Graduate School, Here I Come!

Yes...that's right! I am well on my way to becoming a graduate student! Of course, I still have to be accepted...

In a previous post I had mentioned that I was considering this option. I attended an information seminar on the Masters in Education program at UW Bothell back in December, and I've now officially started the application process. I'm very excited, and it's wonderful to be considering going back to school!

Two of the biggest parts of the application are 1. Taking the WEST-B and WEST-E tests (required in Washington) and spending 60 hours with youth, 30 of those hours being spent in a public classroom. Since I'm the Laurel's advisor in my ward, I have 30 of those hours easy, but the classroom? When I was at the U, I was studying history, so I've never spent time in a junior high or high school classroom since I actually was at those schools. The whole idea had me a bit panicked because I have a full-time job, and I wasn't sure where I would fit that in...

Happily, the last couple of weeks have been very productive in this area. First, I registered for the WEST-B test (basic math, reading and writing), then I made contact with one of the local schools (Shorecrest High), and I officially start observing/helping in a classroom tomorrow morning! It's going to be early (starting at 7:50 a.m.) and busy (5 days a week and heading straight to the day job afterwards, then my evening job after that), but I'm really looking forward to it. The teacher that has agreed to take me on teaches AP Psychology and World Geography. Sweet! I must admit I don't know much about psychology, but I'm looking forward to it! I really think this is going to be a great experience - I'll have contact with all grade levels of the high school in these two classes, and it will really give me a feel for what teaching in a public high school is like.

I do have to admit, this is a change for me. Ever since I obtained my Bachelor's in History, my goal has been to obtain my Ph.D. and teach at a University. However, I have always toyed with the idea of teaching at the secondary level, and as I've explored this option more, I think it may be a really good fit for me.

So, here's to exploring my options, getting really excited about going back to school, and really trying to expand my horizons and become a better person!

On another positive, I purchased a couple of study guides for the math and writing section of the test. Let me be honest...I suck royally at math and I always have. It will definitely be good to brush up on that. As for writing...well, I definitely know how to write and LOVE to write, but I KNOW I've forgotten some of the basics like proper capitalization, punctuation, etc. I'm not horrible, but let's just say that whenever someone who edits papers for a living or is an English major reads my writing, I'm pretty sure they'll be fine with the content of the paper, but probably have a thing or two to say about the grammar. So although the daily studying is one more thing to add to the day, I'm actually really looking forward to brushing up on some things that I haven't practiced since high school. Wish me luck!