Back in the Fall of 2008, when my career was in freefall, I hit upon what I thought was a partial solution... I could teach.
I'd taught before, back in the 90's and I enjoyed it quite a bit. I would have continued teaching had my boss not gotten wind of it. She was a firm believer in the notion that if you had any type of personal life outside of the office, you were a slacker. I was given an ultimatum: your class or your job.
Without a Masters Degree, or teaching certificate, getting a job with a public school was off the table. But private schools were another matter, and that's where I had taught before.
I started by calling my pretentious alma mater, thinking that all the money my parents had given them through the second mortgage they took out to put me through school would count for something. I was wrong. I was condescendingly told that one didn't apply to teach there, one was invited. And they only invited the most distinguished and accomplished people, I was told. The mere fact I was looking for a job was all the proof they needed that I was neither.
Next, I called the school I had taught at before, which is when I discovered I wasn't the only person who had had this thought in the troubled economy. They informed me that they had no faculty openings and a waiting list of people who had already applied that ran over 600. That was pretty much the response I received from every school I called.
So imagine my surprise last month when I received a simple message... "Would you be interested in teaching?"
It came from the unlikeliest of sources... LinkedIn. I had dismissed LinkedIn as less than worthless, Facebook for the unemployed. The message came from a "2nd", a connection of one of my connections. He used to work in the same entertainment field as I did, and I'd actually met him socially once or twice. His career trajectory was almost identical to mine, although he's about 5 years ahead of me. Quick rise up to hot shot art director, a decent time at the top on a plateau, and then a disastrous crash to earth. He'd been in about the same position as I back in 2003, found the position teaching, and now was head of the department.
I immediately said yes, no questions.
On paper, it makes absolutely no sense. It's one night class a week. And it's in LA.
So, one day a week, I'll be making the 200 mile, four hour (if I'm lucky) round trip to teach one three hour class. And it pays so little I don't even know if it will cover the gas and the wear and tear on the car.
But here's the thing. If it works out well, they've already asked if I'd be interested in teaching more classes. And if I do, I'll qualify for insurance. And it will give us a concrete reason to leave Hooterville. They've also dangled some vague,long term possibilities that I don't want to jinx by even thinking about.
So I'm off to LA this morning for my first faculty meeting. Classes start next week.
Now all I have to do is pray it doesn't snow on the Grapevine on my night of the week.
