• Image of 3 desks in classroom like that of DC widow blog writer Marjorie Brimley
    Work

    Unaffected

    Workplaces love surveys, don’t they? My school is a great place to work. As I’ve written about before, I get constant support from my colleagues, administrators and parents. I know I’m lucky to have this. So, recently, when I received a “employee satisfaction survey” I was happy to take it. I marked a lot of “extremely satisfied” and “definitely yes” answers. But then I got to this question, and I paused: “Are you able to present yourself each day in a way that is seen by our students as consistent and reliable (i.e., unaffected by outside-of-school problems)?” I didn’t have a hard time with the first part of the question,…

  • DC Widow Marjorie Brimley speaking at CNAS event for Shawn
    Work

    Just Because Your Husband Dies, You Don’t Necessarily Get the Job

    I’ve mentioned it in other posts, but just in case you haven’t been following along closely: I applied for a new job at my school last month.   I found out last Friday that I didn’t get it. To her credit, the principal told me herself.  She didn’t beat around the bush, and she was thoughtful in the way that she told me. But those words, “we don’t have a position for you at this time,” almost crushed me in that moment.  I understood that there were a dozen people applying for the same job, but I thought I had a good shot.  And somewhere in the back of my mind…