The Red-Tailed Hawk
To all my friends and family, I'm doing better. I was really upset the other day more because of the lack of stability in my own job than not getting the tenure-line job. Honestly, I knew I wasn't going to get it since my qualifications were not "impressive" enough for the committee. It was what happened afterwards that really threw me for a loop.
When I asked the chair of my department if I'll be coming back as a lecturer, he was unsure. Now, for some strange reason, the president of my college is getting rid of all lecturers. We are the full-time non-tenure track faculty. Basically we're "temps," but we can stay up to four years. 99% of the time, the lecturer stays for the full four. We are a cheaper alternative than hiring a whole bunch of tenure-lines (permanent positions). In a lot of cases, after the four years, a lecturer gets hired into a tenure-line. It's a lengthy round about way of doing things but it works. Our college president doesn't think so. He wants to replace over 300 lecturers with 37 tenure lines. How is he going to make up for the course loads the lecturers taught? Hire more adjuncts (part-time professors) and increase class sizes dramatically.
Technically for every three lecturers, two lines were to open. This didn't happen in my department. We only got one, the Latin American specialist. What does this mean for me? I'm out of a full-time job for the fall. I have three classes in the fall but as an adjunct my pay scale drops dramatically. I'll literally be making 1/4 of what I've been getting for the past two years. This means I'll be working at the library more often if I can get more hours. I'll also be trying to get another teaching gig at a different college. As no one is hiring full time because of the economy, I'll be doing the adjunct work there as well. If I can get one.
So, you are probably asking "why is the title of this post 'The Red-Tailed Hawk'"? We've recently had a red-tailed hawk perch itself on the building opposite our office window for a couple of days now. This is not a very common sight in New Jersey suburbia.
It just so happens that one of my office mates is part Native American. Yesterday morning she showed me a book called "Animal Speak" which is about animal spirits. It seems that the red-tailed hawk we've been seeing is a powerful totem:
If this isn't a message, I don't know what is.
When I asked the chair of my department if I'll be coming back as a lecturer, he was unsure. Now, for some strange reason, the president of my college is getting rid of all lecturers. We are the full-time non-tenure track faculty. Basically we're "temps," but we can stay up to four years. 99% of the time, the lecturer stays for the full four. We are a cheaper alternative than hiring a whole bunch of tenure-lines (permanent positions). In a lot of cases, after the four years, a lecturer gets hired into a tenure-line. It's a lengthy round about way of doing things but it works. Our college president doesn't think so. He wants to replace over 300 lecturers with 37 tenure lines. How is he going to make up for the course loads the lecturers taught? Hire more adjuncts (part-time professors) and increase class sizes dramatically.
Technically for every three lecturers, two lines were to open. This didn't happen in my department. We only got one, the Latin American specialist. What does this mean for me? I'm out of a full-time job for the fall. I have three classes in the fall but as an adjunct my pay scale drops dramatically. I'll literally be making 1/4 of what I've been getting for the past two years. This means I'll be working at the library more often if I can get more hours. I'll also be trying to get another teaching gig at a different college. As no one is hiring full time because of the economy, I'll be doing the adjunct work there as well. If I can get one.
So, you are probably asking "why is the title of this post 'The Red-Tailed Hawk'"? We've recently had a red-tailed hawk perch itself on the building opposite our office window for a couple of days now. This is not a very common sight in New Jersey suburbia.
It just so happens that one of my office mates is part Native American. Yesterday morning she showed me a book called "Animal Speak" which is about animal spirits. It seems that the red-tailed hawk we've been seeing is a powerful totem:
This powerful bird can awaken visionary power and lead you to your life purpose. It is the messenger bird, and wherever it shows up, pay attention. The message is coming.Talk about interesting timing. Just so happens I got some interesting news later in the day. I got accepted into Boston University's Masters in Criminal Justice program. I applied as part of my "backup plan" in case I didn't have a full-time job for the fall. It's an online program with no residency requirements so I can attend classes when I'm able and can do so in my jammies. I needed a program with the flexibility in case I have to work two jobs and go to school part time.
If this isn't a message, I don't know what is.
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