I wanted to tell the story of the development of my job situation, but for some reason I had totally forgotten about it. It was truly uneventful. Bear with me for this short retelling of some really weird thing. If you don't remember my conundrum, here's a refresher.
I went to my meeting at the Modern Languages Department and met with the head of the department. It was strike one. The guy was expecting someone else. And I get it. He wasn't one of my teachers. He was a fornal greeting throughout the 10 semesters of my career. But the fact the fact remains that by the time of nu graduation, I was a very popular student. Not by virtue or causing fuss talking here or there. I was a TA for half my time as a student going form Phonetics to Introduction to Literature and Anglo-American History. So I was the kind of student that spent a lot of time around teaches and in the department.
Stuff took a turn south when I was informed that they had made the stupid move of telling everyone I was accepting the job. That's strike two. So the Dean and the Head of the Education Department were informed of this thing. That already blew away any kind of interest I could have in taking up the mantle of teacher.
The worst part of the interview was twofold. First, they didn't even pay attention to what I had to said. My cards were over the table and ignored. I talked about my hobbies as content creator and luthier. How that takes up a lot of my time. Also, about the freelance job I had taken recently. Job that's annoying but bearable. Second, they talked about working pro bono. That was another nail on the coffin. The worst part is that other other teachers told me this situation wasn't going to change in at least 5 years. I don't know how would take up such a job that will generate expenses. It is crazy!
The Head of the Department tried to convinced me with this talk about how easy it would be to do the job. But I had issued my denial thrice. I wasn't heard even once. Then, I was introduced to the Head of the Teacher's Association. And that was sticker three.
Among many things he said, he talked about how this job isn't something that generates wealth or at least a sense of financial stability. He talked about how I should always have other things to do.
My thoughts wandered to the thing I have always believed about teaching. The problem with it is the payment. It could be the best job in the world if the payment was fair. This was advocated by one of the founding fathers of Venezuelan education, Simón Rodríguez. But like me, he wasn't heard during his time. Listening to a teacher advocating for the whole "have tons of part-time jobs" to cover for your teacher's work was insane. I mean the idea should be that you dedicate your time that job and learning and getting your other degrees. But that was nonesense!
I went out of the meeting knowing I had lost my time. They made some copies of the my papers, but some were still missing. There were classes on Monday. Guess who didn't attend? I make some money out of my work. Why would I need to add one that doesn't generate anything!
Going with the flow means to change course when an obstacle is reached. And what an obstacle this job would have been!
For now, I'll just:
My work so far is bearing fruit. No need to wait 5 years to earn some pennies.
- Images: @bertrayo, created with Canva.
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