Make do and mend

I’ve loved these boots and I’ve worn them to all of my face-to-face interviews in 2024. They are held together with gaffer tape and gorilla glue. I used a black sharpie and shoe polish to disguise my repairs. My make-do-and-mend efforts gave me a sense of satisfaction I haven’t yet achieved in my job search…

My last interview was for a home-based role with a national children’s reading charity. The train and underground tickets cost me over £100, which came from my own pocket. Even so, as I sat on the train to London, I felt more excited than I’d been for a long time. I prepared thoroughly, pulled out all the stops and gave my very best during the one hour interview. 8 days later, I received an email to say that although the manager had been ‘impressed with [my] skill set and knowledge’, the charity would not be moving forward with my application. The email was signed ‘HR Team’.

I am continuing in my quest for clarity of direction. I am pressing on, seeking to contribute to a future where young and old bond through books, where relationships are strengthened through shared reading, and where obstacles to literacy are removed.

Applying for teaching vacancies in schools might seem an obvious thing for me to do. There must be a headteacher somewhere who’s willing to pay the price for a mature and experienced teacher (I’m 54). But the school system drained the life out of me and, until schools change significantly, I know I can’t go back. I haven’t set foot inside a school since the end of the 2022 summer term, when I walked out of my empty reception classroom with heavy bags and a heavy heart.

In spite of all the challenges, my love for children and my desire to teach are as strong as ever. Deep in my downtrodden soul, I believe I have a life worth living and gifts worth giving.

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‘We have an anchor that keeps the soul

Steadfast and sure while the billows roll;

Fastened to the rock, which cannot move,

Grounded, firm and deep, in the Saviour’s love.’

Priscilla Jane Owens (1829-1907)

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‘I would have lost heart, unless I had believed

That I would see the goodness of the Lord

In the land of the living.

Wait on the Lord;

Be of good courage,

And He shall strengthen your heart;

Wait, I say, on the Lord!

Psalm 27: 13-14

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