No real subject

[wiseheart]

The weekend is almost over, and school starts tomorrow again. Once more, we haven't won on the lottery. *sighs*

If things continue as they are right now, in a year or two I'll have to start looking for a new job. Won't be easy when someone is almost 50. I might have to start even earlier, I'm afraid.

Worked a lot on the "Alternate Voyager" pilot. The new group slowly gains a little momentum, but it'll be a quiet place anyway. At least I've found a voluntary beta reader for my Original Trek/Battlestar Galactica crossover. That's good - as a piece translated from both Hungarian *and* German, there must be horrible grammar mistakes.

My Tolkien muse is not cooperative right now. But I shouldn't have post a lot of stuff during these days, I guess, as all Americans are busy with their national holiday.

Too tired to even think. I'll go offline for a while now.

Comments

[rcfinch.livejournal.com]

If things continue as they are right now, in a year or two I'll have to start looking for a new job.

Why is that?

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

They are trying to drive us, older teachers, out of the school. First, we just got the most complicated groups. Now we are getting less and less actual teaching hours, compensating it with other duties, like overseeing the school canteen and such things.

I haven't made two different degrees and two language proficiency exams to spend my valuable time overseeing the school canteen, while others, who aren't even vaguely familiar with German grammar, are teaching the nationality classes, damnit! I'm qualified to teach German, beginner's English *and* music in both lower and upper primary, I speak better German than all the colleagues counted together (save one whom they are also trying to throw out), and I have an ID from the German state that I actually *am* a German (due to my ancestry)! Okay, I don't consider myself one, but at least I have the official paper that proves it. What the hell do they want more?

And it's not that I'm a bad teacher, either. Earlier, when they still gave me groups where one could actually *teach*, my pupils went to secondary schools where several subjects are taught in German, they won language competitions and made the language proficiency exam at the age of 15. I'm never behind my working schedule, I do the stupid administration by the deadline, I'm helpful and supportive to the colleagues (half the bunch uses *my* teaching plans, and I've proofread their dissertations for grammar errors and stuff), so I really don't know what the f***ing hell am I doing wrong!

As I've lost 8 duty years while in convent and working for the local parish church, they can even pay me a lot less than to other people of my age, legally. Why they are trying to kill me off is beyond my understanding.

Sorry for the rant. But I'm royally pissed. This has been gone for years, but it has never been this bad before. And it's so damn hard to find another job at my age.

[rcfinch.livejournal.com]

Don't be sorry. This *is* infuriating -and disheartening as well. Isn't there a trade union that can help, or something?

Here in NL we're suffering from a shortage of teachers - my daughter Valerie misses about least 1/5 of her lessons because so many teachers get ill or overworked, and it's almost impossible to find replacements.

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

Hmmm... Do you think when we finally become EU members next May they'll accept our diploms as well? I could move to NL and take a job as a German teacher. *g*

Learning Dutch would be an interesting challenge - after German and English...

[rcfinch.livejournal.com]

I'm sure Dutch wouldn't be a stumbling block to you!

(But be warned: schools are jungles here. Yesterday my daughter Valerie came home telling me her English teacher had threatened to quit teaching her class because they were completely unmanageable.)

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

Threating my eighth grade class to quit teaching them is something I do 4 days a week.

But it was a joke, of course. You know that I can't leave my mother alone.

[rcfinch.livejournal.com]

Threating my eighth grade class to quit teaching them is something I do 4 days a week.

Ah, but do you do it? This teacher actually has, as it turned out.

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

I would do it, if I had the slightest hope to find any other work. As I don't, I'll have to stay...

[jilba.livejournal.com]

It's happening here in Australia too. Not only in teaching but in all jobs they are trying to get rid of everyone over 45. I can't explain it, I can only wish you luck! Lots of luck in dealing with this crazy situation