How many of us I wonder end up in the career we dreamed about as children? I know for me when I was 8 years old and in third grade I was new to the area and didn’t have a friend in the world. My teacher was Mrs. Allen. She was super friendly, and even let me stay in during recess to help grade papers. Yes this sounds a bit corny, but eventually the one friend I made turned out to be the type that only came to school once very other week, so I counted on something to occupy my time. Eventually Mrs. Allen ended up moving to Arizona, but she left such a powerful impression on me that from that day forward I wanted to teach. Once I reached high school I started to think of different professions, and even considered being a CPA, but was again inspired by two incredible teachers in my senior year. I now had an example who made me want to be important in the life of a child, and two others who had gained my respect in making me think on a deeper level. This was when it was certain that I was going to teach one day.
I finished high school with a high GPA, started community college and then oops, found out I was pregnant. I was probably the last person anyone would have ever thought would be entering into single parent hood as I was super responsible and “going places”, but plans were made to be broken, right? I spent the next 4 years raising the sweetest little boy on a waitresses income, and periodically continued going to go to school to get my degree, but sometimes a second job would get in the way and school would get to be too much of a challenge so I would decide to stick with waiting tables.
Just before I met my husband in 2002, I had started going to school full time again and finally pushed through my AA and started my BA. I gotta say I hit many bumps in the road, including a hectic mommy schedule with two additional pregnancies and added family members, as well as frustrations with myself for waiting so long to finish. Plus each time I would run into someone who I had told I was going to be a teacher it would remind and embarrass me that I still wasn’t doing it.
Now, the point of this long winded post is that tomorrow is a super big day for me. I am going to be walking on to my first campus as a teacher. Ok, well actually substitute teacher for now, but still a huge milestone for me. What seemed like an impossible goal for awhile there is now actually happening. I will be finished with my BA in just 5 months and I can not believe I have made it here. I am super nervous and am not sure I will be able to sleep too well tonight, but I can say without a doubt that I am glad I didn’t give up when the tough got going. Wish me luck that I don’t fall flat on my face on day 1.
For anyone out there that thinks that teachers are overpaid and that “those who can’t, teach”, here is my list of thirteen hoops I have to jump through (or already have) just in the pursuit to become a teacher.
1. Get an AA taking ugly general education courses as electives rather than fun foo foo classes.
2. Major in Human Development rather than anything thing else more interesting because it contains most of your pre-rec’s for the credential program.
3. Take the CBEST ($41 pass or fail).
4. Spend many late night crumpling papers and throwing them as far as they will land wishing the school would burn down or you would win a billion dollars and get to drop out.
5. Add additional classes to your already full schedule to finish within your cramped time frame, because believe it or not, you can not get a BA in two years unless you are overloaded.
6. Expend massive energy preparing for a three part state exam (aka CSET) that you can’t teach without, then take the CSET (at $74 per part, pass or fail).
7. Once you are in your credential program, you now get to go to school full time, AND go to work every day as an unpaid student teacher.
8. Finally finished with your AA, BA, and Credential you can start interviewing.
9. In the process of finally getting hired, you will need to go get fingerprinted and have your entire background checked (hopefully while you were completing the first three lengthy steps you stayed out of trouble).
10. Get a job and start paying back years worth of debt accrued in student loans for the exciting $38k per year you will now be earning.
11. Sign up to teach summer school as well, because you need to pay off a couple of extra bills that your deficit pay check didn’t cover.
12. Listen to a bunch of idiots tell you for the rest of your career just how lucky you are to have the whole summer off.
13. Sigh in relief that college life is now over, but take a deep breath for the new world of politics and administration that has now alienated your life.
Links to other Thursday Thirteens!
1. Damozel
2. Jessica the Rock Chick
3. Jennifer
4. Damien
5. (leave your link in comments, I?ll add you here!)
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