February 28, 2008

a bittersweet ending

tonight is my last night of grad school. it's over. done. i finished 11 courses and student teaching along with my e-portfolio (we had to do an e-portfolio, an online compilation of work from each course, instead of a thesis or final test). and although i'm not officially graduating until may, i am officially done and getting my diploma next week.

when i first started this program last january, i was not sure if i had made the right choice. i didn't like the idea of being $18,000 in the hole, driving out to west phoenix for class every week, and doing homework. but i am really glad that i decided to do it.

i've had the same 12 people in every class, and we have gotten to know each other pretty well. it's a diverse group of people- men, women, black, white, young, old, but we are all in the same boat- emergency certified special ed teachers who were pretty much just thrown into a classroom totally clueless. but we bonded, and we have had some great professors, and every week we not only learned about different aspects of special education but we also were able to vent about problems with our districts, schools, co-workers, principals, students, and parents. i'm definitely going to miss the venting sessions.

although i am done with grad school, i am not done taking classes. apparently if you are a teacher, it never ends. in order to get my certificate i need to take three more classes- SEI (structured english immersion, a crazy arizona thing for teaching students who don't speak english), AZ constitution (another crazy arizona thing, j/k), and US constitution. so i'm starting them on monday online through one of the community colleges, and by the time i get out for summer break from work (june 5) i will be done with EVERYTHING. and then maybe i can relax!

-Jennifer Lynn Dukats, M. Ed.

Posted by JenMagenta at February 28, 2008 4:48 PM
Comments
Post a comment









Remember personal info?