My New Jobs

The past few months have been quite busy with lots of changes for me on the job front.  In May I applied for and was offered a job at Sylvan Learning Center.  It's been a great part time job for the summer; however, the overall experience has not been what I expected and I don't plan on continuing my work there in the fall.  I also applied for and was offered a job as a W-A-Y mentor through the main branch of our local school district.  Though much of my previous work in the field of education has been with very young children, I'm looking forward to trying my hand at helping at-risk teenagers as a welcome change of pace.  I start training for that tomorrow, and I'm excited to see where the job leads.

This past week was particularly busy as I interviewed for a position at East Washtenaw Multicultural Academy in Ann Arbor.  The interview went well and I found out on Friday that I'll be working as a preschool teacher for them this coming school year.  While I don't see myself teaching preschool for the long haul, I do want to work with young children and this is a way for me to get my foot in the door and get some valuable experience under my belt.  The program for which I'll be working is a state funded GSRP program, which means I'll be servicing low income families who might not otherwise have the chance to send their children to preschool.  I'm looking forward to the coming week, when I'll be able to meet the families with whom I'll be working for the 2011/2012 school year.  In considering this job and my future, I've decided that if money and this horrifying economy were not an issue, my true ideal job would be to teach second or third grade in a public school setting.  Unfortunately, this job market is not one which lends itself to any sort of cherry picking--a job is a job after all.  Still, I think it's good for me to have some kind of idea of what I want for my future.  I'm pretty broadly qualified, educationally speaking, which was an intentional choice on my part.  It's not that I wouldn't be happy teaching other grades/ages, or, for that matter, using my reading endorsement and teaching language arts to middle school students, but at least if I have an area upon which to set my sights, I'm more likely to make intentional choices toward that goal.

Time will tell.  There are several other jobs for which I've applied, and I haven't heard anything about any of them.  I'm not exactly sure what that means...I suppose it could be good or bad.  It's August now though, so I would imagine most schools will be conducting interviews and making their decisions very soon.  Unless something unexpected happens in the very near future, I'll be teaching preschool for the foreseeable future.  A job is a job, after all! 




   



                      
 

           

This Time Next Week

Right around this time next week, I will be sitting in the convocation center at Eastern Michigan University, wearing my cap and gown and listening to...who knows what kind of commencement speech.  Shorty thereafter, I will be the proud holder of my bachelor's of science in elementary education.  I am SO excited, there really aren't enough words to encompass how I feel. 

Last night I went to a little cap decorating party with some of the awesome women who have been with me along the way.  Our caps look smashing and I had a great time hanging out with them.  We are all so ready for next week but there is nervous anticipation too.  Now it's actually starting to feel real! The journey from this post, (way back when I was first making decisions) to now, seems like a thousand miles.  And yet, the time actually seems to have gone by rather quickly too.  It's an odd conundrum really but I guess that's what happens when you're so busy. 

In any case...I am absolutely thrilled to have come so far and I feel really proud of all I've accomplished.  According to my transcript, I'll be graduating magna cum laude next week, which means I've been able to maintain an overall GPA of 3.75.  Considering all the other major things I've had on my plate over the past three-and-a-half years, and considering we've also had some significant life changes thrown into the mix, that's pretty darn awesome.  Come on, April 16! 




   



          



         

42 Days...

...until I GRADUATE!!!  I know not everyone will understand but this is HUGE for me.  This is a lifetime goal that I've always held and it's been a loooong time coming.  My educational path has been non-traditional in nearly every way.  My journey has included many twisting, winding, sometimes bumpy roads.  I was definitely not the girl who graduated from high school knowing exactly what she wanted.  There was a time when, despite my knowledge that it was important, I wondered if I would ever earn my bachelor's degree.  That was actually a really big factor in my decision to go back to school at the ripe old age of 32 - the knowledge that having a four year degree was something that really mattered to me in the grand scheme of my life.

