my job at Panera. I went to work on Monday and Tuesday then decided that I couldn't take doing that every day. Part of it was a pride thing I must admit. On Monday I took the new girl around and introduced her to some of my clients. When I was asked what I was doing now I told them that I was looking for a teaching job, but that I would be at the store for a while if they needed anything. I was pleasant and gracious about the whole thing. The poor girl who took my place felt bad about it all. She didn't realize that it was a big secret at first. When she came to interview for my job she thought I had actually given notice. I was fine the whole day Monday. My boss thanked me for helping out. On Tuesday I had a hard day. All I could think about was how sneaky they had been. The new girl and the girl who trained her were told not to tell me. They both hated it but needed to keep their jobs so they went along with it. My boss wasn't the one who made the decision, but she could have gone to bat for me. She could have at least told the district manager that I wasn't one of those employees who would sabotage things before I quit. I was mad when I arrived. I was asked a million questions about delivery charges and how to get to different clients. I was asked to train a new guy for an associate job. The more I did the more I fumed. I took 2 deliveries, because there were too many for the new girl to do alone. At one point my boss passed around some papers with our cultural values on it. We are about to be audited by the corporate office and might be asked to recite some of the values of our store. Number one just about made me flip my lid. It said, "No jerks. We will treat each other with respect and honesty." I had done exactly that. Out of respect for them I was honest about the interview. I was not treated the same way at all. I decided that I needed to take a day off. On Wednesday I called in sick. The more I thought about going back the more I dreaded it. That evening I went in and talked to my boss. I told her that I had the observation at the school on Friday and that I wouldn't be back. I told her that I hated not giving her 2 weeks notice, but that I didn't feel like I had been afforded the opportunity. If I don't get the teaching job I will need to use my days to find another job. There are other teaching jobs out there, but I haven't applied for any of them. I hope I don't have to.

And yes...I totally cracked myself up with the title of this post!