Now that this week is finally over, I can officially tell you what has happened to me.  As you know, I have been attending Graduate school for my Master’s degree in Art Education.  Part of my program is I have to have 100 hours of observation and 480 hours of student teaching.  I found all this information out in December 2010/January 2011.  I had informed my manager and her managers of this situation.

From January 2011 to December 2011, my manager was able to work with me and my 100 observation hours, and adjusting my schedule to attend classes in the evening.  I have been worried about how I was going to complete 480 hours come January 2012, which is 70 school days, which calculates to 35 hours a week.  Since the main managers knew of this situation since January 2011, and I was verbally told, “Don’t worry about, we will work with you.” However during the summer months of 2011, my manager had asked me if she deal with my situation in the Fall of 2011, thinking I was fine because I was constantly told “don’t worry, we will work with you,” I said sure.  Once the end of October 2011 came about, my manager asked me to write up a proposal for my hours I can work in the office, still being told “Don’t worry, we will work with you, even if you need to work some hours from home.”  I did not know how to write a proposal, so I seek help from a fellow co-worker.  Once my proposal was done, I emailed it to my manager and she sent it to her managers.

Two weeks pass and I have not heard anything from my boss, still thinking I was fine.  One day my manager pulled me in her office and told me that they could not work with me and the hours I have proposed.  I sat there in shock, not know what to say to do, tears came bursting out of my eyes as my manager asked me, “Are there any other hours you can proposed?”  I sat there looked at her like she stupid, saying in my head, I am student teaching, SCHOOL ONLY HAPPENES FROM 8AM – 3PM!  Instead I mumbled through my tears, “Those are the only hours I can work, if you saying I can’t, then I can’t work.”  My manager then processed to say that she would help me find another job and to maybe look on the company’s internal job offering site.  I was still mumbling in tears “I wouldn’t be able to find a full time job to work with me right away.”

I left her office with tears in my eyes, I went to find a co-worker of mine to tell her what just happened to maybe have her retell me so I can understand it better, but she was just as much shock as I was.  My co-worker and several other co-workers and friends have advised me that I should speak to her managers and politely demand a reason why I was told not to worry and they would work with me and all of sudden the story changed.  So I did, I gave her managers the full story of what I was told from day one of me going back to school ‘til now.  He stated he would talk the President and see what he can do.

The next day, my manager decided to send me harassing e-mails asking me to give in my final day I can work for her.  I told her, I was waiting for her manager’s conversation he had with the President.  Her managers had my manager come to the meeting to discuss what he had discussed with the President.  I thought all would be good, I have made my point that I was told I would be worked with, and maybe someone had a heart to work with me.  However, the President stated if my manager was willing to work with me then he would support it.  So everything was thrown back into my manager’s hands, so I knew I was losing this battle.  I broke out in tears yet again, because I was just in shock and thought to myself, she is a monster throwing someone out into the streets with no money.  I stated out loud that I was not quitting and they needed to lay me off because I was not meeting their needs in the office.  Her manager stated “Okay, if that is your decision, then I will talk to the Human Resource department to figure out our options.”

So now I figured they would lay me off so I can collect unemployment, until two weeks later, I was pulled into Human Resources to be harassed yet again by the Human Resource person saying my only options is to work the hours my manager gives me or to resign.  I was in complete shock on how I was treated.  Like fucking dog thrown out into the street.  Some people have no fucking heart.  I had 24 hours to give my decision, and I only had one choice, to resign.  So I was force to write a resignation letter.  I did put the blame of my resignation on them, stating due to their lack of flexibly to work with me earning a education, I have to resign.

So I have been emotionally stressed out for the past two months.  I have talked myself into that I needed to move on.  I am going to school to help push me in a new direction.  Yet I still feel like what was done to me was wrong and they should be ashamed of what they done.  They are in the field of EDUCATION and I am going to school for EDUCATION which can help me move out of my office and into a teaching position, but no, they act like they are working on wall street and all they care about is money and how much they can make.

Whew, that felt good to get it all out and onto paper.  Sorry it was long, but it has been a long year for me and this situation.  Please do not forget to comment.  Thank you for reading.

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