Lesson #4 - Rural Life is Extremely Political. Merit Doesn't Mean Opportunity

Country Lesson #4 - Rural life extremely is political – I am a teacher by calling.  In my city life, I taught third graders in an incredibly challenging school.  Some days, I would come home frustrated beyond words, but I always knew that teaching was what I was called to do.  I assumed that as a qualified, passionate, and well-respected teacher that I would have no problems finding a teaching job in one of the many struggling school systems in the Appalachian Mountains.  This was certainly not the case.  After applying to and actively pursuing six different school systems within an hour and a half radius of McKee, I had absolutely no luck.  There were over 15 jobs posted on the Kentucky Department of Education website, and I contacted hiring officials and principals about every job opening.  My boss called other principals and I visited schools and boards of education to introduce myself and personally submit my application and teaching philosophy statement.  Several other teachers wrote letters of recommendation and contacted schools on my behalf, but I never received so much as an email or phone call back.  As the months passed and I talked to people from the area, I came to realize that I wasn’t going to get a teaching job regardless of my previous honors, recommendations, or qualifications.  I didn’t know the right people.  I wasn’t married to the son of a board member and I’m not the daughter of a local sheriff or politician.  I was a foreigner and around here foreigners are not trusted.   Country Lesson #4 – Life is political and merit does not always equal the opportunity you had hoped for.