An Immigrant's Story

In February, I was granted a teaching job on the basis that my English teaching equivalency would come through by the end of April.  You knew this much from the last update, but I would never have guessed how much my life could have changed on such drastic levels from then until now.

After four days of teaching, I woke up on a Saturday morning to see an e-mail waiting for me from the company which decides the fate of immigrant teaching hopefuls.  I was devastatingly saddened to see that the e-mail began with the words, "Unfortunately your application for QTLS has not yet met the requirements for Professional Formation"; meaning that I would have to reapply by June and my application would be reassessed, but I wouldn't find out until September whether or not that revised version of my portfolio was successful.

I immediately called the company to find out what was missing from the 30 page portfolio I submitted.  All of the requirements that the customer service line said that I needed, I was sure were included with my written work.  Begrudgingly and worriedly, I phoned my deputy head to tell her the horrible news, but she assured me not to worry and that we would take care of it on Monday upon returning to school.

All weekend, I stressed about my fate but kept the debacle between Lee and I in the hopes that everything would be 'okay' and my teaching job would be secure.

Monday, however, my head teacher gave me the news that I would be suspended until the situation could be rectified.  Somehow, I managed not to cry when the word 'suspended' was mentioned and actually said some cordial words in reply, handling it like a true professional.  Then, when I left the room and saw my mentor and friend, I completely broke down and felt like my dream that I had waited three years for was just slipping away like fine flecks of sand.

What made matters worse was that in three days, the applications were due for the 2013-2014 school year for teaching positions.  As I was originally only hired until the end of July, this deadline would be imperative in guaranteeing my employment for next year.  But as it stood at the time, I was unemployed with no hope of teaching in the near future as I held no formal paperwork granting me the right to do so.

Monday evening, I sent an e-mail to the director of the teaching company asking her to take another look at my application because everything on the list of 'missing' items was definitely in my submitted portfolio.  Surprisingly, she replied right away and said that she would review my work again to double check that the requirements were met.

Tuesday and Wednesday at school were rough.  It was hard to realise the fact that I would have to tell my family and friends that the big teaching job only lasted a few days and it was over.  What were Lee and I going to do financially?  I racked my brain for alternative ideas of where I could work that would be relevant to the teaching profession.  Volunteering at schools was an inspiring idea, but we are not in the position where I can do non-profit work full-time. Applying for teaching position posts or daycare work seemed to be the best options, so I decided that's what I would do.  Although I tried to stay positive and look forward, the optimism was not winning.

On Wednesday evening, I left for home after what I thought would be my last day of teaching for a long time.  Lee met me on the bus (he boards about halfway through my journey home) and asked if I had heard anything from the teaching company yet, but no word so far.

Around 8 o'clock that night--the eve before teaching applications were due at SMSB--an e-mail arrived from the director of the teaching company.  She was delighted to tell me that a mistake was made on their part and they had overlooked the requirements that they said I was missing just a few days prior.  She was very apologetic and kindly reported that I had attained my UK teaching equivalency.

FINALLY!  I was so relieved and called my head teacher, deputy head and mentor right away.  Then, Lee and I went to celebrate at our favourite pub.  The next morning, I submitted my application and was granted an interview after my teaching observation the following week.

At the time of the interview, there were two full-time positions and one part-time position available.  After the interviews, I was granted the part-time job which I was disappointed with at first; but, I quickly changed my tune when I looked at the big picture: I at least had a job for the following year and I was still able to teach the year groups that I love (eight- and nine-year-olds).

Two weeks later, a fellow teacher interviewed at another school and was granted a teaching position.  This was three days before we broke up for the half-term two week break.  My deputy head teacher sent me a text message to double check that I was coming in on a day I usually have off for a buffet with the school governors.  I said that I was, but thought it was odd that she would text me to double check--I was sure she didn't do this for everyone.

On Thursday, I arrived a bit early for the buffet and my head teacher said she wanted to speak to me privately.  The look on her face was nothing less than concerned, so I was worried that I said or did something wrong.  Then she said, "We would like to offer you a full-time position for next year."  After this, her smile broke through and I was bursting with joy.

With the opening made by my colleague leaving, I was granted this vacancy for a full-time year three and four mixed class.  News spread fast and all of the love and support from Lee and my SMSB family was amazing.  What a wonderful ending to a trying first six weeks of teaching.

I never imagined that after a year and a half of arriving in England that my dream of becoming a teacher with my very own classroom would be fulfilled.  It happened and my job is secure until at least July 2014.

With all of this good news, Wyzowl is also really taking off and I'm glad that Lee is a part of such an innovative company.  Recently, Wyzowl was mentioned as the 'go-to' place for original online videos in Inc. Magazine.  This can only be fruitful for the company as this magazine has 182,000 followers on Facebook.

