Job

Helping the Economy

/ Dawn Kasal-Finley / Leave a comment

Isn’t that big of me.  I am downsizing my job load.  I have been able to turn my part-time graduate assistantship into a full-time job.  I will more than likely still supervise student teachers–although I don’t know how that will work with my fte status.  Anyway.  I am giving up my teaching at the community college–unless they have an online course for me–but I don’t know that they will since I won’t be teaching any other courses.  I am both happy and sad about this.  I’m a bit torn and bitter too.  My community college had/has an opening.  I applied.  But something happened with the mail and hr never received my packet.  I talked with them and my department chair and they asked me to send it in.  So, I did.

Well, before they interviewed folks my department chair was confident that they had a good pool of applicants and was certain that there were some more qualified than I.  Because my packet was received after the closing deadline–I was not eligible to be interviewed (or they chose not to interview me–as interview weren’t conducted until the end of Feb and they had my info way before that.

So, my department chair comes to see me last week in my office.  She closes the door and tells me that the applicants are train wrecks and would I please re-apply when they re-open the search.  I was super excited.  But then I thought about it and was like wait–I know you got my packet late–but really you can’t interview me now?  I asked her for the timeline as I would need to make a decision by May 1 because of my assistantship and finding someone to take my place and train over the summer.  Well, the position is open until May 15–interviews will happen in June and a decision in July.  I can’t wait that long.  While the community college job would mean more money–it is also not what I want to do.  I don’t just want to teach composition.  I also don’t want to teach in a department that really is sub-standard by any definition.  It is criminal some of the people who are teaching classes to these students and the type of education that these kids get. I just can’t in good faith be a full-time part of that.

Then today happens and I get all guilty feeling that I am leaving this school–as I am a great instructor. I stand by that.  I was talking with a few students after class and three kids asked me what I taught and what my name was and complained about what they were and weren’t learning in their English classes now and that they’d like to take my class as it was clear that I cared about what my kids were learning, etc.  Then I think.  I shouldn’t leave because these kids need me.

But, I have to do what is best for me and doing oversight for the charter schools will give me a great foot in the door for upper level positions in a University–dean appointments, etc.

So, if you have a Master’s in English the community college I work at is going to be hiring.

Tired Of Being A Student

/ Dawn Kasal-Finley / Leave a comment

I know that no one is making me go to school.  It is something I have chosen for myself and I am proud of my accomplishments.  I was the first in my family to get an advanced degree and will be the first with a PhD and chances are good that I’ll be the only one in my family to have one–until one of my kids decides that they to want to avoid those irritating student loan people.

The problem with being a student is that I am old.  I want a career–I am done with jobs.  Because that is all I have right now–jobs.  I don’t want to teach English at the community college level for the long term.  This summer could very well be my last semester doing that.  I enjoy supervising student teachers and that certainly is closer to what I want to be doing with the rest of my life.  But I am tired of explaining to everyone that I am a student.  It wouldn’t be bad if I had a full-time job that I did and when folks asked what I did, I could tell them.  I just feel that I am at the place in my life when I should have a career.  Let me rephrase that–where I WANT a career.  I want to be working full-time somewhere.  I want to be making money and not having to work 3 jobs to make ends meet with private school tuition and debt payments.

I want to feel like a grown-up and right now I don’t.  I spend much of my time with students and young students.  I have approached my boss about turning my assistantship into a full-time position.  It is something that desperately needs a full-time person doing it, but I am ready to be working towards something.  Now this is also not my dream job, but it is an administrative position that will certainly help me later on if I ever want to work in university administration–say being a Dean of something.  It is academic enough that I will have time to research and still publish and do some of the other things that are important to me–supervising student teachers, etc.

I plan on finishing my course work in the Fall of 2010 and then it is just comps and dissertation.  I look to graduate in December 2011 or May 2010. I know that is still a long way away, but it is so close to the end that I can taste it.  I am ready to be the teacher and cease being the student.  I am ready to move on with the next phase of my life that seems to be happening even though I am still stuck in this student phase.

Change Is For The Better–But A Cube?

/ Dawn Kasal-Finley / 1 Comment

Well, today wraps up my first week of work.  I can say that it has been an easier transition than I had hoped for.  Thank you Kellie for creating an in-home daycare that my kids love so much today they could barely manage to say good-bye to me.  Oh wait…today they didn’t even say good-bye they just took off playing leaving me there holding their bag and feeling foolish that I worried about what they would do without me.  I guess I should have been worried about what I would do without them. 

On Monday, I picked them up after their first day and asked Noah how it went.  He replied–“Good, but I had to stand in the corner.”  She uses a time-out corner.  But Noah was also happy to report that he only had to do it once and that he listened the rest of the day.  I have to admit that this is so good for them, as I am not really a disciplinarian.  I let a lot of stuff go that won’t be let go at school, etc.; therefore, this is such a good thing for them and they will learn much better about listening and sharing, etc.  I am also glad that they are in a small home environment as the lessons that can be taught/learned are more easily dealt with because there aren’t so many kids to manage.  Both of them have done great at quiet time–I thought for sure Noah would lie awake for those two hours and really get himself in trouble.  He falls a asleep quickly and needs to be woken up when it’s over.  So, they are doing great. 

