Just got fired today. Feeling mortified. What to do? I'm a thirty year old failure.?

Question

Teacher. For yesterday's exams, I was one of the examiners. Thought my timetable said 1 o' clock when it was 10 o'clock. No show. The boss called, livid as hell. She pointed out that I had made a grave professional error and she could not overlook it. Still, I didn't think I would get fired. I wrote a letter of apology to all the other teachers and included her. She'd had to examine the students for me, so I accepted total responsibility and said there was no excuse, but stressing that I made a mistake...meaning that I didn't NOT SHOW UP on purpose. She emailed me yesterday with a notice for a 2 o'clock meeting today. Today she told me my contract was to be terminated once I completed and submited my marking, and it will not be renewed; that it's a very serious mistake and she could not pardon it; that I am unreliable, etc. Frankly, I do not think of myself as an unreliable person. Quite the contrary. I erred. And I appreciate that my mistake was serious, but... Like I said, mortified

Answer 1

You made a mistake. You admitted it. You took responsibility for your own actions. You also suffered the consequences.
Thats very mature and what an adult should do in a situation like this. Now, you need a plan of action. Damage control, if you will. Don't bother applying for unemployment. You were fired, so you won't get it. You need to think about another job ASAP. Teaching is probably out due to the very bad reference you are going to get. That is because quite frankly, you should of double checked and triple checked. Especially when given that much responsibility.
Try some less stressful jobs. Telemarketing, fast food, sales.
etc. They won't pay as much, but it will help pay the bills until you can convince a school board to hire you, again.
To help with that, enroll in a time management class. (this will help show that you are sincere.)
Also, apply for Food Stamps, ANFDC< Medicaid, etc....it will
help you to get by in the lower paying job.
Good luck.

Answer 2

OK, first of all, you are not a failure. You are a human being who made a mistake. Did anyone die? No. Was anyone injured? No. Nothing happened that could not be dealt with. She was inconvenienced and angry.

As far as I know, a no-call-no-show can technically be viewed as job abandonment, but since you did show up at the time you thought was correct, she should be more flexible.

There was no progressive discipline in this process, and you can get her on that. Normally, before you terminate an employee, the employer needs to do progressive discipline - first a verbal warning, then a written warning, then suspension, followed by termination. This was not the case in your situation.

Definitely apply for unemployment, and then call a lawyer. I think you have grounds to get your job back.

You are not a failure. Everyone makes a mistake now and then. And, contrary to her accusation, you did not do it purposely, it was totally unintentional.

Good luck and keep your chin up. Things will get better.

Answer 3

I know how you feel, I've been terminated from a job Ireally loved. Losing a job doesn't make you a failure. Sometimes bad things happen to good people.

If you got fired for a simple misunderstanding, then perhaps its for the best. That doesn't sound like a nice place to work. If you live in a big enough area, I bet there are plenty of school districts that would hire you.

It sounds like you did everything by the book, which is good, but it also sounds like the person who terminated you may have had it out for you. I live in a small town, and small town politics runs wild.

Feel better, at the risk of sounding religous, everything in our lives happens for a reason, good, bad or otherwise. The lord has his reasons for why things happen to us, and usually, something positive will come from a negative experience.

Answer 4

He's 10 they're probably just his friends. Stop reading too much into it, if they are those kind of calls why does your son give out your number and think this is okay? Take some responsibility and show the boy some morals instead of coming to Yahoo talking nonsense, how old are you? 15? Acting like a child.

Answer 5

These things happen. I just got fired last Friday. I worked there 20 years. The week prior I received my 20 year service award. To top it off, I worked with the same people for 8 years and they were like my second family. I feel like hell. However, a smart person pointed out to me that I could experience a tremendous amount of post-traumatic growth. I am 55 and you are 30. We both have to pick ourselves up, dust off and keep going. How can we leverage this experience to find something better?

Answer 6

My heart goes out to you. Based on how you describe it, I think that that was very harsh of the principal and doesn't seem justified to me. My mother used to be an AP and I know she wouldn't have fired a good teacher for that alone. If you have otherwise been a reliable teacher and scored well on your evaluations, maybe you can appeal her decision to the superintendent.
Anyway, I know it is really hard to accept this now, but don't sweat it too much. I have been laid off and fired a few times, and after I got over it (which sometimes was very hard), I have always been on to bigger and better things. I am sure G-d will provide for you.
Good luck.

Answer 7

I'm really sorry. Your not a failure because you were fired. Everyone makes mistakes. I forgot to take my daughter lunch the other day. It sounds like she was just looking for a reason to fire you. It was an honest mistake and I'm sure she has made them too. Have a good cry, eat some fries and a chocolate milk shake then update your resume and move on. Good luck.

Answer 8

Are you a member of the teacher's union? If so, contact them and they will help you.

Are you tenured? Firing policies are generally much different.

Was this an isolated incident? If so, perhaps you should contest the decision.

I agree with the other answerer - move on and there is nothing to be ashamed of. Lots of people get fired for a variety of just and unjust reasons. This is not the end of the world although it may feel like it. Move on, find a better job.

When one door closes another door opens.

Answer 9

Oddly enough, I too was let go when I was your age. (I'm in my 40s now.) To make a long story short, I was devastated. the "performance" issues were totally fabricated, to the extent there were any.

You are not a failure. The work world is very cold and often arbitrary. My guess is that this is a smokescreen for other issues, and it is not a good place to work.

You will find a better job. I did! Good luck.

Answer 10

People get fired for the wrong reasons all the time. I lost a job a while back under unusual circumstances. Don't worry too much about it and just move on to the next job. Does seem odd to be so mad over something like that.