I have been substitute teaching this year in hopes of someday getting a "real" teaching job, but was a SAHM for over six years. Before that, I subbed for a few years. So I basically have a vast desert instead of professional references, other than decade-old letters from my master teachers when I was student teaching that are theoretically in the university's computers somewhere.
Right now I sub exclusively son's at my son's school, which I picked for him because it was sort of my dream-school, pedagogically-speaking. It works out well - convenient for me, the teachers, and the kids (teachers have told me that other subs are just plain mean to the kids b/c the school atmosphere is so different than that of a "normal" school). My grand plan was to sub for however many years it took for a job to come up, building up references somehow in the meantime. However, "the grapevine" tells me that there may be one or more positions opening up for next year.
On paper I'm a viable candidate - just finished my master's in a valued education area, name-brand undergrad university, people like me at the school, etc. However, the whole "references" thing totally eludes me to the point that I have never asked for a reference in my life. In retrospect, this reference-anxiety has been a major stumbling block to my post-undergraduate career, or lack thereof.
I'm 35. It's way past time to get over this issue!
But if teachers are going to retire soon, they'll probably announce it in the next couple of months and I need my ducks in a row to apply for a job, including a completed application to the school district, which requires the dread references.
How??? Ack!
Right now I sub exclusively son's at my son's school, which I picked for him because it was sort of my dream-school, pedagogically-speaking. It works out well - convenient for me, the teachers, and the kids (teachers have told me that other subs are just plain mean to the kids b/c the school atmosphere is so different than that of a "normal" school). My grand plan was to sub for however many years it took for a job to come up, building up references somehow in the meantime. However, "the grapevine" tells me that there may be one or more positions opening up for next year.
On paper I'm a viable candidate - just finished my master's in a valued education area, name-brand undergrad university, people like me at the school, etc. However, the whole "references" thing totally eludes me to the point that I have never asked for a reference in my life. In retrospect, this reference-anxiety has been a major stumbling block to my post-undergraduate career, or lack thereof.
I'm 35. It's way past time to get over this issue!
But if teachers are going to retire soon, they'll probably announce it in the next couple of months and I need my ducks in a row to apply for a job, including a completed application to the school district, which requires the dread references.
How??? Ack!
