Bobg.net

Most of my friends want to know what happened to make me leave my financially healthy, long term, professional job. Well, in short, it wasn’t the job I wanted to do.

I learned several valuable lessons from this experience, first and foremost: ask more questions in the interview. I thought I asked enough, I even prepared a fairly long list, but I wasn’t forcing the answers and I must have missed something along the way. There were several misunderstandings between myself and my employer, and we both share the blame.

Here is how I saw it. I was offered an elementary ESL teaching position at the school. I requested to start early and was invited to tutor at a local center until the school year starts. While I was tutoring, everything was going very smoothly, but the boss was on vacation, then never around. We didn’t speak until after I was already here at least a month. I also didn’t get to meet the principal of the school until he arrived about the same time. These meetings were important, because a lot was explained to me that somehow wasn’t important before.

I talked to the boss and found out I was to teach Math. Wait. Math? How did I get into this mess? This isn’t what I signed up for. Well, I did offer to tutor math at the center over the summer, but that in no way qualifies me, or means I was interested in school year math classes. The actual contract said only ‘elementary teacher’, so I guess they could have me teach PE with that kind of wording. Oh well, I’ll think about it…

A week later, I met with the principal and found out I was working at a true American school. Everything done in the American style and I was only an ESL teacher by US standards. (I’m actually an EFL teacher - Foreign vs. Second language is a big difference!) This isn’t what I wanted either, and here I found out my biggest problem, how to define ESL. I talked with my boss at the next opportunity and explained my inability to fulfill a contract for a position I am not qualified for or interested in. She offered me a part Math part Language Arts position at the middle school (not in the contract? apparently not important.). After asking about any possible EFL positions at the school, it seemed the only next step was to part ways. Now, I’m not sure where I’m going next.

Maybe Portland.

Maybe Abu Dhabi.

I have my current plans listed in my Wiki. If you want to see it or add something, you’ve got to make an account. I’ve never used a wiki for informing people before, tell me if you like it.  Also, add gift ideas while you are there!

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