This is going to sound cliche but I'm starting my story by having the main character get fired from their job through no fault of their own, I'm going to have her work as a teacher at a magic school, but I'm having trouble thinking of a reason as to why they would get fired, any ideas? It does not matter if the suggestion is generic/trope/cliche I just need a jumping-off point, Writing is not my strong suit, I'm simply doing this for a writing class I'm forced to take as part of general education, thanks in advance.
Twitter mob/cancel culture. They dared to say something that goes against the prevailing groupthink, whatever it may be (might be totally different from our own cancel culture).
There's also a guilt by association. Let's say you're a construction crew hired to dig a ditch. But then one of your crew decides to be careless with the backhoe without anyone supervising the dig. And let's say he cuts a cable. Thousands of dollars to repair. That could be something that could lead to a mask firing under the theory that everyone is responsible for safety. Even if your only job is to hold that sign up for cars, you're now responsible for that mistake. Even though you may never have seen it, because it's all under the theory that everyone at that site should have been mindful of safety protocole.
I don't consider it "fired," but I was laid off from my first real job because the economy slowed down and there wasn't enough business to support my position. Years later, when working for a municipal government office, I was laid off because a new administration decided that one person should able to do the work that four of us had been doing.
Like the way I now see one guy driving the trash truck and nobody hanging on the back of it. He has to drive, then jump out and empty the trash can, then get back in and drive, and he always seems to be in a massive hurry. Or the way you go into a fast food joint and right beside the Hiring for all positions sign is another one saying Please be patient, we don 't have enough employees. Often there's only 2 people working, when years ago you'd see 6 or 8. Of course they don't get big crowds anymore like they used to either.
The old, divorced supervisor at the magic school, angered that the much younger new teacher has rebuked his boorish advances privately, dismisses her without notice the next week. A younger student, angered that the attractive teacher has rebuffed his inappropriate advances, accuses her of sexual impropriety with a minor, forcing the hand of her superior at the school to dismiss her. The teacher's pet, caught performing unsanctioned magic tricks in the back of the class and in the cafeteria, concocts a vengeful but flawless scheme to get her teacher fired: planting DNA evidence of an illegal sexual relationship with a minor. In the above scenarios, the teacher doesn't do anything wrong, right? Being forced to do something is little different from choosing to do the same thing. In the anecdote from @SapereAude it is market forces which compel the capitalist to make layoffs. Can the magic school outsource its staff to virtual teachers overseas and pay far less than they are currently by dismissing superior teachers who work in person? Lastly, there is something less salacious and perhaps interesting than scandals and labor problems, which would be: the firing was a mistake. The secretary put the wrong name, only one away on the list, in the pink slip (instead of the junkie who calls subs in every other day for his classes, the teacher was fired. No exceptions!). The computer algorithm sent out a dismissal instead of a promotion, and there's nobody who is willing or capable to audit the Byzantine systems now auto-managing the school district. Once again, an external force has led to the outcome. Which option you choose will determine the credibility of your story and the interest of the readers, or graders, as it were. I don't think this forum is for doing your homework but I may have read that somewhere else.