There's a song by the Avett Brothers that I really love right  now.  My favorite line says, "Decide what to be and go be it."  I love that!  It speaks to me in the deep.  The song also talks about, "...a kid with a head full of doubt" and I feel somehow that the kid is/was me.  I wish I had been able to make those decisions when I was younger and I wish (sometimes) that I had just gotten all this done years ago.  But then...if that were the case, I wouldn't be who I am and I wouldn't have had any of the rich and rewarding experience along the way either.  Those twisting, turning roads have not been bad, just long at times.  For the most part though, my former educational and career experiences have been value added to the person I've become.

I wonder what the next chapter holds?  I wonder when/where/if I will find a job?  I wonder who my future students will be?  Which of those children will have "a head full of doubt" to which I may be able to add a ray of hope?  Although it took me a long time to get to where I am and although the uncertainty of being a job-seeker in the worst economy since the Great Depression is, to say the least, daunting, I can say for sure that my decision to be a teacher was absolutely the right one.  Gone (but not forgotten) is my head full of doubt.  Although fear is definitely in the mix too, I'm now able to look ahead with pride and confidence in how far I've come.  I'm also able to look ahead with hope that I may be able to make a difference in the future by influencing the people who will live in it.

 





   



          
 

Three Weeks In

Well vacation came and went, school started, routines changed, tears fell, summer ended...and that brings us to now. 

I've been officially student teaching for three weeks now.  So far things are going well.  I am more exhausted than I've ever been, perhaps with the lone exception of the weeks prior to being diagnosed with hypothyroidism, several years ago.  In case you didn't know, keeping pace with 24 six-year-old children and then coming home to a 16-month-old toddler on a daily basis has a tendency to deplete your energy!

Overall my placement is good.  I mostly enjoy my time at school and am happy to (finally) be applying some of the knowledge I've been spending the last few years accumulating.  Today I got to do some real teaching, which consisted of reading the children a book and going over some math and grammar worksheets with them as a whole group.  Up to this point, I've been feeling rather like a (slightly) glorified secretary.  Not that I mind doing some of the prep work when that's needed but it was becoming quite excessive for a minute.  There have also been some scheduling issues, which are completely out of my control. 

There's been a lot of stress surrounding the time of day the children are slotted to go to their "specials," which are subjects like art, gym, music, technology and media.  They go first thing in the morning, which means all the academic subjects have to be crammed into one long afternoon...NOT a good arrangement for first graders!  Since I'm required to do two student teaching semesters--one for elementary education and one for early childhood education--I'm currently at the school for three full days and two half days each week.  These (along with daycare arrangements, my husband's work schedule and our car sharing arrangements) have been in place since late August.  It's not logistically feasible for me to make any major changes to my schedule at this point, which basically means I end up missing out on a big chunk of the academic schedule with the children on two days of my work week.  Granted, this is a bummer but it's not something that will be detrimental to my placement and my learning this semester.  I'll still have plenty of opportunities to observe and teach all of the subjects, not to mention the fact that I will be working five full days during the two weeks when I'm teaching my unit.  There has been so much stress surrounding all this and it's very frustrating, for all parties involved.  With the support of my college supervisor, I finally had to directly state that a schedule change was not possible for me.  It was tough for me to speak up like that, since I want to shine in my role as a student teacher but it was essential.  Once that conversation was over, some of the stress eased.  It's still a daily challenge but the stress is no longer directed at me and my schedule, which is a huge relief.

Whew!  That was unintentionally long-winded.  I'm required to keep a paper journal as part of my student teaching experience and of course, I've been writing about all this (and then some) in that.  I didn't expect to have so much to say about all this here but it just kept coming.  Stream of consciousness I suppose.  In any case, I'm done for tonight.  Time for me to go get ready for tomorrow and then get some much needed sleep.  All the stress and exhaustion aside, I do love getting up in the mornings, knowing I get to spend my day with youngsters.  I feel that my time is valuable and purposeful now, in a way that it really never has been before.  I can't imagine how great I'll feel when I reach the point where I'm actually getting paid to do something I love so much...hang out with children.  First graders are so very sweet!       

