Oh, you are all so sweet to worry about me, but I'm fine. No spitballs in my hair. No sore throat from yelling. No new wrinkles, grey hairs or nervous break downs. My subbing gig is in a small town parochial school--with a correspondingly tiny staff I'll probably only get called a few times a month. I know all the students from serving in the cafeteria, I know many of their parents. As a former teacher I don't want to be their new best friend nor do I feel the need to enter the room as a rigid authoritarian, ready to write up and dress down any kid who drops a pencil. I come in striking that good balance of "let's get your work done" mixed in with a few lame jokes because I never met a pun I didn't like. Subbing at the PS is a cherry gig--almost as sweet as my BFF's son's babysitting job--except he gets paid the same as me to play video games during his shift.
One of my informal references for this gig turned out to be a former student of mine whose kids attend this school. I don't believe they even called the people I listed on the job application. The paperwork has been more overwhelming than the actual subbing job--you'd think in the land of the free a girl could just work, but I have to prove my citizenship, fill out tax forms, establish my criminal record is nonexistent and all other manner of frittery. It's more work to WORK than to actually work, you know?
The whole filling out paperwork made me think of back when I applied to graduate school. I loathe red tape. One of the many forms I had to fill out was one establishing residency. I could either establish my residency based on where my parents lived or based on where my husband lived back in the day. Yep, those were the only two options on the form. I remember being so annoyed that I couldn't just establish my own damn residency, why did I have to adhere to the patriarchal rules dictated by a husband or a father? What was this--1708? I hope things have changed since then. I have no plans to return to graduate school, but I hope women can establish their residency based on their own merit.
Now, for my fellow Downton Abbey Fans, I leave you with this link.
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