10.06.2008

grad school, part 2

my first go-around at grad school was primarily an exercise in cramming as much education as i could into two solid years of life. from 2004-2006 i somehow managed to plan lessons, write papers, complete lab reports, create activities, grade papers, teach classes, meet with mentors, design my own curriculum, teach an after school program, attend classes, study for exams, and occasionally get together with friends to get massively wasted and forget why i was doing all this. but oh yes, the free (well somewhat free) masters degree. my degree was subsidized through the new york city teaching fellows, which meant the city paid for half of my degree, the rest came out of my paycheck over two years, and i devoted myself to teaching in an inner city school for at least two years. the degree, which was not terribly difficult, more tedious, to earn, has not proven to be especially helpful towards what i specifically do. the teaching fellows generally seek high-need area teachers, including elementary, special ed, esl, bilingual, ela, math, and sciences. technology is not considered a high need area, though enough schools are seriously lacking an expert to manage and implement their equipment effectively.

and so, 150 lesson plans, a dozen ten page essays, 18 lab reports, 4 running records, 80 personal reflections, 25 journal entries, and a bout with shingles later, i graduated with this degree in childhood education, certifying me to legally teach a kindergarten through 6th grade class anywhere in new york state, and many other states who have reciprocal teaching license with new york, massachusetts excluded.

in the last 5 years i've never actually taught within my license area, except on the rare occasion that i've subbed for 5th grade classes when their teachers are in meetings. i've always taught 5th-8th grade technology, and while according to the laws of new york city, i can legally teach 1 year out of my license area, 2 is not legit, making this year a fuzzy area for me to be in, teaching 7 8th grade classes.

the michigan program i was accepted into is a pretty cool opportunity for me to become a legit tech teacher, and also expand my horizons at the same time. it's a 15 month, 36 credit masters in ed with a concentration in educational technology. it would start this may, with an online course, then a 3 week residency in geneva, another 4 courses online in the fall and spring, then back to geneva to graduate in july of 2010.

i'm not entirely sure what doors it will open for me in terms of career, but it sounds like the right direction to go in. i'm also pretty psyched to see geneva, though from what it seems like there isn't much time for sightseeing, mostly learning new apps, coding, and building websites.

i'm hugely nervous for the loans, but really excited for the content. and to meet other teacherly geeks like me.

and so no, i'm not relocating to flint, much to michael moore's possible dismay. i'll never even have to visit the campus as long as all goes according to plan. it may not be as glamorous as stanford or columbia teacher's college, but i think it's the right program for me.

i hope i get an early reading list. i've been craving some good educational literature.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Grad school isn't easy, that's for sure. I'm so glad it's over for me...

Thanks for the post. Though my blog is totally different, feel free to check us out - it will at least give you a laugh...

dp said...

i love when my geek girl reads edu-lit. sexy.