Our hope is that by this time next year we will be living in our own home in the Southport area and learning how to drive.  We've learned to only set vague goals because so much changes from season to season for us.  Since we both have the jobs we want close to a town we've grown to love, we're just waiting to see what God has in store for us over this next year.

If you see Sammie Miles Davis, Jr. and Bella, give them my love.

Confessions of a Bus Rider

Relying on public transportation saves us about £3,000 a year since the petrol and car insurance are so highly priced.  We're still at the point in our lives where we need to pick the most inexpensive option over time-saving options.  For instance, I ride on two buses to get to work everyday for a total of an hour and a half when it should take 45 minutes to get there by car.  Because of this extra free time on my hands, I turned to reading my way through the Preston library.

I found out quickly that I'm not an average bus rider--mainly because I cannot tolerate any nonsense or bullying from children or teenagers.  In fact, I've become a little public transport vigilante in my own right.  The first occurrence of this came when I was merely standing, staring in the direction from where the bus was to arrive, holding my backpack, and frankly minding my own business.  A group of ten teenagers gathered and most of the time, they are quite annoying and sometimes destructive to public property, but as long as they leave me alone, I stay out of their world.  One day, however, two boys chose to mock me and probably thought that since they usually rule the streets and people are too afraid to confront them, that I would just stand idly by and be bullied by them.  Well, they were wrong.  I stood up for myself and for the days following, the kids stayed on the other side of the street until the bus was in sight.  And to this day, I have not seen those two particular boys again.

Another major incident came when I witnessed my first criminal act.  I really should not go into too much detail for the safety of myself, but I'll tell you what I can.  This crime did not happen on the bus--thank goodness!--but I witnessed the attack from the bus while we waited at a stop light.  Immediately, I called the police and then went into the police station a week later to tell my account of the events.  Basically, a gang of boys attacked another boy with a weapon, and then destroyed his bicycle after he fled the scene.  I couldn't believe what I was seeing, especially since it was in the middle of the afternoon toward the centre of town.  But, it was Preston afterall.  What was more shocking was that I was watching this happen with 20 other bus riders, but I was the only one with my phone out, calling the police department.  It's a hard-knock life in Preston, apparently.  The good news is that they caught all four gang members and they are set to face the judge in April.  I was ordered by the court to appear to give my witness statement, but I've arranged it so that the accused will not be able to see my face.

And then began the saga of the Walton-le-Dale teenagers.  These students are from a high school in Preston and board the bus two stops after me every day after school.  Like I mentioned before, if the kids do not bother me, then I ignore them and continue to read my library book.  But, their behaviour became too much one day when they were shouting an inappropriate anatomy word from the back of the bus as loud as they could.  I looked around to see the faces and reactions of the British people--and they were just as flustered as me.  After glances and glares, with no let-up, I decided to tell them to 'be quiet.'  The teenagers then decided to say their chosen word at a medium-volume that could still be heard by all.  At that point, one of them said to me, "There, now we're being quiet."  To which I responded, "Actually, you're not being quiet at all and none of us want to hear your loud mouths."  This shocked them into silence for a few more days on the bus.

Then, as the shock wore off, these kids went back to their old ways.  On this day, they gathered at the front of the bus and used it as their stage for a display of their horrible behaviour.  This is what was on display:  swinging like monkeys on the ceiling handles, cursing, running around, ridiculously loud volume of inappropriate conversations, and repeatedly knocking into a pram.  I kept my head down this time and kept reading since I felt my efforts were already used on these kids and they weren't going to change for me, but still stole glances of other bus riders to see their reactions.  The mother of the baby in the pram was visibly angry and a man beside me was looking around to catch others' attention, gesturing toward the action in the front of the bus.  Why didn't anyone speak up for themselves?  At school, I was warned that the teenagers might have knives and will attack if provoked.  If that's how this country has arrived in this predicament of children running the public transportation system and sidewalks, then a change has got to come.  Unlucky for the teens this day was that a bus driver boarded the bus in order to ride to the station for his upcoming shift.  He sat across the aisle from me and of course, the students acted like perfect angels when they saw him get on the bus.  I turned to him and said, "I wish you rode the bus with us every day," then proceeded to tell him everything that I saw.  Suddenly, three other passengers found their voice and piped up in our mini-intervention.  At the end of this, I asked, "What can we do if they act like this again?"  He told me that as soon as we complain to the bus driver, they will be kicked off the bus.  All of our conversation was heard by the teenagers and the bus driver who rode with us even told them that if they get removed from the bus, they will have to start taking a taxi to school.

