I'm going to apply for a part time position with Literacy*AmeriCorps. The work site is down the street from where we live. In this center, I'd be working with adults who need assistance in reading.

When I was little, I wanted to be a teacher. I wanted to explain stuff to people and see the 20-watt bulb go off in their heads. Then I got older and felt I hadn't enough patience to do well at it, so I let the dream go. Now that I'm older, and having met several teachers on an adult level, I think I have the patience to teach.

Also, I often feel moved to want to do something for others, to help out in some way. But my personal squeamishness over things like blood, dirt and bugs keeps me from wanted to say, go work in a third world country or become a nurse. I don't much like sharp, pointy things. Reading, however, is joy.

And so, hopefully they'll select me and I'll be able to spend some of my time without work doing something useful. The added attraction is that this particular position also pays a stipend, which will help me and Rob as my unemployment benefits draw down, and they also provide funds to repay student loans, which I now have. So, it started out altruistically, but I admit that the little bit of money (and it's really not much) is also incentive. Their application though runs to 23 pages and I need two references to fill out these forms. ::sigh::

I'm going to apply for a part time position with Literacy*AmeriCorps. The work site is down the street from where we live. In this center, I'd be working with adults who need assistance in reading.

When I was little, I wanted to be a teacher. I wanted to explain stuff to people and see the 20-watt bulb go off in their heads. Then I got older and felt I hadn't enough patience to do well at it, so I let the dream go. Now that I'm older, and having met several teachers on an adult level, I think I have the patience to teach.

Also, I often feel moved to want to do something for others, to help out in some way. But my personal squeamishness over things like blood, dirt and bugs keeps me from wanted to say, go work in a third world country or become a nurse. I don't much like sharp, pointy things. Reading, however, is joy.

And so, hopefully they'll select me and I'll be able to spend some of my time without work doing something useful. The added attraction is that this particular position also pays a stipend, which will help me and Rob as my unemployment benefits draw down, and they also provide funds to repay student loans, which I now have. So, it started out altruistically, but I admit that the little bit of money (and it's really not much) is also incentive. Their application though runs to 23 pages and I need two references to fill out these forms. ::sigh::