Job Discussion Forums

[revilo]

So I'm back in the Mideast for the 3rd time, 2nd time in Saudi Arabia. My Linked in profile makes me look like a bloody genius instructor and bon vivant. The truth is the opposite.

I got a contact request and I see that this person is my opposite: graduated fm Purdue, went into sports "infotainment." Had a rough patch after the 1980s recessions, and is now teaching special ed in LAUSD. She now calls herself a "resource teacher."

I always resented those who taught special ed because they made more money in exchange for catering to the less-desirable students. She made her bed and she'll have a pension for her years of service.
If she wants to have a pension and travel the world, she'll have to do it without my help.

[nomad soul]

I get random Linkedin requests from strangers but don't perceive it as someone seeking help getting a job (99% of the requestors don't include an introduction or reason why they're contacting me). Besides, Linkedin members aren't obligated to accept connection requests, especially from people they don't know nor have anything in common with.

[scot47]

I never accept these things from strangers. I am even more careful about invitations from people I know.

[timothypfox]

revilo, you don't have to be friends with everyone on Linked In. Many are headhunters or people trying to get at your connections to get where they want to go.

But, I do take issue in your post with your assessment of Special Ed teachers. In my 5 year stint as a Special Ed / ESL teacher in NYC, I witnessed daily fights between students, a kid trying to throw my computer out the window, a kid throw a chair at me (and these are heavy steel ones built to last!), administrators on a witch hunt to axe teachers, teacher's union teachers on a witch hunt to make sure staff were on their side, kid's being handcuffed and taken away by ambulance because they reacted violently and were not getting their meds, a boy masturbating on the bathroom floor, grown teenagers who were not toilet trained, and so on.

Needless to say, I didn't stay long enough to cash in on a big retirement pension, but those that do have been witness to all of the above and worse. So, it is not a cushy experience, but a road through hell that some people have somehow managed to climb through.

The infotainment lady is probably about to drop out before a nervous breakdown...