So in my eternal hunt for jobs, I came across a military academy in Pennsylvania that is looking for a history teacher. I would teach 6 sections of history and supervise my group of boys effectively from waking to sleeping every other day and every other weekend. Wait, what?!? How much of my time do they want, again? Yes, that's right. At a military boarding school, I would wake and go to sleep with my boys (roughly 30 of them) every other day and every other weekend. And eat all of my meals with them (though family could join me for Sunday brunch).
There are good and bad sides to this. The good side is that my inner daddy could still shine, though not to my own kids, but to a group of 30 boys living away from home during the school year. I would really enjoy helping my boys to grow inside and out as I cared for them. That's what every teacher should want, isn't it?
That said, I'm still a family man. While my housing would be paid for (up to 3 bedrooms, so my family likely couldn't expand any more unless we were going to put more than 2 in a room) and at least most of my meals, my family would get bored/lost quite quickly there. My wife called the ward's bishop's house and spent a while on the phone with his wife. It sounded as though they (a) could use some new blood and (b) would love to have a family join their ranks. That said, the nearest shopping is roughly 20 miles away, so it'd need to be sparingly used. Further, while there's an elementary school in the city, the high school is likewise a ways away. Our ward building would be just a couple of blocks away, but our stake is half an hour away and the temple is almost 3 hours away. ...and there's that family time thing that I wouldn't get, all while living in the dorms with my boys. Have you seen the movie "Glory Road?" Think that kind of housing situation, on a high school, I-might-not-want-to-be-here level.
I already turned in my application, but I'm considering withdrawing it, though it's a great opportunity for me. I also have to think about my family. How do I do both in this situation? What do you think?
Eighty
1 year ago
5 comments:
You might think I'm weird, but sometimes when I'm bored, I just browse blogs starting from one of my friend's blogs. Today I happened to land on yours and small world that it may be, I am fairly certain that you are talking about my ward and my hometown. As a matter of fact, just tonight I went to pick my little brother up from mutual and the bishop's wife said that she talked to a Sister Adams who lived down in VA. She asked if I knew her because I went to school at SVU. I told her that I wouldn't know very many families as I attended the student wards. Just thought you might be interested to know that. I promise I'm not a creepy blog stalker. In fact, I probably won't even remember where to find your blog again :)
Very neat! My wife was impressed with your ward, per your bishop's wife's information.
SO... a job is a job. I applied for well over 100 jobs last time I was hunting, so I know how all that feels. Every other day is a LOT of time. Would you be able to afford some help for the kids/house? because I would go nuts just being by myself that long. Is it a contract job or can you quit at any time?
I've applied for around 1200 total jobs, though callbacks are very rare. That said, I'm getting more now that people are getting desperate.
I've been talking to some former military friends of mine, and a former pilot, who said that time on and off is great. One problem. I wouldn't be on and off. It'd be on and then on more.
My wife said that if there was an end in sight, we could take the job with a clear conscience. Sadly, I'm too loyal to plan an end. So I wrote and told them that while I would love the job, it wouldn't be good for my family.
Personally, I would love to live and work in a small town. If I don't get a job this school year, I'll certify in a number of other subjects, which will both make me more marketable and make me more likely to get a job in a small town.
I figure the Lord has a plan for me and my family, so I'm not terribly stressed. I'll get a job or I won't. Life will go on.
Oy! That would be a crazy job!
Post a Comment