I was never one of those people who planned to leave his or her hometown as soon as possible. On the contrary, I remember the day I was forced to accept the fact that I would have to leave Pittsburgh. It was one of the worst days of my life.
It was in the late spring of 1994 and I was substituting at my Alma Mater, Langley High School, during the day and working at Kaufmann’s at South Hills Village at night. I had just completed my student teaching in the fall at another urban (although not in PPS) Pittsburgh Area high school and graduated from IUP in January. My GPA was just average but I earned an A++ for my student teaching and had glowing letters of recommendation. Life was good.
One day, I got a message from my cooperating teacher saying that he decided to retire and had recommended me to replace him. I couldn’t contain my excitement at the prospect of getting a real life so soon after graduation. My friends would all be jealous!!!! It was common knowledge that teaching jobs were worth their weight in gold in PA so I couldn’t believe my good fortune. I followed his directions to the letter, applied for the job and started planning to decorating my first real apartment in the best IKEA had to offer.
A few weeks passed and I didn’t hear anything. I called the school office to check and make sure my application and resume were received. “The position has been filled,” was the answer I received to my inquiry. What? There must have been a horrible mistake because the retiree recommended me – I mean who would better know who could do the job, right?
Ah, the folly of youth. Apparently, there were several people who knew better (the interview team) and apparently they were looking for a teacher with experience. Which I didn’t have. Because I needed to get a job to get experience. A job which I couldn’t get because I didn’t have experience. I hate Catch-22’s. Even the term Catch 22 is annoying. It didn’t even help that I was a woman in a field of education generally dominated by men. The Department Chair even went to bat for me. He insisted that the interview team should meet with me as a courtesy, just so I could get some interview experience.
Instead of cool, Swedish mod furniture, I started decorating my bedroom with rejection letters from school districts. It was pathetic. The only consolation I had in this debacle was that there was a regular substitute at that school who had been subed there virtually every day for 6 years. He was 40 and he couldn’t get an interview either. I saw it as an omen.
I had to make the impossible choice: Stay in Pittsburgh and try to pay my bills while paying my dues substituting and working odd jobs or take a chance on finding a teaching job somewhere else and see if teaching was really what I should be doing with my life.
Truly, I had no choice but to leave.
West End Girl
Dear West End girl,My heart goes out to you. I completed my MAT in June, and I've been interviewed at several districts, and made the final round in a few places – but alas, I also lack that elusive thing called "experience." Right now, I'm on sub lists for several districts and I'm working at Panera in the evenings and on weekends, and I'm also going to begin tutoring with an SAT prep company in a few weeks. I'll be working 60+ hours a week, and making some decent money, but it won't be the same as teaching, which I love. My greatest opportunity for full time employment right now is being a paraprofessional in a primary learning support classroom – not even my certification area – which I technically don't even need a bachelor's degree to do. I'd love the chance to be able to work with kids, but on some level I feel insulted and unhappy. I may not have been in the classroom for two years, but I already know I'm a very good teacher, and my grades and recommendation letters show that. Not to mention the fantastic teaching sample lessons I've done in interviews. But districts won't commit to me.I contemplated moving, but I decided against it for this year because my fiance is in Pittsburgh completing his own Masters degree and we're getting married next summer. He grew up in the area and it means a lot to him, and in the year I've spent here I adore it too. But it's not a happy place to be a new, inexperienced teacher, especially when I don't have the connections that many of my colleagues did that led to jobs right away. And if I can't build that experience this year, because I'm not in any kind of position to build teaching experience, will I be able to get a job next year?Sorry that this ended up being so much about me. But I feel your pain. I hope you're able to do what you love in the city that you love.
Thank you for writing. You are right – some people are just born to teach and know it in their hearts. What is your certification in? I may know someone to put you in touch with in a district not so far away. Fifteen years later, we are trying to move back and I just hope it works out. It will have to. I have added more certification areas since then so I hope that helps. I may be joining you at Panera if I don't find a teaching job by next August. Among many reasons for returning – we want our kids to grow up in Pittsburgh.
Dear West End girl,
My heart goes out to you. I completed my MAT in June, and I’ve been interviewed at several districts, and made the final round in a few places – but alas, I also lack that elusive thing called “experience.” Right now, I’m on sub lists for several districts and I’m working at Panera in the evenings and on weekends, and I’m also going to begin tutoring with an SAT prep company in a few weeks. I’ll be working 60+ hours a week, and making some decent money, but it won’t be the same as teaching, which I love. My greatest opportunity for full time employment right now is being a paraprofessional in a primary learning support classroom – not even my certification area – which I technically don’t even need a bachelor’s degree to do. I’d love the chance to be able to work with kids, but on some level I feel insulted and unhappy. I may not have been in the classroom for two years, but I already know I’m a very good teacher, and my grades and recommendation letters show that. Not to mention the fantastic teaching sample lessons I’ve done in interviews. But districts won’t commit to me.
I contemplated moving, but I decided against it for this year because my fiance is in Pittsburgh completing his own Masters degree and we’re getting married next summer. He grew up in the area and it means a lot to him, and in the year I’ve spent here I adore it too. But it’s not a happy place to be a new, inexperienced teacher, especially when I don’t have the connections that many of my colleagues did that led to jobs right away. And if I can’t build that experience this year, because I’m not in any kind of position to build teaching experience, will I be able to get a job next year?
Sorry that this ended up being so much about me. But I feel your pain. I hope you’re able to do what you love in the city that you love.
Thank you for writing. You are right – some people are just born to teach and know it in their hearts. What is your certification in? I may know someone to put you in touch with in a district not so far away. Fifteen years later, we are trying to move back and I just hope it works out. It will have to. I have added more certification areas since then so I hope that helps. I may be joining you at Panera if I don’t find a teaching job by next August. Among many reasons for returning – we want our kids to grow up in Pittsburgh.
My certification is in English 7-12. I would like to add certs in Social Studies and Special Education, too, because I’m interested in that and because it would help marketability. If you have some teaching experience, you should be able to find a job relatively easily – one of the directors of my MAT program said many inexperienced teachers leave PA for 5-10 years and then come back and get hired immediately, so hopefully the same will happen for you! I was just reluctant to leave.
I agree about Pittsburgh being a great place to raise kids. Hopefully, when my fiance and I get to that point, we’ll be able to raise ours here too.
My certification is in English 7-12. I would like to add certs in Social Studies and Special Education, too, because I'm interested in that and because it would help marketability. If you have some teaching experience, you should be able to find a job relatively easily – one of the directors of my MAT program said many inexperienced teachers leave PA for 5-10 years and then come back and get hired immediately, so hopefully the same will happen for you! I was just reluctant to leave.I agree about Pittsburgh being a great place to raise kids. Hopefully, when my fiance and I get to that point, we'll be able to raise ours here too.