 





   

Big Wheels Keep on Turning

I could have given this post a title about the winds of change blowing because they are around here, big time!  A little over a week ago, I closed the books on my last on-campus class at Eastern.  All that's left for me before I graduate is two semesters of student teaching, the first of which starts in a little over two weeks!  There is one short year between me and my bachelor's degree and I absolutely can't wait for that achievement.  I know the year will fly by, which is a good thing on one hand and a bad thing on the other since it also means I will have a two-year-old by then.  It's unsettling to want the time to fly by so desperately and at the same time want it to slow down so I can hold onto my baby a little bit longer.   

Student teaching is called the "capstone experience" of my degree and I can understand why.  There is so much resting on my performance during this one semester in the classroom, it's a little intimidating.  At the same time, I'm very excited and very ready to put everything I've learned into practice.  I've already gotten my feet pretty wet with my substitute teaching experience but this will be different.  I will actually get to know these children and I will feel like more of an influence in their lives.  That's what it's all about for me anyway--this career choice I've made.  I want to be able to make a difference in the lives of children.  I hope this coming year is the first in a long line of opportunities for me to do that.

But oh I am terrified!  I'm not even sure exactly what I'm scared of.  I guess just the change.  I'm nervous about being a guest in another teachers' classroom.  I've met her and so far I really like her, but what if we don't get along?  What if I don't agree with her teaching philosophies? What if I overstep my boundaries in my efforts to be self-motivated and independent?  What if she doesn't like me?  And I'm worried about my feet too.  I need some good shoes but money is very limited for us at this stage of the game.  I already have issues with my ankle and I know standing on my feet all day every day is going to exacerbate that. 

Then there's the incomprehensible balance between work and home.  I know people do it all the time but I'm not sure how.  I wrote about my feelings on this a little bit in this post but they are still largely unresolved.  I've been dreaming about leaving our son in daycare.  All the dreams have been affirming ones but still, I am very nervous about this change.  I know that the only way for me to make peace with it is for it to happen and for everything to be fine.  I know that I just have to suck it up and get over the fact that someone else is going to have almost as much time with my son every week as I have with him.  That is much easier said than done though.  Even knowing I really like the woman who will be caring for him, it's so difficult for me to let go and trust the fact that he will be fine and he will adjust to the new situation.    

To add to the mix, we also have major car problems on our plate.  Buying a car, even an old one, is simply not an option for us at this point.  We really need tho old ones to hold out for this one final year, until I can find a job.  The current chariot of choice, meaning the one that gets us where we're going, is our '99 Ford Taurus.  My parents gave us this car when it was old but still in relatively good shape.  Now though, the transmission is in the advanced stages of certain death and there is a hole in the exhaust line such that the car literally roars from place to place.  How in the world am I going to maintain my dignity and put my best foot forward at my new school (which, by the way, is also the school that I would really love to work at someday) when I'm arriving in that junker every day?  The other option we have is to fix our 2001 Toyota but it's in need of repairs that are likely to run in the thousands and that is not something we can even consider. It just is what it is.  Luckily the school is not far from home and both of Michael's jobs are relatively close so the driving we will need to do is minimal.  Still though, there is only so much coaxing and praying that can be done before all the wings and prayers run out. 

To end on a positive note, we have a much needed family lake vacation coming up next week that will, hopefully, be a relaxing closeout to summer.  We'll be staying in a cabin right on the lake with my whole family, which should be lots of fun.

Undergraduate Symposium & Student Teaching - Opportunities Abound!

Well the wheels are beginning to turn a bit faster for me where school is concerned. I'm finally, finally just about done with my course work and ready for student teaching! This is my last mainstream semester (it's been a rough one) and then I have four (or hopefully only three if I get my waiver for speech) classes to take this spring/summer and I'm on my way to student teaching!

I met with my cooperating teacher on Friday and she seems really nice. I'm going to be working with her from September-December of this year so I hope the relationship continues to go well. She teaches first grade in the district that was my first choice so I'm pretty happy about my placement. :) It's going to be a lot of hard, exhausting work for NO pay, which is pretty stressful but I hope it will also be a good experience that will lay the foundation for me to be a strong teacher when I finally get a job.

