Why do I want to teach?
I have been asked to stay on in my role as education assistant until I get a teaching job, but I have declined. It is so hard to explain to my principal & assistant principal, people who don't know me very well, why I have declined their offer - it is a multifaceted rationale that is torturing me as my employment contract comes to an end. It would seem a bit rude to tell them I am bored in my EA role much of the time :O I wish I could be content to just wait for a teaching job to fall in my lap, but that is not my style I will be busy actively seeking employment and learning more about teaching in Colorado.
This has been a long time coming afterall :
When we lived in Melbourne and Brett began school I considered doing a teaching degree at Monash University, but I wasn't ready for the challenge so I decided to do education assistant training instead. I have successfully had a career as an EA for 12yrs now, I have worked every age group from kindergarten to year 12 and had various roles as special needs and a general classroom support EA.
5 yrs ago when I began my degree I just needed a challenge, I was a special needs EA and my skill set was somewhat underutilized. I had mastered the photocopier after all! So I began studying part time in 2008 and wasn't sure until I passed my first semesters units whether I had the necessary intellectual capability to get my degree. I continued working part time as an EA just in case the uni thing didn't work out, which made life very busy!
Then in March 2010 I had a cycling accident in which I broke my collarbone and sustained a concussion so bad it caused amnesia. Most of my memory loss was regained within 24hrs but I missed a month of classes and couldn't remember that semesters content from before my accident. 6 weeks after the accident when I returned to work I couldn't find the speedo in my car on the way to work, I began to wonder if I still had what it took intellectually to remember the new content I was being taught. But i persevered and gained a credit in that semesters unit - not bad for a girl with amnesia LOL.
In late 2010 Matt was approached about a job here in Denver, the job we subsequently decided to take and which saw us move to the USA late last year. But I was only half way through my degree, I had a lot to do if i was going to finish that degree by the time I left Australia. There wasn't a minute to lose, I enrolled in uni full time and decided not to pursue a special needs or early childhood minor (a decision I had been avoiding for 2 years) as it would require additional units I didn't have time to complete.
I couldn't believe how time was flying and dragging out as I studied and worked and mothered 3 teen boys but I was getting there...
Then on March 15th 2012, I was admitted to hospital with a massive pulmonary embolism and I was told there was a serious possibility I would not survive the night even if I underwent the potentially dangerous treatment with an extreme blood thinner the Dr.s referred to as 'Draino' . As I lay in my hospital bed weighing the options and waiting for Matt to get back from a conference in Florida I had only 2 regrets if I died that night.
So after I recovered from my PE I continued my studies even though the tutor for my science unit at uni recommended I take the semester off because i had "missed too much". Even though I spent 5 days in hospital and had nurse home visits for 2 weeks once i was home, I missed only 1 tutorial and 1 lecture due to my determination to finish my degree, if I took a semester off i couldn't finish my degree before i left Australia! I managed to get a distinction in that unit despite my seriously ill health, I am sure I did it just to spite that obnoxious unsupportive tutor:) But ahead of me was the biggest challenge yet, I had to work full time as a teacher for a term to complete my internship, the final unit for my degree. I was determined, so I trained I had to get my lungs and heart strong enough before the internship began. I even climbed Perth's tallest building 1096 steps for an MS fundraiser during my recovery. And I seemed to be okay until about 5 weeks into my internship when my lungs began to struggle, I could barely speak a full sentence I was struggling for breath so much, my Dr ran tests and prescribed new medication to help my lungs and with the support of my mentor teacher, internship school and husband I managed to struggle through the internship and complete my degree.
Once i arrived in America it took 3 months for me to get a work authorization permit, then over a month to get an equivalency done on my degree to determine it is equal to an elementary education degree here.
Then I had to sit a 4hr exam for the Colorado Dept. of Education to prove I had the requisite knowledge to teach here in Colorado. Of course the day of the exam there was a blizzard and I had to drive 1 hr to the exam venue through that blizzard! Only to get questions such as;
'What started the American Revolutionary War?' lucky they are multiple choice questions because I had never even heard of the ARW!!
Or 'What is the purpose of the endocrine system in your body?' I don't need to know that to teach basic literacy and maths!!! I eventually got a score of 276 out of 300, 220 was considered a passing grade.
After that I needed to apply for my teaching license which requires a fingerprint criminal records check be done by the Colorado Bureau of investigations. When I submitted my application there was a 16 week wait for these to be done, then the wait blew out to 21 weeks and I got a nice email from the education department saying they had processed everything but those fingerprints which were delayed. So the 21weeks is up on July 29 then CDE needs to receive the details from CBI and process my license which can take 2 weeks; school starts on August 6th so that means I am not likely to be employable as a teacher for the beginning of the school year.
So why do i want so desperately to focus on getting a teaching job ASAP?
Perhaps because i feel like I have jumped a million hurdles along the path to this new career. 5 yrs ago when I began this degree to challenge myself I am not sure i envisioned this many challenges along the way but I am here now and want to utilize my skill set and continue to challenge myself to further my personal growth. Even if I am only substitute teaching in 2013/2014 it will give me a chance to broaden my experiences, network with other staff/schools and see how other schools function.
