job decision & ambivalent feelings

daisymae

Thu, May 15 2008, 12:12 am

I've been teaching in special ed girls' programs for four years (after 20 years as a social worker) and I need to find something for next year -- my current position was/is too shaky financially and after the last two years in the resource room, I'm anxious to get back to a classroom. I'm finding that I am very ambivalent about which path to take -- continuing in a frum environment or trying public school (there are a few decent ones in my area). My original feelings about becoming a teacher were that I wanted to be of help to frum kids. Now I'm finding that I resent the low pay. On the other hand, working in a public school would be more time-consuming and also would be a problem in terms of dismissal time on Fridays during the winter, not to mention the fact that I would still like to be in a frum environment helping frum kids. Although my husband is currently supportive and will accept any decision I make, he has pushed for the public school option in the past for financial reasons (we're not starving, B"H, but things could be better).

Any advice? Chizuk? Just plain feedback? I'm just so frustrated that I find it's coloring my feelings about teaching in general, although I still really love the field.

Toot

Mon, May 26 2008, 11:31 am

Well no matter where you end up, you will be helping kids. While teaching in a public school means you won't be directly helping frum kids, there could still be some non frum Jewish kids whom you would be helping, and you could potentially be a great Jewish role model for them as well.

If you were to switch to the public school next year, how long would you be signing on for? I might try it for a year and come back to this question next year, when you've seen both sides of the coin more clearly.

Best of luck!

(And I realize this response is coming quite a bit after your original post. Have you made any decisions in the interim?)

NotInNJMommy

Mon, May 26 2008, 11:57 am

It's a big and special avodah to sacrifice to teach Jewish children, and at the same time, you have to like your job, make a living.

Where would you be happier? I know shomer shabbos teachers who have worked in public schools, so they have somehow been able to work around early shabbosim. Does your "gut" tell you any particular way to lean? If you feel resentment in your job, it will eventually come through in the work you do. Best to get over it or go somewhere else than work with resentment.

daisymae

Tue, Jun 03 2008, 8:16 pm

Thanks for your responses!

MorahS wrote:

While teaching in a public school means you won't be directly helping frum kids, there could still be some non frum Jewish kids whom you would be helping, and you could potentially be a great Jewish role model for them as well.

That's a good point. I hadn't thought of it that way. But after talking to a bunch of people (see below), I think I'm going to stick around in a frum environment.

NotInNJMommy wrote:

Where would you be happier? I know shomer shabbos teachers who have worked in public schools, so they have somehow been able to work around early shabbosim. Does your "gut" tell you any particular way to lean? If you feel resentment in your job, it will eventually come through in the work you do. Best to get over it or go somewhere else than work with resentment.

Since I originally posted, I've been talking to a lot of people who work for the public schools. Their responses were more or less the same: great pay, great benefits, tremendous pressure. Also, depending on the school and principal, a not necessarily pleasant atmosphere frumkeit-wise and always very difficult Fridays.

Two awful stories from one school, which houses a special ed program specifically for frum kids: The principal decided that the school, including of course the frum program, should have a bake sale . . . on what amounted to Erev Pesach (remember that Pesach was on motzai Shabbos this year? The bake sale was Friday). The same principal gave the teachers a hard time about taking off early that day on the grounds that it wasn't really erev Pesach, (which could have been taken as a religious observance day), it was just Friday.

So I've pretty much ruled out public school.

Now I'm just looking for a nice, regular job in a nice, regular/special ed program teaching Jewish kids. I don't think the resentment will be as much of a factor as it was a couple of weeks ago. I would sort of like to be paid on time, though Smile