14 February 2010

The Light at the End of the Tunnel

The light at the end of my tunnel is my Master's Degree.  I've been moving towards this finish for a little over four years solid.  My hope is that I'm ready for the end of this chapter of my life.  However, I trust that the light at the end of this tunnel is not a train that will level me.  I have had three friends who have finished their teacher certification only to not be teaching within three years after wards.  I don't want to go off into a tantrum about teacher pay, but I think a bit of a discussion on the process is necessary. 

I feel like I could jump into a classroom and I'd be able to survive.  Student teaching should be a sink-or-swim system with a mentor teacher in the same department.  That may sound harsh, but a do-or-die scenario with a paycheck doesn't bring this same ominous hype of needing to succeed and survive after spending three months unpaid in someone else's room.  You have their classroom management and not your own.  You have their organization, and not your own.  Then, after three months of being unpaid and coddled, you are thrown into the lion's den and expected to accomplish your caseload, classroom management, organization, etc... on your own. 

I FEEL ready... I just HOPE that I am. 

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