Back to School?
I had a realization last night when I was battling insomnia (my daughter is starting to get her sleep schedule normalized, now I have to follow suit). The realization was simple: I'm 28 years old, and I've reached the pinnacle of what I can do with my career. I am a teacher - if you didn't know that, then ... Hi, let me introduce myself! I was promoted last year to the Team Leader of an ESL program. Now that I've gotten into that kind of a leadership role, all the moves I can make are lateral moves. I could be a department head of another department. I could move into administration eventually, but at my level would start as and continually be a peon with low pay and zero status.
So, of course, it's time for me to start thinking about going back to school. I'm not satisfied with my career capping out before I'm even 30. Maybe some people are satisfied with that, and good for them. Additionally, I don't want to be in the classroom for the rest of my life. To achieve any sort of career satisfaction, I need more education.
So last night, I did some research into Masters and Doctoral programs in my area and online. There is actually one that really caught my eye - Master of Art in Education / Curriculum and Instruction, with a specialization in English as a Second Language. Now, Texas is a state in which we have had so many immigrants flood the cities that ESL is basically a golden ticket. Just being ESL certified (which I already am) is enough to almost guarantee you a job in any district. That Master of Art degree would be enough to get me moving in an upward direction again, and it also allows me several different options as far as doctoral work later on. From there, I could go into more Curriculum and Instruction or Educational Leadership, or even make a side trip over to English Literature.
It interested me enough that I sent off for the literature. Let's hope that I can actually make it through applying this time.
So, of course, it's time for me to start thinking about going back to school. I'm not satisfied with my career capping out before I'm even 30. Maybe some people are satisfied with that, and good for them. Additionally, I don't want to be in the classroom for the rest of my life. To achieve any sort of career satisfaction, I need more education.
So last night, I did some research into Masters and Doctoral programs in my area and online. There is actually one that really caught my eye - Master of Art in Education / Curriculum and Instruction, with a specialization in English as a Second Language. Now, Texas is a state in which we have had so many immigrants flood the cities that ESL is basically a golden ticket. Just being ESL certified (which I already am) is enough to almost guarantee you a job in any district. That Master of Art degree would be enough to get me moving in an upward direction again, and it also allows me several different options as far as doctoral work later on. From there, I could go into more Curriculum and Instruction or Educational Leadership, or even make a side trip over to English Literature.
It interested me enough that I sent off for the literature. Let's hope that I can actually make it through applying this time.