I am determined not to have the same regrets next time i am on my death bed!
This has been a long time coming afterall :
When we lived in Melbourne and Brett began school I considered doing a teaching degree at Monash University, but I wasn't ready for the challenge so I decided to do education assistant training instead. I have successfully had a career as an EA for 12yrs now, I have worked every age group from kindergarten to year 12 and had various roles as special needs and a general classroom support EA.
5 yrs ago when I began my degree I just needed a challenge, I was a special needs EA and my skill set was somewhat underutilized. I had mastered the photocopier after all! So I began studying part time in 2008 and wasn't sure until I passed my first semesters units whether I had the necessary intellectual capability to get my degree. I continued working part time as an EA just in case the uni thing didn't work out, which made life very busy!
Then in March 2010 I had a cycling accident in which I broke my collarbone and sustained a concussion so bad it caused amnesia. Most of my memory loss was regained within 24hrs but I missed a month of classes and couldn't remember that semesters content from before my accident. 6 weeks after the accident when I returned to work I couldn't find the speedo in my car on the way to work, I began to wonder if I still had what it took intellectually to remember the new content I was being taught. But i persevered and gained a credit in that semesters unit - not bad for a girl with amnesia LOL.
In late 2010 Matt was approached about a job here in Denver, the job we subsequently decided to take and which saw us move to the USA late last year. But I was only half way through my degree, I had a lot to do if i was going to finish that degree by the time I left Australia. There wasn't a minute to lose, I enrolled in uni full time and decided not to pursue a special needs or early childhood minor (a decision I had been avoiding for 2 years) as it would require additional units I didn't have time to complete.
I couldn't believe how time was flying and dragging out as I studied and worked and mothered 3 teen boys but I was getting there...
Then on March 15th 2012, I was admitted to hospital with a massive pulmonary embolism and I was told there was a serious possibility I would not survive the night even if I underwent the potentially dangerous treatment with an extreme blood thinner the Dr.s referred to as 'Draino' . As I lay in my hospital bed weighing the options and waiting for Matt to get back from a conference in Florida I had only 2 regrets if I died that night.
- Matt & Brett would have to move to Colorado without me
- I would never be a teacher.
So after I recovered from my PE I continued my studies even though the tutor for my science unit at uni recommended I take the semester off because i had "missed too much". Even though I spent 5 days in hospital and had nurse home visits for 2 weeks once i was home, I missed only 1 tutorial and 1 lecture due to my determination to finish my degree, if I took a semester off i couldn't finish my degree before i left Australia! I managed to get a distinction in that unit despite my seriously ill health, I am sure I did it just to spite that obnoxious unsupportive tutor:) But ahead of me was the biggest challenge yet, I had to work full time as a teacher for a term to complete my internship, the final unit for my degree. I was determined, so I trained I had to get my lungs and heart strong enough before the internship began. I even climbed Perth's tallest building 1096 steps for an MS fundraiser during my recovery. And I seemed to be okay until about 5 weeks into my internship when my lungs began to struggle, I could barely speak a full sentence I was struggling for breath so much, my Dr ran tests and prescribed new medication to help my lungs and with the support of my mentor teacher, internship school and husband I managed to struggle through the internship and complete my degree.
Once i arrived in America it took 3 months for me to get a work authorization permit, then over a month to get an equivalency done on my degree to determine it is equal to an elementary education degree here.
Then I had to sit a 4hr exam for the Colorado Dept. of Education to prove I had the requisite knowledge to teach here in Colorado. Of course the day of the exam there was a blizzard and I had to drive 1 hr to the exam venue through that blizzard! Only to get questions such as;
'What started the American Revolutionary War?' lucky they are multiple choice questions because I had never even heard of the ARW!!
Or 'What is the purpose of the endocrine system in your body?' I don't need to know that to teach basic literacy and maths!!! I eventually got a score of 276 out of 300, 220 was considered a passing grade.
After that I needed to apply for my teaching license which requires a fingerprint criminal records check be done by the Colorado Bureau of investigations. When I submitted my application there was a 16 week wait for these to be done, then the wait blew out to 21 weeks and I got a nice email from the education department saying they had processed everything but those fingerprints which were delayed. So the 21weeks is up on July 29 then CDE needs to receive the details from CBI and process my license which can take 2 weeks; school starts on August 6th so that means I am not likely to be employable as a teacher for the beginning of the school year.
So why do i want so desperately to focus on getting a teaching job ASAP?
Perhaps because i feel like I have jumped a million hurdles along the path to this new career. 5 yrs ago when I began this degree to challenge myself I am not sure i envisioned this many challenges along the way but I am here now and want to utilize my skill set and continue to challenge myself to further my personal growth. Even if I am only substitute teaching in 2013/2014 it will give me a chance to broaden my experiences, network with other staff/schools and see how other schools function.
I am determined not to have the same regrets next time i am on my death bed!
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