The Space Between
It's funny that I was just teaching a poem called 'Limbo' at school, because that's how things seem to be in my life right now. Hilarious.The Reno Update: ceiling paper and backing paper are up and ready to go. House is still a tip because we've had the boiler guys here for half the week. They seem to do a good job, but I'm not yet convinced about the product. I'm cold. I think the new, energy-efficient boiler simply saves energy by not working as hard. Our radiators aren't putting out as much heat, and it's cold in here. Well, not warm anyway. I can see why this would be cheaper for us, but I'm not sure that's what we wanted. Perhaps things will improve when we are re-insulated next week (they're going to re-insulate our attic and blow insulation through small holes in our exterior walls to fill up the space between the bricks). This weekend we're going to begin painting trim and doors, I think. Another superfun weekend, to be sure.
The Bigger Problem: I've mentioned before that our shower's broken. This is proving to be a bigger problem than anticipated. So far we've had to live without a shower for over three weeks. Not fun. The problem is that the new electric showers (which aren't expensive in themselves) are smaller than the one we have. And our bathroom is fully tiled, apart from the section behind the current shower. So when we replace the current shower, the missing tiles will show. And we don't have any matching replacements. Not good. Not sure what to do with that problem. We certainly don't want to re-tile the whole bathroom.
The Uni Thing: Still really annoyed with Uni, but at least that previously mentioned situation was sorted out. I received a response from the lady I sent the nasty email to that was a bit more forthcoming this time. I have to get my MA project in order by Easter. Ugh. I also have to go through the 400 observation records I have organised by standard and cross-reference the applicable standard to where it's mentioned in the write-up. That probably doesn't make any sense to someone who's not GTP-savvy, but what it means is about 10 hours of work: double-Ugh.
The Job Sitch: For those of you who don't know, I went for a permanent job at my current training school. I really thought I had an advantage, especially since many people within the English department, including the Head of English, assured me I had no reason to worry, that the whole point of taking on a GTP student was to train someone to carry on at the school. Well, there were about eight applicants and five of us got an interview. One other girl had experience at the school: she did her first (6-week) placement for her PGCE training there last term (she was off sick for over a week of that, for several different illnesses, btw). Anyway, I didn't get the job. They hired the PGCE girl and an older lady with more 'extra-curricular experience to offer'. Two people, but not me! Needless to say, I was a bit of a wreck Tuesday night. The worst part was that they didn't really have anything to tell me: they're supposed to give feedback for improvement to candidates that didn't get the job. My feedback was to do everything the same next time. Nice. Apparently I did everything right. My application was good, my observed lesson was excellent (I'm told) and barring a couple very slight suggestions for future interviews, the Deputy Head of the school actually said, 'You were great. Do everything the same next time and I guarantee you'll get the job'. Nice. Oh, but he did mention that I might be just a little too Canadian for the job: he thought that perhaps because I didn't grow up here, my understanding of the school system wasn't as good as some. Right, because someone can teach here for two years and totally miss learning how the system works.
My disappointment has turned to anger at this point; I was told that I was the runner-up candidate and that they were really hard-pressed to choose between me and another lady. Well, to be honest, that's not really a consolation because with all the time and effort I've put in at the school (going regularly above and beyond what I need to do) if it really was that close, I think I deserved it. It sounds childish, I know, but the more I think about it, the more angry I get.
I was dreading going back to work afterward. The interview was a whole-day thing, where we candidates were an obvious presence in the school, so pretty much all the staff knew I had applied for the position. Those who knew I didn't get it, predictably, made sad faces at me and explained how sorry they were for me over and over again. Those who didn't know asked awkward questions were I had to fight back tears while calmly explaining that two other candidates were chosen rather than me. I made it through the first two days though, so I think the worst is over.
What's Next: I've already applied for a English/Media job with the competition. My current school backs directly on to two other secondary schools (don't ask me why) - one of which is considered to be a top school in England. I'm not sure of the whole Media end of things, because though I have some teaching experience there, it's certainly not my specialisation, but I intend to put feelers out before attending the interview, if I'm even invited. I'm definitely not going through that whole thing again if I don't have a fighting chance! Begrudgingly, I'm back in the rat-race.
Wish me luck!
xx
Good luck honey! Keep your chin up:)Love ya!