Opportunities

Last month, the AmeriCorps member who was teaching literacy in the public library quit the program and went home, ostensibly for medical reasons. She was a LIS student, and had accepted the offer to join AmeriCorps on the condition that she get that specific site. This was way back in May, I think: she was the first volunteer accepted to the program. Once she got here, though, she was very vocal in her unhappiness, not particularly about the site, but about the program and Florida as a whole. No one was at all surprised to see her leave.

This all has left her site without a teacher, and the AmeriCorps supervisor has been trying to hire another person for the position, before it gets too late. So after our weekly meeting on Friday, she approaches me, and asks if I would like to take over at the site. She said that it would be a good site for me, and that then she could fill my position at my site with a new volunteer.

I demured. I know that makes not much sense, especially given how much trouble I had when searching for librarian jobs, what with my lack of experience. My feeling is that I wouldn't really be doing anything library-specific at the site, and while it would perhaps give me more contacts, the trouble of settling into a new site would be too stressful, especially since I like the site I'm working at pretty well. The whole reason I applied for this program was to get experience teaching, which seems to be much in demand, no matter what type of library you work for. I'm teaching now, complete with detailed lesson plans and students making excuses for not having their homework. And I think the fact that I'm teaching ESL students should work in my favor, as well: gradually I'm picking up more and more Spanish as my students speak, and a couple have even volunteered to try to tutor me as I work my way through "Spanish For Dummies". I like my students, and I like my co-workers. Well, usually; Brianna and I can get on each others' nerves sometimes. But it's good to have someone to carpool with, and who understands exactly what I'm dealing with day to day. I like the structure of the curriculum at the site, and the books we use. To be honest, I feel that my site is one of the best sites in the program. I am not alone in this assessment.

So I tell her this, letting her know that I appreciate the effort, and that if I weren't firmly ensconced at my site, that I would take the chance in a heartbeat. She understood. I then asked if maybe there wasn't some way that I could volunteer at the site on my days off, to at least get some time there, and get to know the staff. She said that she would contact the site supervisor and see what she could arrange. I thanked her.

My mother thinks that I am making a mistake, but under the circumstances, I think I made the right call. Let's hope I don't regret it at the end of the year, when I'm jobhunting again.