Shameless self-promotion: Recent work issues have me feeling down

[Xing]

I’ll try to keep this brief. As some might’ve saw in another thread, my position at my school got reduced by 60%. That, on top of several other sources of stress, has been really getting to me recently. While my position within the district is safe, at least for now, I’m still in for at least months of uncertainty, with the possibility of being informed in August that I’ll be split between as many as three different schools, which would be… less than ideal. It’s also been extremely hard to come to terms with the fact that the music program at my school, which I worked hard to build from scratch over the past five years, is pretty much going to be reduced to rubble. It’s as if none of the time I poured into my work will end up mattering much in the long term, which is a harrowing thought. It’s something I knew I could face at some point, going into the arts and education, but it’s still extremely disheartening to see it happen right in front of my eyes. I’ve started doubting if I made the right career choice, or if it’s worth it to continue teaching, when the district I’m in has paid nothing but lip service to the arts, and I’ve seen them devalued so much in practice. So, it’s been affecting me a lot lately, and if anyone has any positive vibes to share, I’d definitely appreciate it. If not, feel free to just ignore this shameless PSA.

[Meclazine for Israel]

It's just the workplace in general has become extremely short term.

Hope you deal with 2022 with a positive spirit.

[vitoNova]

Have you ever considered DoDEA?

Adventure of a lifetime.

[Associate Justice PiT]

     Dealing with uncertainty is hard, and I have had plenty of that in my life. It hurts that much more when it affects something you are passionate about. I will be praying that things work out for you.

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

Hi Xing, I'm sorry to see that you're feeling frustrated in your current role. I unfortunately can't offer you more than my sympathy, as someone who in leadership roles felt he built much but institutionalized very little, and some reflection on my own mom's career in music education. It seems the lot of music teachers to be eternally caught in a cycle that begins with building programs, recruiting kids, and ordering instruments... and resolves with transfers, layoffs, the collapse of all their hard work, and the need to start all over once austerity has culminated and hiring processes have revved back up. This is made all the worse when you deal with historically disadvantaged communities where broken homes, truancy, and the like all layer on top of traditional problems related to budgets and whether or not school administrators care. Best of luck.

[Penn_Quaker_Girl]

I'm sorry, Xing.  You know you're one of my favorite posters here.  You're kind, bright, and just seem like an amazing person. 

It's frustrating to me that your abilities aren't being recognized.  Just from what I've seen of you here, I would've been extremely fortunate to have had you as a teacher in some parallel dimension. 

I can't offer very much advice, but please hang in there.  My inbox is always open if you ever need anything. 

[gerritcole]

I assume you work for a public school, have you considered applying for positions at private schools?