Worst Job?

Christian started the ball rolling by describing his gig as "Binky the Clown" for a Pizza Hut children's birthday party. He tagged Damian, among others, and Damian passed the torch to me.

Most memes require that you link back to the person who tags you, address the theme, and tag other bloggers to keep the theme alive.

The question Christian posed was

Looking back on your life, what was the "worst job" you ever had that ironically helped prepare you to one day become an educator?

After some thought (because I've had a LOT of jobs!) I came up with three possible answers:

Babysitter In my teen years, babysitting was one of the few socially acceptable ways for a girl to earn extra spending money. For 50 cents an hour, I was expected to entertain, feed, clean and tuck in my charges. While it could be exhausting - and stressful - these weekend jobs gave me experience in entertaining small children, calming their fears, and keeping them from running wild. Good training for motherhood, good training for becoming a teacher/librarian.

Working in the NYS Misc. Fees Department During the 1960s, NYS Regents Scholarship winners were guaranteed summer jobs in Albany. My first state job was in the Misc. Fees Department. A regiment of college students spent each day opening and processing payments from LPNs and other licensed professionals. It was enormously boring work, and I privately vowed to never have to do such a dull job again - so the main lesson I learned was the value of obtaining an education. Of course, every position I've held since then has included some variety of record-keeping, organization, etc. Perhaps I acquired skills I didn't even realize were valuable. [Ironically, the summer clerical positions I filled for the state brought me one benefit of immense worth: I was able to gain Tier I status in the Teacher Retirement System. Any educator in this state can verify how significant THAT is!]

Teacher Assistant Before I received my Teaching Certification, I worked as a TA in a local public school. One of my assignments was in a classroom for students with multiple handicaps. Some were in wheelchairs, most had to be toileted, a few needed to be fed by hand. It was difficult, dirty work, and I greatly admire the dedicated people who continue to provide this service. I also admire the students, who don't choose to be different but fight their battles as best they can. I learned about tolerance and compassion in my Option IV classroom.

I tag Jeffrey Keefer, Terry Shay, Anne Mirtschin, Carolyn Foote, and Julie Lindsay.



"Here's Mud In Your Eye" by Clearly Ambiguous