Job Hunting For Jobs I Forgot I Was Hunting For
Title
Job Hunting For Jobs I Forgot I Was Hunting For
Creator
Jacob Schlitt
Description
"Our memory can really play tricks on us."
Date
2009
Format
application/pdf
Type
text
Language
en
Coverage
1949
Identifier
Job_Hunting
Text
Job Hunting For Jobs I Forgot I Was Hunting For
Our memory can really play tricks on us. I have come to accept the fact that I can put something away a half hour ago, and not remember where I put it, or come into a room looking for something and forget what I am looking for. But I felt confident that I can remember events of 20, 30, 40, 50 and more years ago with remarkable accuracy. It has something to do with short and long term memory. And I have been told that short term memory loss does not mean that you have Alzheimers. (I forget what it does mean.)
As I have mentioned, I have lots of file folders containing papers from my past. They are in no special order, and when I go to my big, four drawer file cabinet and rummage around, I come across all kinds of fascinating stuff. This happened to me the other day. The folder was labeled “Job Hunting.” It brought back a period in my life that had truly become blurred with time. I have come to believe that my work life was a smooth transition from my first days with the ILGWU to my last days with the Fair Labor Division of the Mass. Attorney General’s office. I had almost totally forgotten those months of looking for work in the 1950’s and ‘60s, pursuing job possibilities in areas that I wasn’t really sure about, but was ready to give it a shot.
My first discovery was my “Substitute Teacher Service Record,” and my Substitute Licenses qualifying me to teach Social Studies in Junior and Senior High School. My File Number was 164178, and stamped on my license was the notation “Oath of Allegiance Filed. Chapter 862 Laws of 1934.” So what memories did this bring forth?
It was 1949, and I had decided to pursue a dual track, jobwise. I took the Education Sequence at CCNY to enable me to teach in the New York City school system, and I also majored in Economics, taking all the labor economics courses that City offered (two) with the thought of working for a union. When I graduated in June 1949, I made a half-hearted attempt to get a job with a union. I submitted applications to the ILGWU, ACWA and UAW. No one was interested in hiring someone who had just graduated from college and had no experience. That’s OK. CCNY had just announced the opening of a new program: a free Masters In Education. I applied and was accepted.
I must have spent the spring of 1949 applying for jobs all over the place: jobs with unions; jobs with summer camps, and to play it safe—the CCNY Master’s Program. That summer, I was hired for a great job as a counselor at Camp Cejwin. (It stands for Central Jewish Institute. What Central Jewish Institute stood for, I had no idea.) They had very high standards: They hired only college graduates as counselors. I had a very good group of 10 year olds. The only thing I remembered them objecting to was the shabbes observance.
In the fall, I continued at CCNY, and my job at Reich and Schrift. I was also completing my student teaching requirements at the High School of Music and Art.
Our memory can really play tricks on us. I have come to accept the fact that I can put something away a half hour ago, and not remember where I put it, or come into a room looking for something and forget what I am looking for. But I felt confident that I can remember events of 20, 30, 40, 50 and more years ago with remarkable accuracy. It has something to do with short and long term memory. And I have been told that short term memory loss does not mean that you have Alzheimers. (I forget what it does mean.)
As I have mentioned, I have lots of file folders containing papers from my past. They are in no special order, and when I go to my big, four drawer file cabinet and rummage around, I come across all kinds of fascinating stuff. This happened to me the other day. The folder was labeled “Job Hunting.” It brought back a period in my life that had truly become blurred with time. I have come to believe that my work life was a smooth transition from my first days with the ILGWU to my last days with the Fair Labor Division of the Mass. Attorney General’s office. I had almost totally forgotten those months of looking for work in the 1950’s and ‘60s, pursuing job possibilities in areas that I wasn’t really sure about, but was ready to give it a shot.
My first discovery was my “Substitute Teacher Service Record,” and my Substitute Licenses qualifying me to teach Social Studies in Junior and Senior High School. My File Number was 164178, and stamped on my license was the notation “Oath of Allegiance Filed. Chapter 862 Laws of 1934.” So what memories did this bring forth?
It was 1949, and I had decided to pursue a dual track, jobwise. I took the Education Sequence at CCNY to enable me to teach in the New York City school system, and I also majored in Economics, taking all the labor economics courses that City offered (two) with the thought of working for a union. When I graduated in June 1949, I made a half-hearted attempt to get a job with a union. I submitted applications to the ILGWU, ACWA and UAW. No one was interested in hiring someone who had just graduated from college and had no experience. That’s OK. CCNY had just announced the opening of a new program: a free Masters In Education. I applied and was accepted.
I must have spent the spring of 1949 applying for jobs all over the place: jobs with unions; jobs with summer camps, and to play it safe—the CCNY Master’s Program. That summer, I was hired for a great job as a counselor at Camp Cejwin. (It stands for Central Jewish Institute. What Central Jewish Institute stood for, I had no idea.) They had very high standards: They hired only college graduates as counselors. I had a very good group of 10 year olds. The only thing I remembered them objecting to was the shabbes observance.
In the fall, I continued at CCNY, and my job at Reich and Schrift. I was also completing my student teaching requirements at the High School of Music and Art.
Original Format
application/msword
Collection
Citation
Jacob Schlitt, “Job Hunting For Jobs I Forgot I Was Hunting For,” Autobiographical stories & other writing by Jacob Schlitt, accessed April 26, 2024, https://tsirlson.omeka.net/items/show/95.