Experience vs Expertise

I am devastated. I just came back from a job interview somewhere in Q.C., optimistic that I would be hired as a preschool teacher. It's always been my frustration to be a teacher, a desire that stemmed from my early exposure as a volunteer for our church. Summers during my teenage years were mostly spent with out-of-school youths in depressed areas, reading Bible stories, singing Christian songs, role-playing characters from the Bible, and essentially teaching kids how to be God-like. But I guess this doesn't count as a "teaching experience" as I later learned.
I was told that they badly needed an English teacher. Check. I think a solid background in print journalism would suffice.
Passionate about kids. Check. I love my two boys to bits.
Flexible. Check. Journalists are the most flexible people I know.
Teaching experience. Well I argued that I had, uhmm, informal teaching experience but my argument was met with a puzzled stare.
Knows how to make a lesson plan. Check...only because I can easily learn that. (Sabi ko nga, "Teacher I can also learn that as long as you teach me how to make one.")
Starting salary -- P9,000 to P10,000. Ha? Come again? I had to ask again thinking I heard wrong.
Inulit pa nia, sabay sabi, "If you have masters then that's an additional five...five hundred pesos. And another five hundred if you are a LET passer, and so on."
What the...@#%! And this is a private school attended by kids whose parents are either CEOs, businessmen, artistas, instant millionaires, politicians, or just plain filthy rich who inherited haciendas from their ninunos.
Do they expect to get decent teachers with that kind of salary? Private school pa yan, hindi pa yan public. Yes I know teaching is a vocation, a noble profession that, unfortunately, doesnt pay well. Pero naman, teachers also need to eat, feed their families, pay the rent and electricity, ride the public transport, and send their children to school.
I was devastated. I thought I priced myself way below my expertise and experience. Turns out, mahal pa pala ang asking salary ko.
Another issue was my actual teaching experience, or should I say the lack of it. I wanted to blurt out "EXPERIENCE IS THE BEST TEACHER!" di nio ba alam? I could develop that skill if you'll only accord me the opportunity to teach kids.
Obviously, Im as sour as kamias. But who wouldnt? I was so looking forward to taking on this job. I still want to be a teacher, and I could perhaps do PR writing on the side to get me by.
Kaso they'll just call me back daw. Interpretation: Next please.
You just burst my bubble.
Buti na lang birthday ni River. I have another reason to be happy.

No comments: