A teacher will always be a teacher, despite all the odds against her. This is true for me as on August 6, the very same day that teachers were to be assigned a teaching post in the Balearic Islands, I was denied the possibility to continue my teaching career in Spain. This came in the form of a law that was aimed to make it impossible for British teachers to continue getting posts in public schools in the Balearic Islands and I ignore if this has been the case in all the autonomies of Spain.
This ban is a direct consequence of Brexit, and I must admit that it came as a shock, as not only have I been living in Spain for nearly three decades, but all my qualifications are from Spanish universities. Apparently, there is nothing I can do about it, as teacher labour unions go along with the policy in a tone within the lines of ‘like it or lump it mate!’
I could rant and rave at the government for passing such an unfair law, for using teachers as a scapegoat and applying a mean blackmail strategy to improve the relationship between the United Kingdom and Spain, but I can’t be bothered, and prefer to focus all my energy in another direction, reinventing myself. I’m not saying that I have been stopped in my tracks, what I’m actually saying is that this situation will come as an opportunity to better myself, as the saying goes ‘what doesn’t kill you, makes you strong.’
So here I am. The government of Spain has taken away classrooms, students and salary. The government has wiped away, in the blink of an eye, the years I have devoted to my career. However, what the government cannot take away, is my passion for teaching. The government of Spain said, ‘You’re no longer a language teacher at the EOI.’ (Official Language School), which is basically true, but the government doesn’t seem to be aware that a teacher who loves her job, will teach anyway, be this at the EOI, at secondary or in a virtual environment. What the government also fails to acknowledge is, that there is no such thing as placing boundaries to teaching and learning in the Digital Era, and that people like me have the tendency to grab opportunities with both hands, and continue with their life, despite having all the odds stacked against them.
This blog, will continue and will even improve in due time, so you can bet your last dollar, that you’ll be seeing me around with some very good stuff. Just let me take a breath and get back on my feet, and I’ll be back.
A big hug to all the people that throughout these years, have visited my blog, over 60 thousand visitors, can’t be wrong!
Serena
Thank you very much for your comforting words. I have actually tried my very best to get the matter sorted out, but there is nothing I can do. This is extremely sad for me, as I have always worked hard towards becoming and being a teacher and sadly, geopolitical issues have contributed to my removal. Anyway, I’m having a horrible deal of problems with my good old laptop, but hopefully, I’ll soon get a new one and will be making lots of videos (not like the crappy ones I used to make because I’ve been learning animation all summer), that I will be uploading here on my blog and on my Youtube Channel. So, I hope to see you around and I also hope that you get a good teaching post for this year, if that hasn’t happened already.
Big hugs,
Serena
Hi, Serena. I am really sorry about this that has happened to you. Since I was a punky boy and declared myself “insumiso” to the militar service in 1995, I am the first that knows that sometimes what is legal is not necessarily moral. Of course you are a teacher, and a very good one. You were the best teacher that we had in our degree, we (I and my mates) always agreed in that. Politicians shouldn’t have the power of deciding about pedagogycal questions (nor here neither in the UK!). Of course we will be here always waiting for new publications from you. A big hug for you and a lot of kisses. Ó.M.V