I have been on a list of sorts for a while.... It is called the Clerical Substitute list for the local high school district. With living within walking distance from my old high school, I figured that it would be the ideal place to look for work. You see, DH had the request that I need to find a more stable paycheck to help with the family finances. That request was made almost 4 years ago and I have tried to find something to fulfill both his demands and what I felt were reasonable parameters for being a full time mother with a child that had attended full days of school. While it is easy to increase the hours at my job at the salon, I knew that even though the hours were flexible.... it offered no guarantee of a larger paycheck or even a reliable wage earned as well as guaranteed earnings if I had to take time off to attend to a sick child (if the need arises). Heck, when the kids are off from school with all those "breaks" and "institute/non-attendance days".... it was going to be pretty darn had to be in two places at once. Working in an atmosphere that mirrors DD's school schedule was the best option that I could think of and that is with the local schools. Also, if DD got sick.... I could be assured that my job was covered. If I was to work in the salon, I would be hard-pressed to decide between my clients and my daughter. Hairdressers do not really earn an hourly wage and our income is based strictly upon what we do and the tips we receive. Meaning... no clients = no income. If my clients are moved over to another stylist... they get the commission and I get nothing. Believe me... I tried to attain office work, but being out of the office scene for years definitely put me behind the curve and when I did get some temporary work that lasted a few months... getting DH to step up his game and take care of DD while I worked beyond the regular school hours and days off was difficult. I ended up being a referee to diffuse the tension between DH and DD. He is too married at his job to be the parent that DD needed. Their friendship was strained... in fact, still is. With no solid job being offered at the schools, the list was the way for me to go.
Well, after some serious patience which took almost 2 years.... I finally got called in to help at one of the local high schools. Sadly, not the one that is walking distance from my home, but this school is within the district that I applied to be a substitute on. Yep, got a call at 7:00 in the morning with a frantic person seeking someone to fill in a student supervisor position (aka hall monitor) for that day. Obviously, I jumped at the opportunity and raced myself to get there. I got a quick walk through of the school, a portable radio, a map of the school and my schedule for the day. After a brief explanation of what my responsibilities were, I was sent off to do this job on my own. Nervous and excited to the new experience, I actually had an enjoyable time. In fact, I managed to get the other hall monitors/student supervisors to smile as we passed each other in the halls to get to our other posts throughout the day. I can fully understand how that job can be draining on a person, but with my fresh view of the experience.... I doubt I could really get all that bored. I am a person watcher by nature, I like to focus on details that surround me. What surprised me was being able to see high school all over again with more mature eyes.
With these mature eyes that I happen to have, I managed to see things in a far different light. The mom in me felt her heart go out to these kids. Just seeing the exhaustion in their eyes almost had me weep, but after seeing their choice in food to eat at lunch changed that thought pretty darn quick. How in the heck does a person live on junk food like that? No wonder why these kids are so darn tired. The vending machine offered very little healthy stuff to eat. I know why those kids attacked that machine like they did.... the line to get a hot meal or a salad was painfully long and moving painfully slow. These kids wanted something fast so they can get in more time for socializing with friends or to catch up on their homework. Well, that was only part of my mom-like feelings..... these kids are slobs! The concept of getting these kids to clean up after themselves was a job in itself. Fortunately, with a smile and a few kind words... I got them to clean up after themselves just fine. The mix of ethnicity did make for a stressful environment, but fortunately (or sadly, whichever you choose to see it as) cliques kept potential clashing of heads at bay. I was never one to fully fit into a clique in school. I had friends all around. I never played favorites and was nice to everyone around me. I just never really appreciated the parameters that people put out to decide if another person is worthy of being their friend, but in my more mature view.... I see there was a reason.
With my tendencies to have a booming voice and reasonable expectations, I spent my day keeping things running smoothly during my watch. Of course, I think I will have the perpetual problem with the fashion statement of baggy pants that refuse to be pulled to the waist. I ended up repeating throughout the day to so many kids to pull up their darn pants which had everyone around me laughing, I even laughed a time or two. I really do not need to know what color or pattern their underwear is. Between the constant reminder to walk in the hallways and to fight the backside hanging out of their pants fashion statement.... it was a pretty non-eventful day. I still never let my guard down, though. So many kids in such a small area are known to fight and the main part of that job is to keep everyone there safe. Rules are to be followed.... no matter how lame they appeared to the kids. I was fortunate that no fighting really broke out fully in my presence. There were a few times that appeared to seem like a fight was brewing under the surface, but I made my presence known and was lucky to diffuse it before it escalated.
Could I do this job on a daily basis? Sure. I would have to get used to the constant adrenaline rush to fully appreciate the job because once I got home.... I fell asleep on the couch for an hour. I did not really exert myself physically, but mentally I was taxed to the hilt. I felt I was more of a parent watching over a thousand kids at once and to be that alert for that long to make sure the "what ifs" that could happen... did not happen. There is a completely new appreciation of an uneventful day being a good day and that day was a really good day for the books. Just that experience alone gave me a new appreciation for what I have no doubt thought was an easy job when I was their age. It is all in getting the chance to experience the job to appreciate it in a new light. Now, I just have to wait for another opportunity to come along because being a substitute does not guarantee a solid job, but when it comes.... I will be looking forward to it.
Thanks for reading and have a great day!! Time to tackle some more housework and maybe a few more chapters of another book...
No comments:
Post a Comment