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.