I'm Not Just Certifiable--I'm CERTIFIED!!!
Meaning I got my teaching certificate in the mail today from West Virginia! I was so happy that I made a high-pitched keening sound and kissed the paper. Hopefully the people who touched it before me were conscientious about handwashing. Oh, what a long, strange trip it's been. I look back to when I started this journey, and it's already faded into the fogs of time. I took my first classes toward my certification in August 2008. Four years, more than 50 credits, and much headache and heartache later, I have the piece of paper I've been working for.
This couldn't come at a better time. I had supervision with my principal last week, and she'd finally received my conditional certification from Maryland (for those just joining us or otherwise forgetful of my certification woes, I received my teaching certification through West Virginia, where my university was located, because Maryland and WV have reciprocity--but while waiting for WV to tell me that I'm official, Maryland had to issue a conditional certification that basically says I'm working toward becoming official). She'd requested that I be certified in both special-ed and English simultaneously. Since I teach special-ed, Maryland will only allow me to receive a special-ed certificate as my first certificate rather than English with a special-ed endorsement added. So if I'd started as a gen-ed English teacher and then moved to special-ed, I'd be fine, but because I started in special-ed, I'm not. Head spinning yet?? (My coursework was for an English certification because I had no notion that my road would ever lead to where it has. I have an endorsement in special-ed through the PRAXIS test.) However, they will often do both at once, somewhat circumventing that requirement. Well, my conditional certificate, when it arrived, was for ... English. Just English. So if I didn't hear from WV by January, I'd be looking at 16 additional credits of coursework before June to demonstrate to Maryland that I was working toward a special-ed certification. Yes, despite having an English certification already. If the low pay and long days and constant scapegoating by conservatives weren't enough to discourage one from going into education, the convoluted certification process would.
Anyway, all that's avoided now because I have the piece of paper that proves that I have indeed started as an English teacher, so the special-ed endorsement will be enough for me to get my official Maryland certification.
I'll admit that I was feeling a bit sorry for myself this afternoon, shuffling around the house, in some pain because of a health issue, cold, tired, grouchy because it's cloudy out, scared of the impending hurricane-snowstorm-combo-pack, and hungry. Woe was me! The arrival of the certificate changed all of that. (Well, I'm still in some pain and still scared of the hurricane-thingy, but generally less woebegone.)
Back when this began, I promised myself a whole bottle of shiraz in a single sitting when I finally got that piece of paper in hand (because I don't drink to get drunk, but if one thing can drive a person to that point, it's the certification process). Fate having a twisted sense of humor as she does, on the car ride home, I told Bobby that I was abstaining from alcohol for a week due to the aforementioned pain, which can be exacerbated by alcohol (which I've been drinking nearly every night after discovering the weird-sounding but delicious combination of gummy candy vodka and orange juice), so the shiraz will have to wait one more week--but more than four years after I made that pledge, I think I can hang with that.
ETA: Temporarily locking comments because I'm sick of deleting spam on this post.
This post was originally posted on Dreamwidth and, using my Felagundish Elf magic, crossposted to LiveJournal. You can comment here or there!
http://dawn-felagund.dreamwidth.org/304422.html
This couldn't come at a better time. I had supervision with my principal last week, and she'd finally received my conditional certification from Maryland (for those just joining us or otherwise forgetful of my certification woes, I received my teaching certification through West Virginia, where my university was located, because Maryland and WV have reciprocity--but while waiting for WV to tell me that I'm official, Maryland had to issue a conditional certification that basically says I'm working toward becoming official). She'd requested that I be certified in both special-ed and English simultaneously. Since I teach special-ed, Maryland will only allow me to receive a special-ed certificate as my first certificate rather than English with a special-ed endorsement added. So if I'd started as a gen-ed English teacher and then moved to special-ed, I'd be fine, but because I started in special-ed, I'm not. Head spinning yet?? (My coursework was for an English certification because I had no notion that my road would ever lead to where it has. I have an endorsement in special-ed through the PRAXIS test.) However, they will often do both at once, somewhat circumventing that requirement. Well, my conditional certificate, when it arrived, was for ... English. Just English. So if I didn't hear from WV by January, I'd be looking at 16 additional credits of coursework before June to demonstrate to Maryland that I was working toward a special-ed certification. Yes, despite having an English certification already. If the low pay and long days and constant scapegoating by conservatives weren't enough to discourage one from going into education, the convoluted certification process would.
Anyway, all that's avoided now because I have the piece of paper that proves that I have indeed started as an English teacher, so the special-ed endorsement will be enough for me to get my official Maryland certification.
I'll admit that I was feeling a bit sorry for myself this afternoon, shuffling around the house, in some pain because of a health issue, cold, tired, grouchy because it's cloudy out, scared of the impending hurricane-snowstorm-combo-pack, and hungry. Woe was me! The arrival of the certificate changed all of that. (Well, I'm still in some pain and still scared of the hurricane-thingy, but generally less woebegone.)
Back when this began, I promised myself a whole bottle of shiraz in a single sitting when I finally got that piece of paper in hand (because I don't drink to get drunk, but if one thing can drive a person to that point, it's the certification process). Fate having a twisted sense of humor as she does, on the car ride home, I told Bobby that I was abstaining from alcohol for a week due to the aforementioned pain, which can be exacerbated by alcohol (which I've been drinking nearly every night after discovering the weird-sounding but delicious combination of gummy candy vodka and orange juice), so the shiraz will have to wait one more week--but more than four years after I made that pledge, I think I can hang with that.
ETA: Temporarily locking comments because I'm sick of deleting spam on this post.
This post was originally posted on Dreamwidth and, using my Felagundish Elf magic, crossposted to LiveJournal. You can comment here or there!
http://dawn-felagund.dreamwidth.org/304422.html