The thing about returning to one's home town and trying to
find temporary work quickly and easily is that it often results in one doing the jobs
nobody else wants to do. This time around I am a substitute or
"Guest Teacher" as it's called these days and Sean is working on a
line in a local factory through a temp. agency. Since I don't sub
year-round, I don't make the connections or relationships necessary for the
jobs and districts that everybody wants. Instead, most of the time I find
myself supervising in-school-suspension rooms or in districts that everyone
else intentionally avoids, usually for good reason.
Sean and I go back and forth about which kind of temporary
work is better. With subbing, some
days are really fun but others are pretty stressful. I like that every day is different and that I’m always
learning new things whether it’s teaching cool material or just experiencing
how the public education system works.
But I don’t like not knowing students’ names, getting lost and always being
the new person. There’s also no
guarantee that I’ll have a job every day.
It’s been interesting hearing about Sean’s time on the line
and he always has stories about the other workers, gaining speed and technique
for moving parts through faster, and the necessary obsession about safety
(various PPE is distributed for free anytime using vending machines throughout
the company). Sean says the work
is monotonous and tiring, but that it’s pretty stress-free. While I have to constantly compete for
jobs, Sean is getting more hours than he wants. As I write this, I’m sitting in the parking lot waiting for
him to get done. He started at 6am
today and should have finished at 2pm but it’s going on 5pm. In the factory, what the supervisor
says is law, even if it means spontaneous overtime.
On our first day back to work in Holland we were both
approached by our respective higher-ups.
Sean’s manager asked him how things were going and then questioned if he
was going to return the next day. Sean
said that he was and then the manager responded, “That’s what they all say but
most don’t come back.” On my first
day back as a sub, I was working in a particularly hairy school and was asked
if I would return as well. “Most
subs work one day and then never sign up to work for us again; we’re getting desperate,” she responded. But to answer their questions, yes, we are going back tomorrow . . . and the next day. That is, of course, unless there's a snow day! (fingers are always crossed)
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