Speaking of getting a job, I've potentially got another great thing to add to my resume! Last week, a professor asked me to stay after class to see her. Of course I was a tad nervous but it turned out to be a very good thing. Based on some of the work I've done this semester, she wants to nominate me, along with two other students, to take part in the undergraduate symposium at EMU. I still have to gather some information and talk with the other two students to figure out exactly how this all works but I think being nominated is a pretty strong, positive statement. There are usually only 300 presentations per annual school year. With an approximated total student body of 23,000, I must be doing something right. :)

It's so nice to finally be seeing some of my hard work beginning to pay off. For such a long time now I've been in school with a seemingly insurmountable pile of classes and requirements to wade through but now, almost out of nowhere, the end is in sight and is, I think, very much an attainable goal. How thrilling!

Opportunity Knocks...

A few weeks ago I received an email from one of the professors in the Early Childhood Education program at Eastern. I've heard her name off an on, but haven't actually had any classes with her. It was a bit of a surprise to see her name in my inbox. Here is part of the message she sent:

Drs. B.eaubien and D.ichtelmiller shared with me, at my request, a select group of students whom they believe to have the potential to be real leaders. Your name was one of the names I received. I serve as the faculty advisor for the Association for the Education of Young Children-EMU. I am looking for a few students to take leadership for next year. If you are interested in serving in a leadership capacity, or just want to know more about the organization, let me know and I will include you in a group meeting...

I've just come from that group meeting, and I'm feeling pretty excited about the potential of becoming involved with this organization. Not only will this look great on my resume when it comes time for me to look for a job, but it's also nice to be noticed as a person who stands out from the crowd. This could also be a great way for me to meet/connect with people who are on the same educational path I'm on, which in invaluable.

Who knows what will come of all this, but I do feel buoyed after the votes of confidence from my current professors. I left the meeting a few minutes ago with a spring in my step and a smile on my face...that certainly counts for something!

Best Book Award

My mom has now officially published her second book! It's called A Dog's Advice to Leaders: 13 Common Sense Principles to Enhance your People Skills and Make You a More Effective Leader and I am very proud of her. Some of you may remember my post about taking photos of Miss Brown back in late 2007. This book is what those were all about. It's pretty cool to see my photographs in print this way, I think the cover looks great! Now we just need to market the book so we can sell lots and lots of copies...be sure to tell everyone you know they need THIS BOOK! Oh, and stop on over at my mom's web page too, she's designing A Dog's Advice all by herself as she learns html. :)

I PASSED!!!

This is one of the greatest days I've had in a long time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Basic Skills Mathematics Section
Status: Passed
Total Score: 249
Minimum Passing Score: 220

Wow...all my hard work has (at last) paid off! I still have some hurdles to jump over in regards to math but this is a HUGE, HUGE step in the right direction!! I can get into the teaching program in time for fall now, and I'm feeling so immensely relieved. I feel like...regardless of whatever other obstacles I have to overcome between now ant then...my dreams of my degree, and finally having my own classroom with a stable, enjoyable job are within my reach at long last.

Wow...and...just WOW!!!

Sweet Relief!

I never thought I'd be happy with a "c" at this stage of my educational career but halleluiah I passed my chemistry class!!!!!! I just received my final grades and overall they look not bad, here's the synopsis:

• Word Study in the Reading Program = A
• Music for Elementary Education = A
• Issues/Trends in Literacy Education = A-
• Earth Science for Elementary Education = B
• Chemistry for Elementary Education = C

I could literally jump for joy right now! I've been SO WORRIED about my chemistry grade after how much I struggled with the whole class but especially those last few chapters and tests. It is sweet relief to know that it's over and I passed. Now the only big hurdles left for me are math and physics, which I can probably space out appropriately over the rest of my semesters so I won't go crazy.

Today is a good day!!!