Since that day in November, there has been no misbehaviour from that group--and not one of them has threatened my life with a knife.  The only thing I fear in this world is God and I will always stick up for what is right in whatever way I can.  This does cause Lee some worry, but if I think I can handle a situation, then I will; otherwise, I will phone the police.  There is clearly a culture shock, seeing people let children say and do whatever they please and not speaking up--this is not Ashland, where it takes a village.  But, what I admired about that day was that as soon as someone opened the floodgates, the complaints came rushing.  Also, the teens were mortified that so many people were reporting their vile behaviour which showed remorse and a small sign of a conscience, which I didn't think existed in them.

Some days, these students will not board the bus if they see that I'm on.  When they do board and I'm on the bus, they act appropriately and even politely to other passengers, offering their seats to older riders.

One more sentimental story comes of an elderly gentleman who used to sit across from me every day.  Our favourite seats were always ready for us because we boarded from the Preston bus station.  Coincidentally, we rode the same bus in the mornings and in the evenings.  He even got off of the bus in Birkdale, about four stops before me.  We'd exchange looks when people were talking too loudly on their mobile phones or a herd of prams were blocking the aisle, but we never spoke.  I haven't seen this man in a little over a month and I'm not sure what happened to him, but I hope he is okay.

If you see Sammie Miles Davis, Jr. and Bella, give them my love.

Roads to Success

After our snowy trip to America, Lee and I arrived back in England to moderate, spring-like weather.  In the month to follow, we did manage to see about a centimetre of snow on the ground, which caused a two-hour standstill traffic jam and me to be late to work.  Even though the roads were completely clear and not icy at all, the cars were not moving.  I have so much respect for the driving skills of the resilient people in the Ohio Snow Belt.

While we were back in Ohio, I was so grateful to visit with my friends and family.  I wish we had a little more time to stay and see more people, but we had to get back to work.  It was wonderful to see and do Ohio-things such as go to a high school basketball game, see the Lake Erie Monsters play ice hockey, tour the Columbus Zoo, and go sled riding with my little cousins.  The best feeling was meeting up with people who I haven't seen in over a year (or more) and sharing in conversation with them as if no time had passed at all.  Not everything was picture-perfect because a lot of changes have happened in my family since I've been away.  My grandpa passed away in September, so a binding member was gone and things felt a bit fragmented.  A few relationships have become quite volatile, and some completely disjointed, in my family which was a bit surprising to me and made me quite disheartened.  My wish is that in a couple of years when Lee and I return for another Christmas in America, everyone will get along and the 'happy holidays' can be celebrated as they were when I was little.

Travelling back to England, Lee was looking forward to starting back to work at Wyzowl since the company moved to a bigger office very close to the ocean.  He is still located in Southport, but now he takes a bus to work for a half hour instead of walking a half hour to get to the office.  With all of the uncertainty that came with switching jobs back in September, we are both really glad that Lee made the change to the new company (which has added five new employees in the past four months).

Besides being a teaching assistant, I have been working towards becoming a certified UK teacher.  After many attempts through international agencies--from which any offers would seem improbable to accept seeing as Lee has such a great job now in Southport--and searches for openings in private schools in this Merseyside/Lancashire area, I started to see my dream of becoming a teacher dwindle.  But, last summer, a law was passed to give immigrants who want to be teachers an easier way into teaching in the UK besides going back to university.  This path entails filling out a portfolio, writing essays, and submitting documents to prove my skills as a licensed teacher in the US.  I submitted this portfolio a couple of weeks ago and will hear back from the agency in April.  Let's keep our fingers crossed because...

On February 14, I applied for a teaching position in the school where I work currently and I got the job!  I burst into tears of relief and joy when the head teacher offered me the position.  I've waited three years since graduation to have a class of my own.  It's finally happened and I am still elated from the news.  This job is just temporary until the end of July and I will be part-time, teaching year three and four students on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesday mornings.  With this arrangement, I think the transition to the UK educational system will be perfect for my situation.  I've spent a year and a half observing the teacher with whom I assist, but I'm sure there will a bit more to learn by way of paperwork.  I am so thankful that this school first gave me a job and now is giving me the chance to finally be a teacher.

If you see Sammie Miles Davis, Jr. and Bella, give them my love.

Here are some photos from our trip to Ohio.  Enjoy!

This is a view of the Christmas light display at the Columbus Zoo.  A very cold, wintry trip, but well worth the fantastic day out!  Enjoy the photos of our favourite moments of the day.

The Lake Erie Monsters in action.  They ended up winning by a long shot and in true hockey player fashion, there were three fights.

My parents' house at Christmas.  Beautiful lights to welcome us home!

A lovely Christmas tree to help celebrate Christmas morning.