Yeah, I hear that. I used to be a teacher. We were given approximately $50 at the end of the year with which to buy supplies for the next year. Paper was approximately $27/box. The math isn't that hard. I spent hundreds out of my own pocket every year for basic supplies: paper, colored pencils, construction paper, etc. At the last school, I didn't even have textbooks. If I wanted the kids to read something, *I* wrote it. In homeroom, there was a mandatory "drop everything and read" day. Because my students routinely came in with no books to read, I provided them, usually out of my own pocket because the public library was about as useless as the school library.
At least with being a high school teacher i am allowed to expect that my kids have their own books and pens and paper and stuff... I write my own classnotes cause the textbooks all suck ;) But it is still all the out of pocket expenses like - well gold stars and stickers (yes even for hight school), costumes for my kids to go and perform, makeup for the school play... Luckely a lot of this stuff is tax deductable - that doesnt stop it being an out of pocket expence of course!
You have my complete sympathy. I used to work as an administrative assistant at a VERY small church (50-150 members, fluctuating over the course of the 3 years I worked there). It sucked. Because it was so small, every member thought that I was his or her personal secretary. Plus, we were without a full-time minister for over a year. Everyone ignored deadlines, expected their project done immediately, etc. Extremely annoying since I was only allowed to be there 20 hours a week and going to college full time. (and, due to stupid contracts and arrangements, was being paid lower than minimum wage and having no taxes taken out)
i'm a pastor's wife at a multi-point parish in the-middle-of-fricking-nowhere, montana.
when i was in rural minnesota, half the people expected me to be the church secretary and the other half complained that i did church secretarial stuff to ease the load on my husband. so... i feel your pain.
I don't envy ANYone's situation if they're the spouse of a pastor. I know that the partner of the Head Pastor sometimes gets asked church-specific questions. The one catch is that the partner doesn't attend the church, so it's a moot point to her.
You're supposed to be the secretary because you're his wife? What type of crazy logic is that?
What I find funny about this job is that I ended up getting it after beginning to study Wicca. Odd that!
I knew a woman who worked at a Lutheran-based home for mentally disables people. (Or a school...I'm a little unclear on that.)
In any case, it was a Lutheran place, with Christian brochures and whatnot. My friend is a Pagan, but was keeping very quiet about it for fear of losing her job. As it turns out, she discovered that there was a preponderance of Pagans working at this place.
The cool thing is that the pastors all know what Wicca is about - nature worship - so I don't get any flak from my co-workers about it. But they told me to shy away from telling the congregants about it because it could cause an issue. Which frustrates me, but I can see their point.
Heh, you and I have the same job! Facility rentals are the bane of my existence as well...someone always forgets SOMETHING, and then a million people come flying out at me when I don't really even know what the crap is going on!
As a sort-of pagan (don't ask, just call it a crisis of faith) I have to ask. How did you end up working for a church? No judgement, mind you. I am curious and rather amused.
LOL... Actually I had attended the church for almost a year. This was after a horribly abusive relationship ended and I needed something to help keep me sane. Although some of the congregants were pretty judgmental (and it tends to run rampant in some elements of the LGBT community), there were a lot of neat folk too. And having faith DID somewhat enable me to come to terms with the aforementioned relationship and how it ended.
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But it is still all the out of pocket expenses like - well gold stars and stickers (yes even for hight school), costumes for my kids to go and perform, makeup for the school play...
Luckely a lot of this stuff is tax deductable - that doesnt stop it being an out of pocket expence of course!
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Stickers rock, even in high school. They'd rock in college, even.
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I used to work as an administrative assistant at a VERY small church (50-150 members, fluctuating over the course of the 3 years I worked there). It sucked. Because it was so small, every member thought that I was his or her personal secretary. Plus, we were without a full-time minister for over a year.
Everyone ignored deadlines, expected their project done immediately, etc. Extremely annoying since I was only allowed to be there 20 hours a week and going to college full time. (and, due to stupid contracts and arrangements, was being paid lower than minimum wage and having no taxes taken out)
So, seriously, major sympathy here.
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when i was in rural minnesota, half the people expected me to be the church secretary and the other half complained that i did church secretarial stuff to ease the load on my husband. so... i feel your pain.
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You're supposed to be the secretary because you're his wife? What type of crazy logic is that?
Katie
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I knew a woman who worked at a Lutheran-based home for mentally disables people. (Or a school...I'm a little unclear on that.)
In any case, it was a Lutheran place, with Christian brochures and whatnot. My friend is a Pagan, but was keeping very quiet about it for fear of losing her job. As it turns out, she discovered that there was a preponderance of Pagans working at this place.
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Yep, we Pagan folk are EVerywhere!
The cool thing is that the pastors all know what Wicca is about - nature worship - so I don't get any flak from my co-workers about it. But they told me to shy away from telling the congregants about it because it could cause an issue. Which frustrates me, but I can see their point.
Katie
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Katie
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Katie
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