Hi, and welcome!
I am 51 and went back to college in my 40's. I decided that I wanted to be an elementary school teacher. I began taking classes at a local community college and got my Associate's Degree. Then, I enrolled in a university where I earned my Bachelor's of Education Degree and ESOL endorsement. I finished my Master's Degree in Education and Reading Specialization in July 2025. I sit her feeling confused as to why I am not able to find a job. Part of me thinks it's due to being in my 50's and then I start thinking no one wants me. I have done all of this education thinking it would make me a prime candidate and that hasn't happened. I had had many interviews and some I felt hopeful, only to never hear back from them.
When I first got my teaching license in approximately 2019, I began substitute teaching. I didn't care for that, because it was stressful going to unknown schools where you don't know anyone. I was finally hired in 2020 during Covid and a Private Christian School. I was hired as a fourth grade teacher. I worked there for two years and then I put in my resignation because I was hoping to get a job at a public school. I was hoping it would give me an opportunity for better pay and benefits. I also thought it would be an opportunity to better use the skills I had learned in college. I ended up getting hired as a special education teacher, even though I didn't have an endorsement or hardly any experience in this area. I think they really needed a teacher with a license. That lasted only a few months. I didn't know what kind of setting this was until I started. It was more like a medical setting and babysitting kids that were medically fragile. We had kids that had to have a nurse attend school with them because of being fed with feeding tubes and conditions like seizures. Most of the kids were non-verbal. We had a girl that was blind and non-verbal and sensitive to heat. There were many kids in wheel chairs that had no control over there bodies. I had no idea how I was supposed to teach these kids. They had to be taken to the restroom which was a huge process. They had to be lifted out of there chairs and be diapered. There were assistants and many adults in the class coming and going and it was crazy. I was only there a few months and I knew that without some major support and in depth training, this wasn't going to work.
I then got a job as an instructional assistant at a local elementary school. That job lasted until the end of that school year and then I got a letter that read my position had been eliminated due to budget cuts. I wasn't too upset about that because I really wanted to find a teaching job.
I decided to ask if the private school I had worked at was hiring. They hired me back and there was an opening for a fourth grade teacher. I began teaching there in August 2023. I had disclosed to the principal that I had OCD throughout the time I worked there. There was a situation that occured in May 2025 that exacerbated my OCD to the point of me having to take a medical leave. The school had pesticides sprayed around my classroom windows, perimeter and doors without notification. All staff and students were present and I noticed because I looked out the window and saw the guy spraying them. I sent the principal an email letting her know I was concerned about the safety of myself and studnets because of this. She said it would dissipate in an hour. I told her I wanted to go home and she refused to let me leave. The next few days I called in sick, as I was triggered and didn't know what to do. I was afraid to go back to the classroom as all I could think about was chemicals being in my classroom and on everything. This actually can happen, but my OCD made it a very scary place. I feared that the chemicals could cause health issues and that I would spread them to my car and clothing and anything I had with me. I ended up taking a medical leave until the end of the school year which was only about a month and a half. The school was denying me to get paid leave through the state and then they sent me an email the end of May stating they were terminating my contract and would not be offering me a new contract for the next school year.
I appealed my benefits being denied and had a phone hearing with my previous employer and a judge. I won the appeat and was proven that I did not purposely quit my job or act irresponsibly. I have a medical condition which is protected by the ADA. The employer said that I abandoned my job and that I didn't want to work. They also decided to add in that I wasn't meeting my job requirements. They never had said that in all of the time that I worked there. I believe they were mad at the situation and they are taking it out on me by retalliation. I filed a charge of discrimination against them and my disability. It is currently under investigation with the EEOC. I believe it's important for me and others with mental health disabilities to stand up for themselves. This employer is an a church and the pastor is the superintendant. They have handled this situation extremely poor and heartless. They never reached out to me during my leave and then blamed me for not reaching out to them, even thought I sent a letter stating I would be out until June 2025.
I am currently employed as a substitute again, but haven't been substituting. I am feeling discouraged as I am not able to find a job. I have even applied to jobs unrelated to teaching. I filed the complaint to the EEOC in May and only now is it being investigated. I don't know how long it will take. I have also learned during this process that I can not find a lawyer that will represent me. I think employment lawyers only want to take on big companies to make money.
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