Life in Academia
When I first started contemplating teaching ESL, I hadn't the vaguest interest in going to grad school. I mean, sure, I thought it would be cool to have a masters degree, but it seemed like an unnecessarily large investment of time and money. And then there was that pesky GRE.
As it turns out, it has been a big investment, but it's also been immensely fun. So much fun, in fact, that I'm in no particular hurry to graduate (and, at one class a semester, it's a good thing). I even occasionally toy with the idea of continuing for a doctorate. But only occasionally, and only briefly. Getting a doctorate is kind of like going from one child to two: when you're getting a masters, or only have one kid, you still have time and brain cycles left over to have a life of your own; but once you buckle down for a doctorate, or have a second child, suddenly your life becomes much more about being an academic, or a parent, and that life-of-your-own concept takes a very long-term back seat (obviously, even longer for the kid thing). Parenting has also turned out to be a lot of fun, but not so much that I want to double it by getting pregnant again, especially as that part is extremely not-fun.
All of this is by way of saying that, although I'm thoroughly enjoying grad school, I never really got much involved with the lifestyle of academia--publishing papers, working on research with a professor, or speaking at conferences. But last semester my professor encouraged me to submit a proposal to SETESOL (that's the South Eastern branch of Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages to you non-linguist people out there), based on my ESL podcast project. It was a fun project, and I rather enjoy presenting, and heck, the conference is in Miami, so what the hell?
And lo, my proposal has been accepted! So, provided we can make the travel arrangements (I'm trying to find out if the department will offer me any funding to offset registration and travel costs), it looks like I'm going to spend a weekend in Miami, hitting the beach and talking linguistics and education. I know that's not everyone's idea of a vacation, but to this geek, it's pretty ideal. :D
As it turns out, it has been a big investment, but it's also been immensely fun. So much fun, in fact, that I'm in no particular hurry to graduate (and, at one class a semester, it's a good thing). I even occasionally toy with the idea of continuing for a doctorate. But only occasionally, and only briefly. Getting a doctorate is kind of like going from one child to two: when you're getting a masters, or only have one kid, you still have time and brain cycles left over to have a life of your own; but once you buckle down for a doctorate, or have a second child, suddenly your life becomes much more about being an academic, or a parent, and that life-of-your-own concept takes a very long-term back seat (obviously, even longer for the kid thing). Parenting has also turned out to be a lot of fun, but not so much that I want to double it by getting pregnant again, especially as that part is extremely not-fun.
All of this is by way of saying that, although I'm thoroughly enjoying grad school, I never really got much involved with the lifestyle of academia--publishing papers, working on research with a professor, or speaking at conferences. But last semester my professor encouraged me to submit a proposal to SETESOL (that's the South Eastern branch of Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages to you non-linguist people out there), based on my ESL podcast project. It was a fun project, and I rather enjoy presenting, and heck, the conference is in Miami, so what the hell?
And lo, my proposal has been accepted! So, provided we can make the travel arrangements (I'm trying to find out if the department will offer me any funding to offset registration and travel costs), it looks like I'm going to spend a weekend in Miami, hitting the beach and talking linguistics and education. I know that's not everyone's idea of a vacation, but to this geek, it's pretty ideal. :D