Networking

Ahhhh....Networking. This word uttered in any context is enough to send me into a padded room...okay well not that dramatic, but something similar. I just don't like it! To me, it's like, lets just call it what it is...schmoozing, butt kissing, brown nosing, sucking up, apple polisher, ass kisser, backscratcher, backslapper, bootlicker, brow nose, doter, fawner, flatterer, flunky, kiss ass, kowtower, lackey, minion, teacher's pet, yes man, yes woman......the list goes on! And the artist and...possibly anarchist? (not really...maybe a smidge) in me says "Well...I will NEVER do THAT! My talents will be apparent! My education will stand alone! My resume says enough! My teaching shows what I can do! I will NOT be a party to this ridiculousness!" Cut to me...networking....brown nosing...asking how to perform this detestable task. Asking other subs and teachers, how I "market" myself. I've realized that it's a necessary evil...yes I said it's evil...and uncomfortable, and a wee bit of an ego basher. But, alas, I find myself doing it anyway. Let me back up a bit...yeah I do that lot. I'm a social person. Meeting new people, talking to strangers, over-sharing, it doesn't bother me. I have many a conversation with strangers about the quality of different tortilla chips in the grocery store. I just like to talk! So, why not use that to my advantage you say? I would be an excellent networker you say? Well, I'll be! I agree with you, for sure. But, it's just not my style. I like my work to speak for itself, I don't think I should have to speak for it. Only, that's not the world we live in. We live in a world of "who do you know?" (which I actually didn't think was a 'thing'". Yet, it is. And I find myself doing it more and more. I've decided to suck up my pride, and network my arse off. You want my card? Well here ya go! Can I pay you to hire me? Sure! I'm starting to learn that anything goes in this cutthroat market (yeah, well maybe not anything...it is elementary school teaching after all) and you gotta do what you gotta do...uncomfortable or not!!

How do you market yourself?!

Working/Not Working....Pouting/Not Pouting....

This past week....I'll admit it...I've been in a funk!! Mostly because I've been trying to sub, be proactive, hand out my card, blog, network...phew!!! That's a lot of work for a job so sporadic! Yet, I haven't been working. I've been obsessing over how, when, why?!! Why am I not working! I'm doing a good job! I receive compliments from teachers I've worked for! Excuse me....I need to throw a fit for a second.

:|

Okay, I'm back. Although I'm not quite sure what the reason I'm not working much is, I'm hoping that in the future I will! I'm currently employing all of the "techniques" that have been suggested, and looking forward to when I can say "my schedule is full". So, for now, how do you keep your schedule full? If you're a sub, what do you do to make ends meet when you aren't able to work? Sound off in the comments below ;)

Try something new!!

I've looked at several jobs over the past week, and thought "I can't do that!! There's no way!" I took a chance today on taking a job entitled "Intervention Specialist". I've worked with intervention specialists in the past, and all I've seen of the job is the specialist pulls a child from the room. I wasn't sure what I would be in for, but I took the job anyway. I thought, I will try something new! Although, last week I passed over an ELL class, and two High School Classes, I decided to just try it...what could it hurt?! The answer is, it didn't hurt. At all. The classes were quite pleasant actually. Much like the "norm" (if there is a "norm" in Substituting!). It was an average day, not too challenging, fun, well behaved kids! And I had set myself up in my mind for some kind of disaster....psshhhtttt. :) So...try something new today, tomorrow, or next week! You might be in for a surprise! Hopefully it's a good surprise...

Going the extra mile.

Now, as I've heard from many teachers and subs alike, "getting in" to sub in a district is difficult! Before beginning to sub, I heard so many stories:

"I signed up and NEVER got called! I waited, and waited. No one ever called me."

"It is VERY hard to sub here in Oregon, you have to "get in" at a school, get them to remember you, get your name out there, or you won't get called!"

"You're going to have to be...proactive."

"It's really hard to sub here, I sub only 3 days a week and I know LOTS of people!!!"


and so on....

"How ridiculous!" I thought. This is absurd! I cannot believe it would be this hard to sub in Oregon. When I lived in California they just called. I signed up, they called, I went. That was it, the three easiest steps to subbing...ever. If they liked me, they called me back. As I began the steps to get enrolled as a sub I was very pessimistic. I thought, "if this other person 'knows everyone and their grandmother', how will I ever have a chance at getting in?" All these stories replayed themselves over and over in my mind. And before I knew it, I didn't have chance. I had beaten myself down with these stories so badly, that in my mind, I would never work.

