My Genesis and Exodus

On May 6, Phil got his CSET results. Did not pass. He was devastated.

On May 11, Phil sent out his resume and cover letter to his first school.

On May 12, Phil retook the CSET for the third time. The test was nearly identical to the first one he had taken in November. He guessed on 9 out of 30 questions.

During this time, Phil was reading through Genesis and observed that Joseph went through numerous misfortunes. The misfortunes were often accompanied by the words, But God was with Joseph, which also meant But God was with Phil.

On May 13, Phil applied to two more schools.

On May 19, Phil met with one of the principals on his campus to drop off his resume, cover letter, and recommendation letter. The principal said he would let him know when he could interview for the following week.

On May 20, the principal never responded.

On May 24, Phil wrote to the principal to confirm a potential interview. The principal never responded. Phil applied to two schools.

On May 25, Phil met with his own principal after a fire drill to drop off his resume, cover, letter, and recommendation letters. The principal said he could not interview anyone that was not cleared for hire yet. Phil interviewed at a middle school in South LA and received a job offer. He asked for two days to think about it. Phil applied to another school.

On May 26, Phil discussed the job opportunity with colleagues and family members but still had no clear answer.

On May 27, Phil declined the offer and took the risk of missing out on a district job. Phil applied to another school.

On May 28, Phil applied to Los Angeles High School. Yes, that's the name of the school.

On May 31, the vice principal asked to come in for an interview.

On June 1, Phil interviewed at LA High and was told he would be contacted by the next day. On the drive home, the vice principal called to offer the job. Phil accepted the job and informed the vice principal that he would inform her of his CSET results that would come out in two days. He looked up test dates for the next opportunity to retake the test as was his custom, but there were none that would allow time for the district to process him in time for the upcoming school year. The applications, emails for references, and interviews would mean nothing with another Did not pass.

During this time, Phil was reading through Exodus and observed that God repeatedly used sentences that started with I will... God told Moses
I will bring you out
I will deliver
I will also redeem you
I will take you for My people
I will be your God
I will bring you to the land
That last sentence stuck with Phil during these anxious times. His personal version was I will bring you to the school.

By the way, the first principal Phil had met with emailed asking to come in for an interview that day or the next if Phil had not accepted a position yet. Phil chose not to respond.

On June 3, Phil got his CSET results.

Phil shared his gospel with family and friends and opened up a wine bottle that was reserved for a special occasion. Here is the picture my supportive classmates sent me of them celebrating my victory.

I looked back on my journey with the third CSET and imagined what could have happened if I had passed either on the first or second try. I am certain I would have approached my school applications very differently. Because I was so busy and focused on studying for the test, I did not apply to two specific schools early on, which resulted in their positions getting filled. The first school was a pilot school. The other was a REED school. Both types of schools are very demanding and not exactly favorable for first year teachers like myself. I am confident I would have accepted their offers.

But because I had applied to schools (and even took the chance of turning one down) after all of my classmates had secured jobs, I discovered the opening for LA High, Southern California's oldest public school, just 10 minutes away from where I live with only Algebra I to focus on, which happens to be what I taught this year.

When Phil was all alone studying for those tests multiple times, God was with him because God was bringing Phil to his school. And Phil thanked the Lord.

Thought of the Day: Credential