And, while I miss them tremendously, I also feel fortunate enough to not feel as though I am missing out on anything.  Am I?  Sure Zo will start talking, etc.  But what I am gaining is greater.  I had lost the appreciation I had for being a parent.  It was starting to wear on me more than I knew.  Plus I still get Friday’s to have fun with the kiddos.  I am happier and more tired than I have been in a long time. 

I have to say though, OMG how do people handle sitting in a cube all day working?  I don’t know how people do it without going slightly crazy.  I am fortunate that our cube has a window so I can look out at trees and cars driving by, but seriously, sitting in front of a computer all day in a cube is hard.  At least I have a partner in crime to talk to/work with, but it still sucks.  This is certainly very different than anything I have done before or any job that I have had.  I am use to be up and moving and teaching.  This is just something I know that I will get use to. 

I hate to say this–I am more tired working than I was when I was staying home.  I know it’s a different kind of tired and there are extenuating circumstances–like waking up at 5:30 to get to the gym by 6am so I can be home by 7am.  This has me in bed each night by 9pm and asleep. I can hardly keep my eyes open at night and that makes it a little hard for hubby–because he doesn’t get to see me much.  I guess that’s what weekend are for–I forgot about weekends.  I now love weekends.  Before they were just another day that I had to be mom.  Now, I can’t wait to get to be mom. 

The job itself is tough–there is so much to learn and it amazing the position of power we are in as charter school sponsors.  There is so much to improve and I know have the perfect stomping ground for my dissertation as one of our schools in underperforming and really wants to invite university researchers in.  This job may give me more than I originially hoped it might.

The Final Countdown

/ Dawn Kasal-Finley / Leave a comment

I am soon hanging up my SAHM hat.  I have to say that I am jumping out of my skin with excitement to get back to the world of work.  I start on Monday and it can’t come soon enough as I really am at my wits end at home with the kids.  I love my kids.  I love that I was able to stay home with them for these past three years but I can’t do it another week without losing my mind and my kids deserve a mom who isn’t crabby at them all the time because I have to remind them 15 times to get dressed or to listen to me, to not hit your sister/brother,  etc.  I am relishing the fact that I get to get dressed like a professional and interact with other academics for the good of children. 

I have spent the last two weeks taking them to lots of fun places and having a good overall time with them.  But they need more socialization and they love being around other kids.  They need more than I have energy to give them all day and night long.  I truly believe they will be happy kids in daycare four days a week and then they will get all of me when they are home. 

We had a great time this past weekend in Beverly Shores and with my brother and his partner.  It was nice–long but nice.  I’ll post some pictures soon.  Off to enjoy a few more days of SAHMhood before re-entering the workforce.

Employed

/ Dawn Kasal-Finley / 3 Comments

I have a job.  I am excited about it.  So very excited about it.  I think I took the best job for me.  I took a graduate assistanship at the university where I am working on my PhD.  I had another interview at a community college and it was for a full-time instructor/coordinator position for their developmental writing and reading program.  Sadly, I cannot commit to this job that is even to say that they would have offered it to me.  It is sad because it would have been the absolute perfect job for me if I wasn’t a student and have 2 small children who need me too.  One of the problems with the job was that it is a new position and would have to be created as I went.  That on top of a teaching load would have required what I imagine would have been at least 45 hours per week plus the one hour commute–EACH WAY. 

The job I took–the graduate assistantship–is much better.  I have to work 20 hours a week but it’s pretty flexible.  I can work at home if there isn’t anything that I have to handle on campus or meetings.  I am working with another GA and our job is to work as the sponsor for the charter schools that UMSL oversees.  Each charter school, in MO, has to have a University sponsor that is responsible for oversight of the charter school.  We basically hold the charter schools accountable and make sure they are doing what they are suppose to be doing.  What I bring to the table that they don’t currently have is someone with a strong teaching background, so part of what I will be responsbile for is visiting the schools to make sure that the instruction and practice is what it should be.  I am really excited about it.  It doesn’t pay much–enough to cover the cost of Noah’s school and it pays for my school tuition and I get a laptop.  Not too bad. 

I am starting June 1–so am searching for a part-time nanny/sitter to watch my kids M-Th from 8:30-2.  So, for those of you in the area if you know anyone looking for some extra money or a college kid looking for a summer job, please let me know. 

I am hoping to still be able to teach one or two classes at the community college I currently teach at to help subsidize the cost of putting Zoë in daycare while I am working.  And I know that I am going to be supervising student teachers as well–I will have four for sure.  I am happy to have the job business out of the way.  One less thing to worry about.  Woo Hoo.