As I am writing this, I just turned 33. I worked hard all my life and I made a small list of what I would like for my birthday. See, I am a music teacher, or should I say a former music teacher.
I had the education – I finished all my coursework towards my Doctorate of Education. I had experience – 8 years in NJ public schools and 3 years in Philly catholic schools. I had the accolades. A whole wall full of awards, band championships, exemplary reviews, etc. But, I was let go two years ago. Dozens upon dozens of applications later, I have nothing.
Actually, that is not true. I do work at a certain office supply store for $8.34 an hour. It’s a wonderful experience working for a corporation that boasts about “opening a new store in the world every day.” Yes, this is the same store that strives to be a billion dollar company. I sell and repair computers and office equipment for them. Yes, for me to check your computer, you would have to pay $80. It takes me a whole 20 minutes to do that. For a virus removal, be prepared to shell out over $200. However, last year, when it came time for our raises, we earned a cool 7 cents an hour. We made that company a lot of money. A lot. But they use that “recession” excuse to screw us over for our raises, even though they are making record-breaking corporate profits. They also to make sure they schedule me for shifts that are less than 6 hours long, so I don’t get a lunch break.
I contacted local unions for help. They won’t respond to me. I guess they feel like it’s a lost cause.
I also work in a septic pit for most of the day. Well, at least a few days a week. See, my friends started a new business installing septic systems. They are trying to make the best out of a bad situation too. It’s kind of ironic. My father was a plumber. I was on that plumbing truck every Saturday and all summer long from when I was 4 years old up until high school. Every messy job, my father used to point at me and say, “This is why you need to stay in school.” So I stayed in school. 8 years in college and three degrees later, I’m knee deep in shit in a septic pit laying pipe, thinking to myself, “I should have been a plumber.” On the plus side, it is an honest day’s work. I love getting up early, packing my lunch, and going to work. I like sweating in the hot sun. I like waking up feeling sore. That all means that I have earned a day’s work. After exhausting my 99 weeks of unemployment insurance, and almost losing my home, that feeling is the best feeling in the world to me. If I could provide for my kids doing this, I would never teach again. Why would I? The only reason I spent those 8 years in college and worked as hard as I did was because my father assured me that I wouldn’t have to work as hard has he had to. He was wrong.
So here are my birthday wishes:
1. I want a job. I don’t want someone to hand me a job. I want to EARN a job. I want to remember how great it was to earn that paycheck. I want to remember that feeling of waking up before the sunrise, while my children were still fast asleep, sneak into the shower, make coffee and breakfast, tie my tie on the way out the door and go kick some ass.
2. I want to get into my classroom at the ass-crack of dawn, prepare my room, make my copies, put my goals and objectives on the board, and get ready for the next 7 hours of chaos.
3. I want to see that look on a student’s face when he just mastered something difficult. I want to see that sign of success. I want to see him restrain his excitement because that light bulb went off and he “got it!”
4. I want to see the nervousness of my student’s eyes when they see an auditorium full of people to watch them play. I want to crack a dumb joke on stage and watch their nervous smile. I want to look at them with a reassuring confidence before I start that first number and watch them labor over their horns trying the best to make their parents proud.
5. I want to see the look on their face when we finish performing. I want to see that restrained, and proud smile, as they say to themselves, “we did it,” ending a wonderful performance.
6. I want my children to experience the same desire to learn music as I did. I want my kids to have to audition for chairs in the band. I want them to have the same desire to succeed as I had.
But this is no longer a Clinton-era nation. Now we have education champions like NJ governor Chris Christie who is looking to privatize education. He believes that for-profit education companies can do a better job, despite data that shows the opposite. His Education Commissioner is a former CEO of Edison Learning, one of the biggest for-profit education corporations ever. It is unsure if I will ever teach again. It is unsure if my kids will ever be able to have the “luxury” of taking music classes. It is unsure that, no matter how hard I work, no matter how hard I try, that I will ever be able to earn a full-time salary ever again. It is unsure that my family or I will ever have heath care ever again. It is unsure how much longer I can keep my mortgage paid before I need to sell the house.
See, despite some Republican opinions, I am unemployed because of their policies. I am a victim of their cuts. I am a hard-working, dedicated teacher. Something that has become the enemy of the Republican Party. While I try my best to form the groundwork for the future, they try their best to dismantle it.
I hope I’m not asking too much.