In need of some encouragement...

There are so many things that I am enjoying about teaching fourth grade ELA right now... having this school year end is not one of them.  I got word on Friday that the position I thought I had an opportunity to fill next year has been eliminated due to insufficient budget funds.  The majority of the school's staff is being shuffled to accommodate more students coming into fourth grade than they currently have now and all of this with one less fourth grade teacher.  Now don't get me wrong, I love reading teaching blogs and reading books about teaching - I'm taking three classes in Special Education this summer and I'm loving them.  However, I've been looking for a full-time teaching job since I graduated from my undergrad in 2008 and now it's 2011... and still nothing.  To be completely honest, my heart is broken.  There are no words for how frustrating it is to not have a classroom to call my own when I'm doing all the right things - I have two Bachelor's degrees, a Master's degree, and five different teacher certifications.  I couldn't possibly be more marketable at this point without getting another degree.

So I'm enjoying every single day with my kiddos, challenging behaviors and all.  I'm learning from this experience and it's making me a better teacher - I know that.  I just wish that it didn't have to end so soon.

Did anyone else have such a difficult time getting a full-time job?  Any words of wisdom to calm my frustrations?

-Ms. P