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Post by biteybird on Nov 25, 2016 5:14:41 GMT -5
Thanks again, everyone! I do feel like I need a short break from job applications & interviews...time to regroup. "Adapt and overcome", as Clint Eastwood said in Heartbreak Ridge.  |
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Post by Jan and Shah on Nov 26, 2016 8:02:21 GMT -5
"Never give up - never surrender" as Tim Allen said in Galaxy Quest  |
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Post by aaron on Nov 26, 2016 13:20:16 GMT -5
Bummer! Sorry to hear about this. What a pain this must be! And Jan, my family frequently cites that Galaxy Quest quote  |
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Post by biteybird on Jan 30, 2017 2:05:40 GMT -5
Update time: STILL frazzled! I've continued applying for several positions (some in Northern Territory), but some I haven't heard back since the end of November. I also applied for a V/Line conductor position, which is the Metro equivalent of country train lines. I passed the V/Line online assessments, phone interview and Assessment Centre. Today I had a medical assessment (including hearing test, eyesight test, drug & alcohol screening, 6-minute step test, 20 pushups, 15 squats, lifting 10kg, and - get this - 1 situp (only 1 required, which made me laugh!). The doctor said I'd passed it, so now I will be placed in a 'Talent Pool' and contacted if/when a vacancy arises. Then I would do 7 weeks training and commence a short (e.g., 6 months) contract. If they're happy, I can apply for permanent positions as they arise. I would ask for Leave without Pay from my current job until I was sure of more stable work. The most awkward thing about today was that today was our first school day for the year (no students until tomorrow, though) and I had to go and tell the Team Leader I had a medical appointment at 1:45pm, hoping it wouldn't be a problem. Well, at least today's thing is over - now to steel myself for students tomorrow (none of which I know yet). Wish me luck, again! |
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Post by Jan and Shah on Jan 30, 2017 4:44:59 GMT -5
Hang in there Biteybird. Just keep pushing forward and don't get disheartened. There will be something out there just for you |
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Post by julianna on Jan 30, 2017 14:15:32 GMT -5
Boy...quite the test they give you. Why would they want 20 pushups and only 1 situp? I think it sounds like old school rules where these jobs were had mostly by men in the past. I don't think I could do 20 pushups and I could do 20 situps. lol
Good luck with your class tomorrow. Maybe after you meet them you will change your mind and stay there? You know how much they need you and I know you have a soft heart.
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Post by easttex on Jan 30, 2017 14:53:06 GMT -5
Yep, hang in there biteybird. I've never applied for those sorts of jobs, but it seems they really do put you through your paces. Wouldn't it be cool if a requirement for one of these positions would be to see how you do in zero gravity? |
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Post by biteybird on Jan 31, 2017 4:53:48 GMT -5
Boy...quite the test they give you. Why would they want 20 pushups and only 1 situp? Exactly! That's why I had to laugh - my situps are OK (not THAT good) but in the Army I used to do 60 pushups in 2 minutes!  Lucky, 'coz my running sucked, but the situps and pushups were enough to get me an 'A' pass in every fitness test. I guess I was fortunate that the V/Line test wasn't the other way around (20 situps), so it kind of went my way. |
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Post by biteybird on Jan 31, 2017 4:55:57 GMT -5
Wouldn't it be cool if a requirement for one of these positions would be to see how you do in zero gravity? ...only cool if you don't mind bouncing through your own vomit (I get motion sickness). |
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Post by Jan and Shah on Jan 31, 2017 11:38:12 GMT -5
Biteybird, I can do 2 pushups in 60 minutes |
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Post by biteybird on Feb 2, 2017 4:08:01 GMT -5
Thanks, Julianna...well it's Thursday night, the kids have been back for 3 days and my assistant and I are totally WRECKED. Seriously, it feels like we've been back an entire term!
I've never had a problem liking the students. It's simply the unceasing vigilance required from the moment they arrive to the moment they leave that wears me out completely. I have 5 students, 3 of whom are a danger to other students (e.g., biting, hitting, kicking, pinching, pulling hair) and one is an absconder and attempts to run out of the classroom as soon as either of us looks away for 5 seconds. We are not allowed to have door locks to prevent exit from the rooms. Another student has to be taken to a separate area adjoining the classroom when he is unsafe to the others, but a staff member must be with him, leaving the other staff member to look after the remaining students (including the absconder), and at these moments a DIFFERENT student takes the opportunity to annoy the others. This means the well-behaved students end up getting ignored because we're dealing with the unsafe behaviours by the others.
This is without the huge admin load (including lots of data collection to follow up on unsafe behaviours) and meetings and trying to prepare lessons - THAT hasn't happened yet, this week!
My body and brain is in "flight or fight" mode constantly...an adrenalin overload due to constant hyper-vigilance during school hours and a huge mental 'to-do' list when at home. I leave home at 7:10, rush to set up my classroom prior to 8:40, look after the students all day (missing all breaks and lunch 3 days in a row now due to unsafe behaviours, and rarely having a chance to visit the bathroom!), attend meetings, write up behaviours, clean up classroom mess, photocopying, emails, leave at 5:00-ish, go home, let Bonnie out, cook tea, do computer work for school until at least 9pm, then watch TV for one hour to wind down and go to bed (taking 2 hours to get to sleep)...then do it all again. Weekends are spent catching up on sleep and housework, plus about 6 hours of school work.
