On Sun, Aug 22, 2010 at 2:47 PM, PGage <[email protected]> wrote: > I don't know anything about Kevin apart from what we have all learned on > this list, and I find myself disagreeing with about 75% of what he writes > here. But I I know that if my 12 year old son, who just started 8th grade, > had a teacher with provoked even half as much of the productive > disagreements I have had with Kevin on this list over the years, I would be > overjoyed. > > Good luck to Kevin on the job search (and to us all in these difficult > economic times).
I agree with 100% of what PGage just wrote, including the part about only agreeing with me 25% of the time. Long winded speech follows (which will tie into television in a few paragraphs): For those who care, barring any paperwork snafus, I will continue to teach English, only not in California. Or in the United States. Or in the Western Hemisphere. I've written before about my experience in the Peace Corps where I served in the Central Asian country of Kazakhstan. Well, it appears I may be headed back to Kazakhstan. I had a very positive interview via Skype with a guy in charge of providing language courses to the large central city of Karaganda, and I'm hoping I'll receive a job offer in the next day or two (if I don't, I am back to being totally screwed). For the record, I made every attempt to remain in San Diego, and when it looked as though that was unrealistic, I made every attempt to remain in the states. As a non-credentialed teacher with years of experience in private schools, in most any other economy I'd be quite employable. But with public school downsizing I find myself competing against teachers who have both credentials and masters degrees. Ordinarily, they wouldn't take the pay cut by switching to private (it can be as much as 60% less than a public salary), but this is emblematic of the times. The other alternative school administrators can choose (as they did when recruiting my replacement) was to find a kid fresh out of college with no practical experience at all who will work for even less than what I would work for. Related to the world of TV, I've gone without cable for years partly because cable annoys me, but also because I can really only afford cable or the internet. A few months back when I posted comments Don Johnson made about what he thought an average person's salary was, I genuinely wanted to strangle him with my bare hands. In times of economic stress, entertainment industries such as film and TV tend to do well as people seek an escape. To me, that makes reality TV seem like a bad idea since nobody facing what I've been facing lately has any interest in turning on the TV and watching others go through the same thing, or -- worse still -- watching unreality shows featuring spoiled rich people. I know I posted a link on Facebook, but I don't recall if I posted information on a guy in my Pacific Beach neighborhood who calls himself the PB Millionaire. The guy apparently invented some fancy pair of glasses or something and is now bucks up. And what he chooses to do with his money is employ women to hang around with him and plan parties where only other attractive women are invited. And I recently learned he has been paying a video crew to follow himself around and document his exploits for a possible TV series. It just makes me sad. If I stood on the roof of my apartment, I could see this guy's "castle" (yes, he built himself a castle), but we couldn't be farther apart ideologically. Since leaving the world of television production, I've tried to serve others to the best of my ability. From the Peace Corps to teaching, I've admittedly made financially unsound choices that have been rewarding in other ways. As a result, I've squandered what little savings I had and have to seek employment in another freakin' hemisphere. A part of me is excited for the opportunity, but I got off the phone with my mom a few hours ago and she is less than excited, and that makes it hard. I wish I lived in a world where I could produce television shows AND feel like I was making a positive contribution. I wish I didn't have to move away from family and friends. But I am happy I have another opportunity to serve. -- Kevin M. (RPCV) -- TV or Not TV .... The Smartest (TV) People! You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TV or Not TV" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en
