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Judy
Wells' poems have been
published in her collection of poetry, THE PART-TIME TEACHER,
(Rainy Day Women Press, 1991) and in the following anthologies
and magazines: PAPER GRADERS: NOTES FROM THE ACADEMIC UNDERCLASS
(Barry Greer, Editor); KAMELEON 11, EXIT 13, and
PRO-FESS-ING. Everyone thought THE PART-TIME
TEACHER was out of print, but Judy Wells recently found
about 15 copies deep in a closet about a month ago. They are
available by writing to 2317 B Carleton St., Berkeley, CA 94704
and sending $6.50 plus $2.00 postage (Checks payable to Judy
Wells).
The Part-Time Teacher is Jealous of Other Starting
Part-Time Teachers
Judy Wells
The part-time teacher is jealous of other starting part-time
teachers who appear so perky and happy and satisfied. They teach
ESL and business math. They have many students. They do not teach
poetry.
The part-time teacher remembers being thrilled to get hired years
before. She had not taught in 10 years. She was glad she found
a school which did not ask many questions, accepted her degrees,
and did not sniff at her Ph.D. She remembered asking the Chair
at another communityy college for a job in the English Department.
The Chair found her resume in a file. She held it up by one corner
and said, "I don't know why I still have this. This is the
kind of resume I usually toss into the wastebasket." The
part-time teacher was sick of being so overqualified that she
was tossed into the wastebasket and had to get a job as a clerk.
Now the part-time teacher feels she is underqualified for her
job. She feels she ought to be a trained psychiatrist, social
worker, and linguist. She feels she ought to be a skilled publicist,
a racial arbiter, and a sex therapist. She feels she ought to
be a battered wives counselor, a union organizer, and a professional
Mommy and Daddy. She feels as if her ego is understaffed.
The Part-Time Teacher Does Not
Like Her Contract
Judy Wells
The part-time teacher is asked to sign a contract which says
she will give up her course to a full-time faculty member if
he or she needs it. Every time she reaches that section, she
balks. No, I will not give up my course to a full-time faculty
member, she says. Absolutely not. I won't. This has never happened.
Still, the part-time teacher does not want to sign her contract.
"Thanks for your cooperation," says the contract.
The part-time teacher wonders whether electricians or grape pickers
would sign a contract signing away their jobs. She wonders why
hundreds of part-time teachers sitting at home at their desks,
pens poised above their contracts, do not refuse to sign on the
dotted line. She wonders whether she ought to call in the California
Self-Esteem Task Force and ask them what is wrong.
The Part-Time Teacher Wants to Start a Union
Judy Wells
The part-time teacher goes to a meeting whose subject is IMPROVING
SUPPORT FOR PART-TIME TEACHERS. The administrator spends the
first 15 minutes telling the part-time teachers about the chain
of command at the college. He says the President is God. "Goddess,"
corrects the speech teacher. The President is a woman.
Next, part-time teachers complain about not being able to xerox
30 copies of handouts for their students. They are only allowed
20 copies for 30 students. The administrator adjusts his rimless
glasses, looks handsome and suave, and grants them 10 more copies.
The part-time teacher meditates on the memo she has already sent
the administrator. "Ten extra copies are nice, but need
I remind you that it would be very supportive of you to offer
us health insurance and eligibility for unemployment, extra pay
for office hours, a real contract, and a guaranteed key to the
ladies' room?"
He promises parking permits and posters, bandaids for cancer.
The Part-Time Teacher Calls in Sick
Judy Wells
The part-time teacher jumps into her car one rainy morning.
It refuses to turn over. She calls the secretary and reports:
"Unless something drastic happens in the next ten minutes,
I won't be there this morning." She returns to her car.
No dice. She calls the secretary again and reports: "I won't
be in." "And what shall I say is the reason?"
asks the secretary tactfully. The part-time teacher must lie.
There is no death in the family. She needs that $30. She has
rehearsed her lie. "Just say illness." "All right,"
says the secretary.
The part-time teacher feels slightly guilty even though she has
not be absent for two and a half years. She remembers one of
her poetry students who reported having a breakdown when she
was 30. Her psychiatrist said to her: "Miss Eliot, why do
you always tell the truth? You must learn to tell white lies
like everyone else." The part-time teacher still feels guilty.
She coughs.
The Part-Time Teacher Is Hungry
Judy Wells
The part-time teacher has an older woman student from Nicaragua
in her English IA class. She is shocked by American schools where
the students can say "Fuck You" to the teachers. She
tells the story of how teachers are respected in her country.
She says when she was a little girl her mother made her carry
a stinky chicken to school every Friday for her teacher. The
part-time teacher is hungry. She wants the Nicaraguan to bring
her a chicken every Friday even though she is a vegetarian. But
the Nicaraguan woman gets a punk haircut, begins wearing bright
red sweatshirts, and is busy buying a house in Pinole.
The Part-Time Teacher Sneaks Xerox Copies
Judy Wells
The part-time teacher uses the xerox machine in the faculty room.
She turns it on and presto she makes copies of her syllabus.
Unfortunately, the secretary appears out of nowhere even though
it is night. "I won't tell your secret," she says,
eyeing the machine, but the next week when the part-time teacher
turns on the machine, nothing happens. The paper trays have disappeared
from the machine. The cabinets are locked.
The secretary is taking a real estate course. The part-time teacher
wonders whether she should cancel her class and go into real
estate herself. She wonders whether she should apply for the
secretary's job. The part-time teacher peeks into the real estate
course as she goes to her poetry class. It is packed with attentive
men and women with eager notebooks. She glances at the scrawny
string of 8 potential creative writers on her roster. She wonders
where she went wrong.
ABOUT JUDY
WELLS
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