Life Changes and Career Changes

Blargh. There's still so much to do, and we've got less than two months 'till the wedding. On top of that, I have a cold. Blargh. Sometimes, I feel like everybody is losing track of the goal of wedding prep: We're getting ready for something WONDERFUL! However, we get cranky and frustrated and grouchy and it gets to the point where we're not having fun. We're working on that, though. *sighs and snugs everybody involved*

Also, I'm not in the greatest of moods. My interview last Friday went great, and they were supposed to call me yesterday if they wanted to see me for a second interview--but they never called. I really wanted that job, too. Heck, at this point, I really want ANY job that lasts for more than three days! Ah, well. I'll be back circling the want ads today.

On another note, I'm seriously considering finishing my education degree and becoming a teacher after all. I'm still thinking and praying about it, but I keep getting these little "nudges" in that direction. Just the other day, my brother remarked that I was good at "instructional writing." (I had just read him my Fanfiction Rant.) People have told me before that I'd make a good teacher, and it was something I was going for practically since my junior year of high school.

Also, the whole Graphic Design thing is starting to feel a bit...empty, if you know what I mean. I want to draw for fun, for me, because I want to. Drawing because I'm getting paid for it makes me feel obligated and kinda sucks the joy out of it for me. Not that I would mind being paid for my drawings, but I find that I don't like being told what to draw a lot of the time. (Egads, I sound so spoiled!) Drawing is something I do for fun, and if I feel obligated, it's not fun anymore. I'd rather draw in my free time.

Teaching, however, keeps tugging at me. I want to make a difference in people's lives. I'm also pretty specific now about what I want to teach: High School English and/or Literature. When I was training to be a teacher the first time, I was doing elementary school. I don't want to do that. I've already gone through a lot of the Education training (I was an English tutor for five years and an Education major for two years at a local Christian college), and I love English and literature. I still need quite a bit more training, though. I also want to finish my teaching degree at a secular school--I don't want to teach in a private religious school. It's not that I have anything against religion (I am a Christian, after all), but, if I want to teach in a public school, I need to be prepared for all that entails. Maybe I'll take up self-defense again. Heh.

U of O supposedly has a good Education program--Alex suggested that I see about double-majoring in Education and English/Lit. We'll see how that works...it could be fun.

Before I do any of this, however, I'm going to go and watch a friend of mine teach her high school English classes. She told me that I could come and observe anytime. That was so nice of her!

I'd really like to finish a degree, and a teaching degree would be great. I miss school so much--and if I were a teacher, I'd be in school forever! No, wait...

Teaching high school is one of my goals because I want to be the kind of teacher that I admired when I was in high school. My English teachers were (for the most part) engaging and fun, and you could tell that they loved their subject. They were also tough, but fair. They made a big difference in my life, and they seemed to have fun doing it.

Maybe teaching high school English would allow me to answer the question I've had for years: How do kids graduate from high school without learning the basic rules of grammar? Without knowing how to spell? Without really knowing how to read?!

I was daydreaming in church on Sunday about what it would be like if I were a high school English/Lit teacher. I even started composing my start-of-term speech, figuring out a couple of projects, and stuff like that. I came up with some goals:

1. Students would either love me or hate me, but they'd never be bored.
2. I'd be eccentric and wear full Elizabethan garb to class on Shakespeare's birthday, like one of Alex's teachers did.
3. I'd bring in guest speakers from the SCA to talk about the clothes and crafts of the eras that produced the literature we were studying (if I was lucky enough to be teaching Medieval or Renaissance Literature).
4. I'd be tough, but fair. If students studied, showed up on time to class, and did their work, they'd pass. If they sat on their lazy butts and didn't even try, they wouldn't pass.
5. I would also try to make myself available for students to talk to me if they were having problems in my class.
6. I'd insist that the class learn and use correct grammar and spelling.
7. I'd give out creative assignments.
8. I'd be willing to listen to anyone's opinion--as long as they were on topic and able to back that opinion up.
9. I'd play devil's advocate whenever possible, just to make them think.
10. I'd be friendly, yet professional.
11. I'd back my rules with reasons.

Pretty ambitious, ne? I'd also havve homework every night, I expect. Notice I didn't say I'd give homework every night. I just said I'd have it. Being a teacher is a more-than-full-time job, what with lesson plans, learning everybody's names, grading papers, etc. I had a little taste of that when I was doing practicum. I wasn't up to the challenge then.

I think I am now.

In any case, I should probably scoot along--there are resumes to edit, cover letters to write, chores to do, and some chocolate-chip cookies that require my attention. So, until next time--umm...stay good!