Hmm. If I had any lingering doubts before about changing professions, I certainly don't now. I don't think I can handle the daily grind of it for much longer without my health suffering badly (I already rarely exercise). My GP says I have anxiety - my heart-rate went crazy into 'A-Fib' a few times and I ended up in Emergency twice in 2015 - and that I need to reduce my stress. That's why I'm trying to change occupations into something where I have more control over how I spend my time. So now I have been on a tablet called Mirtazapine, which is making me put on weight at an alarming rate - apparently it's a common side-effect. I'm now 10kg heavier than when I started it in April last year, without altering anything with diet etc., but at least it helps me sleep a bit better and has my heart rate & blood pressure *mostly* under control. I tried to stop taking it last week, but on the 3rd day felt horribly unwell and had to start it again. But I'm reducing the dosage (I'm already on the lowest dose possible) by breaking the tablets in half. We'll see!
Sorry for the long post, the rant and for sounding so dramatic!
I do realise that I'm very lucky to have a job and that I'm better off than many people are. I just think that the Department of Education here has gone down the toilet!
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Post by julianna on Feb 4, 2017 14:18:16 GMT -5
Wow.... I certainly wouldn't want my day to be like that. What a job and yes .. it sounds like the Education Department has gone downhill. It is too bad they don't attend a few of the classes to see for themselves what you all go through. I know the children are blessed that you have the skills to do this but I can also easily see that it is just too demanding.
When your physical being is affected... it is time to get another job for sure. Too bad the Board of Education wouldn't relocate you to another school that is not so demanding. Are they aware of your issues? Do they care?
When I worked, and was having any type of issue... the Ministry always was there for me to back me up... relocate me... pay for my move.. etc. etc. I would think the Board of Education knows they have a good employee and would want to be there for you.
Wow again... Best wishes.
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Post by biteybird on Feb 4, 2017 17:21:54 GMT -5
Thanks Julianna, gee the weekend has gone too really fast! The Department of Education was meant to have a whole heap of extra funding (especially for special education), but after the election the new government backed out of the deal. There are too many enrolments at our school (which is at capacity), but DET says we have to take all of them, which means class sizes get bigger and then everyone isn't as safe when the 'challenging' behaviours present themselves. Also we lost a lot of staff at the end of last year and are still short a couple of teachers and support staff. I think my class is going to be an 'outside' classroom! The playground is the only place, seemingly, that all of us are safe. |
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Post by Jan and Shah on Feb 4, 2017 17:55:43 GMT -5
Can they employ more teachers? The education system in this country has really gone downhill over the past few years and the Department of Education are a pack of idiots (I know first hand as I had a friend who worked there). As each government changes, so all the promises change and, in the end, it is the children and teachers who suffer. You cant go on like this. My health issues were bad the last couple of years of my working life and I was really deteriorating. You have to get away from that job. You need to do it not only for your health but for your sanity. I stayed at work 6 months longer than I had planned and I was a basket case by the time I left. Is it possible to get a transfer? Can you do some casual work? Get out of there!!!!! No job on earth is worth risking your health over.
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Post by biteybird on Feb 5, 2017 2:00:35 GMT -5
Thanks Jan, you and I are on EXACTLY the same page! You are right.
I guess I'm just hanging on while I try to change jobs...I don't know how much longer I can go on with it. I'm actually wondering if my GP can write me a letter or something that would allow me to take some sort of 'stress' leave (I have Income Protection Insurance for non-pre-existing conditions, so I could be on that until my body settles down a bit). I don't want to go into A-Fib again anytime soon!
On Friday I got head-butted on my right eye(brow), kicked in the shins, scratched and jabbed in the throat (different students). 4 out of 5 of my students behave unsafely to other students and staff. I just sent an email to my team leader 'updating' her on our week and suggesting my classroom is a candidate for extra staff support. (I "cc'd" it to the other team leader, the Assistant Principal and the Principal).
The school advertised teacher positions late last year and had quite a few applicants, but they didn't re-employ many teachers who had already taught there, instead favouring graduate teachers (because their salaries are not as high). So the experienced teachers went elsewhere, then some of the graduates pulled out and now they've had to re-advertise.
The funny thing about all this is that Victoria is "The Education State" (on all the new car licence plates), but it has the least funding out of any state in Australia!
I could do casual relief teacher (CRT) work at my school, which would mean I could be sent to any classroom in the school, not knowing the students - but, on the plus side, I wouldn't have to attend any meetings or do any class preparation. So I would still be stressed while I'm actually at school, but once home I wouldn't have any work to do in my own time. I've been thinking about doing that while I'm trying to change jobs...have to discuss it with hubby.
I really hope you're feeling better now that you've left your job and are living in your own place. |
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Lucky, 'coz my running sucked, but the situps and pushups were enough to get me an 'A' pass in every fitness test. I guess I was fortunate that the V/Line test wasn't the other way around (20 situps), so it kind of went my way.