I decided, even though in my mind I would never work, that I would "go the extra mile". You've seen the stories on the news right? The stories of MBA grads crafting cardboard signs and standing on a street corner with their qualifications? Then a week later, they score a job? Yeah, I didn't do that. I was two seconds from doing that, while in a chicken costume, just to ensure I was seen, but I didn't end up having to do that! I took the advice of my Host Teacher (for student teaching) and I made up some business cards. Simple, I know. I didn't have them printed out from some fancy shop either. 100 cards cost me $5, in shipping only (I'm a deal seeker). I sat, online for what seemed like hours (it was probably only a half hour) and refreshed my browser at least once a minute in order to see if jobs came up. After clicking probably a million times (yeah, I know the math doesn't add up...you'll have to take my word for it) I saw a job! REALLY! A job?! Seriously? There is no way I'm seeing this. I clicked, I thought for about 30 seconds (realistically...I timed it) and clicked "accept". I finally accepted my first job! HOOORAY! I felt great! I also thought this would be the only job I got all year, but I was happy nonetheless. I subbed for a sixth grade classroom, tried my best, used all the tactics I learned in school and made the day the best I could. I got a call the next day...from the teacher. Flashback!! "Tiffany!!! Come see me in the office/desk/hall" am I in trouble? No! Thank goodness I wasn't. She felt the day went well, and wanted me to come back at a later date. Let me back up a day....when I subbed, and was finished. I left a sizable note for the teacher explaining the events of the day. On the back of the note, I taped my business card so she could contact me in the future if she wanted. Simple right? I couldn't believe I got a call back, and I'm glad I left my contact information so she could get ahold of me. So here's my (not so expert) tips on getting more jobs, and making your presence known!

• Leave a very detailed note! Don't only include the negative stuff, also include the positive stuff like work progress, or reasons why certain items didn't get completed. 
• Get yourself out there! Leave a business card, or even a note with your contact information! If they can't call you, they can't communicate with you!
• If you sub at the school again, go introduce yourself in person to the teacher you subbed for previously! I've heard so many teachers say, "It's hard when you can meet the sub in person!"
• The kid's opinions matter! If they kids tell the teacher, "We don't want that sub again!" It's likely they won't call back. 
• Do the best you can, even if it borderlines on overkill! The kids WILL tell the teacher exactly what they did in class, so make sure it's according to the plans!
• Go the extra mile! Yeah, yeah...we all know this statement is ridiculous...we all "go" 10,000 extra miles a day, so what's one more? 

I've always hated networking. I don't know why, but it seems more like brown nosing to me! But, if that's what you've gotta do, that's what you've gotta do! We all have to network, it's just the way of the world. So get used to it! I am!!

Sound off in the comments section about how you make sure you're remembered for more sub jobs!

Awesome 6th Graders!

I've known many a sub, and teacher alike, that the words "sixth grade" send shivers down their spine. Are they children? Are they teenagers? And the truth is, they are both! They are this awesome mix of childlike wonder, with a sassy burgeoning teen underneath. They are magical and wonderful beings, that, if you wait for the right moment, they *might* just make eye contact with you. All joking aside, I got to spend the day with some awesome sixth graders today! They couldn't have been better behaved or entertaining. Thanks guys for making my day more awesome. :)

Fun in 1st!

I had a super fun day in First Grade! They've all got this wide eyed innocence that simply cannot be replaced. Excited, easy to please, always having fun! Oh if I could capture this age and keep it in a bottle somewhere. It's rewarding days like these that I know I am where I am supposed to be!

A challenging week. Lessons for managing life

Much of my blog will be focused on education, and the experiences I've had in the classrooms I've taught in (as I begin subbing). But, as I've yet to have a substitute job bestowed on me, let's address something else. A challenging week! Let's back up a little. I lied to you when I said I hadn't had a sub job bestowed upon me yet, I did get a job! It was exciting, thrilling and I couldn't wait to get started. I was subbing as the teacher in a Theraputic Behavior Intervention classroom. Now, I'm not a teacher in Special Education, nor am I trained in any such manner, but I do love a good challenge! So, I got my professional on, and headed in to teach! Only, when I arrived, to my dismay I accepted an instructional assistant position. I was embarrassed and angry because the post in the system clearly said "Teacher". Now, I don't know if any of my readers are like this, but when I'm right, and I'm sure of it, I get very...lets call it passionate. I was supposed to be the teacher for the day, after all. Now, I was just someone's errand runner/go to person/gal friday? No! It won't happen. I've worked too hard for this. I am a licensed professional and I want to work in that capacity! So, I gave the job the good old college try, and truly believed I would make it through the week. Let me back up one more time. I am the "sort of person", if there are specific sorts of people per se, that MUST be stimulated at all times. If I am not stimulated in some way, or, more specifically, busy, I absolutely feel like I am in jail and must escape the boredom. Boredom is not good for me. To me, boredom is poison. Cut back to my sitting in the classroom, feeling very underused, and underpaid to add insult to injury. I tried to use something I've started telling myself often:

"This will soon be over, and a distant memory. Then you will say 'gee, that went too fast!'"

This mantra of mine has been getting me through some pretty challenging times lately, and if I just focus on the fact that it will be a memory, I can make it though anything. Now, I am not likening this experience, by any means, to torture. The classroom was wonderful. The staff was great, the kids were great. It was I, that was NOT great! My mind kept telling me over and over, "you did this to be a teacher, not an assistant." So much so that it got so out of hand (naughty mind, you need a time out!). I ended up throwing in the towel after two days on the job. I felt miserable, and like a failure. Could I not even force myself to do something for 5 measly days? Why did it matter so much that I was "just" an assistant? Why was it that I could not complete this "challenge"? So, my question to you, is: "What do you do daily, to complete challenges, or survive mentally (or physically) when you have a challenging week/day/hour?"

Let me know in the comments below ;)

Thanks for reading...