Thank you, Meaghanchan,
I'd love to retire today, if I could...hehehehe Doubtful that is possible. For me to get my full retirement, I need to teach another 8 years. I don't know if I'll be able to hang on that long with all the micro-managing that seems to be taking place in education now. It's a bit too restrictive for me, as I'm a believer that all children learn in different ways and there's no ONE right way to teach them. I'm the total opposite of what's been coming down the pike in regards to, "Here's the book/system/program. Teach ONLY this!" It just all rubs me the wrong way!
Another thing that I need to consider is that my district has changed its policy in regards to seniority. They now base it on "time in grade", which means how many years you've been teaching a particular grade CONSECUTIVELY!!!! I have nine years with this school district (11 with another) and have been at the same school this whole time, but only have one year of time in grade (well, not even that) as I've been in four different grades in four years!!! It's not because I'm a bad teacher, it's because I'm so good they can plug me into any hole and know that I can teach there. Honest!
Amazingly, all of this lead to me being "expendable" last year. They had five upper grade teachers who had less overall seniority than I did, but guaranteed them jobs because of their time in grade. I taught a combination class (5th-6th) and, again, only had that one year in that weirdly mixed up grade. There wasn't going to be enough kids to have another combination class so I thought I wasn't going to have a job! Infact, I even posted on here trying to figure out what my tightest budget could be so that I could survive until I found something else to do. I wasn't notified untill the middle of July that one other teachers was leaving and I could have their position!
Still, they're managing to leave me hanging in the seniority department because this is ANOTHER new grade (although I taught it for two years when I first started at that school). And get this, it will be a looping class, which means I'll teach 4th grade this year and move with my kids to 5th grade next year...thereby not gaining any seniority AGAIN! Politics just kill me!
Sorry, I went off on a rant. I need to get off my soapbox. It just suffices to say that I feel I'm on such shakey ground and nothing is a sure thing. The hypothetical $1000 a month is the LOWEST (at this time) amount of $$ I need to survive each month. That's why I proposed the question. I'd like to know that there is the possibility that I have the option of leaving my job or me not having a job, but still being able to survive.
Thanks for the help,
CJ