December was a lovely month of few commitments, and our family enjoyed sleeping in every day during Christmas break. Although I love vacations and traveling, I have to admit that nothing is as restoring to my psyche as some relaxing time at home. I got a lot of that this year, and am eagerly anticipating our next break.
For now, it is back to the grind. I'm taking my second class for my master's and this time it's Methods and Materials for TESOL. Last quarter, my class was a research writing class, and although I grumbled, in the end I feel like I learned quite a bit. The course I'm taking this time is more like an education class, and I'm already feeling a bit of dread. Education classes tend to have a lot of busy work. And group projects. Yes, 40% of my grade is based on a project that I have to work on with a partner. I also have to tutor an ESL student for a minimum of 8 hours and observe two ESL classes and write up observations. Can you feel my excitement? I'm sure once I get into it, I'll love it, but right now, it just feels like busy work. Is that terrible of me to say? After all, I have tutored students after school quite often, even helping one young man earn the missing English credit he needed to graduate. The timing of this feels off to me. Finding a babysitter is going to be tough!
Maybe one reason I feel this way is because I'll be back in a school situation, but it won't be my class. I sure did love teaching, and although I am happy with my decision to stay home, I largely cope with that decision by not thinking of what I am missing. Now I'm being thrust back into classroom situations and I am feeling some resistance. The good news is that I hope to work (at least part time) sometime soon. Maia will be in school full days next year, and Tai, I'm happy to report, loves exploring new places and situations, so he will do fine in a school or day care setting for part of the day.
Right now my plan is to finish up this class, plus one more during the Spring quarter. That will give me enough credits to renew my teaching license, which is important in case I suddenly find myself in the position where I need to work or my dream job comes along! After that, I will take the summer off and apply for a graduate assistantship for the 2011-2012 academic year. If I am approved, I will have to teach one class each quarter, plus take two courses toward my degree. By the end of that year, I would be done with school and have my master's in TESOL. My only reservation is that I will need a babysitter for Tai, but as I mentioned previously, he thrives in social situations, so I think it would work out just fine.
That's my little dose of reality right now. For the moment, I'm just hoping I get a good partner for my project!
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