Ah, developments
Things always somehow remain semi-exciting. Always new problems, new solutions. Fun fun.
So...I may be changing my major. Yeah, this late in the game too. I'm already like a Junior. A 24 soon to be 25 year old Junior in college. :-/ Not quite sure how I should feel about that. Goddamn, when I did become such a loser?
Anyways, I may be changing to a History major. Not really that big of a deal. From Secondary Ed: History to History is relatively minor. And its more for institutional reasons than any kind of life/career re-evaluation. I'm still going to teach, and I still want to be a teacher just as much. However, due to the Field Experience office bungling and fucking things up so bad, I'm incredibly fed up with them. And the counselors for putting me on the wrong track in the first place all that time ago. And now because of the 2 out of 2 relatively shitty and unhelpful placement teachers they have put me with. I just generally realizing that the ASU College of Ed sucks some major ass. At least for me. So fuck em!
Though a strong part of it comes from my recent experience in my culture and schooling class. We were looking at schools and how they reproduce society, and me being the ever critical one, took it upon myself to apply the lens to ASU. So what kind of teacher is ASU trying to reproduce? Unfortunately, my examination yielded rather disappointing results. For the most part, methods and edu classes here teach you crap. They teach you this whole authoritarian, babysitting, top-down methodology of learning. And they teach you 30,000 strategies to make lesson plans, class manage, and generally waste the prescribe amount of time. That's all utter bullshit. And not teaching. A good example of this is in my Learning and Instruction class. We've spent weeks now on assessment. And testing, and how to test and what they mean and how to create tests. Practicing how to make multiple choice, matching, essay etc. And it all flies in the face of what I've learned about educational philosophy. In fact, due to what I've learned about edu philosophy, I'm not going to use a multiple choice test if my life depends on it. They're bullshit. And I know that before I even am a teacher. They were bullshit when I was doing them as a student. Whats more, its debatable that assessment in that manner can even measure learning. Or what exactly it is measuring in its stead. I refuse to do something that is so disconnected from the learning experience. Fucking shenanigans. I'm shocked and dismayed at the distance in this school of the methods and practical applications of the classroom and the educational philosophy and ideologies at its heart. It disgusts me. And is abhorrent to me as an aspiring educator. Why would any real educator worth their education want to learn methods of wasting class time? WHAT THE FUCK?!?! What idiocy. And what a contradiction of purpose and teaching.
That last reason is perhaps the most important factor of why I want to bypass that whole nonsense and try to circumvent the system. I am concerned that if I go through that, how it will change me. How it might teach me bad habits and cause me to rely on 'time wasters' and rigid strategies in moments of difficulty. I really don't want that. The other Ed students I talk to have certainly made it clear the amount of bullshit work they have to do for lesson planning and all that. Plus, I can graduate in History and still become a teacher easily enough. To get certified in AZ you need 30 hours of ED classes, which if I haven't already gotten I am close to. And some practicum experience. Which I can gain as a substitute or as a TA in a master's program. Getting my master's is another part of it. Since I settle on going for it, teaching right after graduation is less imperative. So learning these 'instructional strategies' if they are of any worth (which is debatable) can be delayed. Another thing my cousin told me is to get the degree in the area you want to teach as getting an ED degree doesn't give you the depth of subject. He says that for instance getting a History degree with give you a level of expertise that is important for the classroom, and the practical things will come in the classroom through experience. From what I've seen thus far, that seems to be spoken in wisdom. So thats that. I have an apt tomorrow to talk to History advising to see if I can get this done. It looks like I might even be able to graduate sooner under a History degree. Which is fucking fantastic as tuition increases dramatically. :-(
You know, I've been sick so long with this cold I'm starting to wonder if I have Swine Flu. Lulz. Hope not. My left ear got stuffed up and started hurting when I woke up yesterday and hasn't really gotten any better since then. I don't know why having a cold causes an ear ache. Or if its even related. Random. Anybody know?
I have a big rant coming but not atm. Gotta get the life biz stuff out. Helps ease my stress about it.
So...I may be changing my major. Yeah, this late in the game too. I'm already like a Junior. A 24 soon to be 25 year old Junior in college. :-/ Not quite sure how I should feel about that. Goddamn, when I did become such a loser?
Anyways, I may be changing to a History major. Not really that big of a deal. From Secondary Ed: History to History is relatively minor. And its more for institutional reasons than any kind of life/career re-evaluation. I'm still going to teach, and I still want to be a teacher just as much. However, due to the Field Experience office bungling and fucking things up so bad, I'm incredibly fed up with them. And the counselors for putting me on the wrong track in the first place all that time ago. And now because of the 2 out of 2 relatively shitty and unhelpful placement teachers they have put me with. I just generally realizing that the ASU College of Ed sucks some major ass. At least for me. So fuck em!
Though a strong part of it comes from my recent experience in my culture and schooling class. We were looking at schools and how they reproduce society, and me being the ever critical one, took it upon myself to apply the lens to ASU. So what kind of teacher is ASU trying to reproduce? Unfortunately, my examination yielded rather disappointing results. For the most part, methods and edu classes here teach you crap. They teach you this whole authoritarian, babysitting, top-down methodology of learning. And they teach you 30,000 strategies to make lesson plans, class manage, and generally waste the prescribe amount of time. That's all utter bullshit. And not teaching. A good example of this is in my Learning and Instruction class. We've spent weeks now on assessment. And testing, and how to test and what they mean and how to create tests. Practicing how to make multiple choice, matching, essay etc. And it all flies in the face of what I've learned about educational philosophy. In fact, due to what I've learned about edu philosophy, I'm not going to use a multiple choice test if my life depends on it. They're bullshit. And I know that before I even am a teacher. They were bullshit when I was doing them as a student. Whats more, its debatable that assessment in that manner can even measure learning. Or what exactly it is measuring in its stead. I refuse to do something that is so disconnected from the learning experience. Fucking shenanigans. I'm shocked and dismayed at the distance in this school of the methods and practical applications of the classroom and the educational philosophy and ideologies at its heart. It disgusts me. And is abhorrent to me as an aspiring educator. Why would any real educator worth their education want to learn methods of wasting class time? WHAT THE FUCK?!?! What idiocy. And what a contradiction of purpose and teaching.
That last reason is perhaps the most important factor of why I want to bypass that whole nonsense and try to circumvent the system. I am concerned that if I go through that, how it will change me. How it might teach me bad habits and cause me to rely on 'time wasters' and rigid strategies in moments of difficulty. I really don't want that. The other Ed students I talk to have certainly made it clear the amount of bullshit work they have to do for lesson planning and all that. Plus, I can graduate in History and still become a teacher easily enough. To get certified in AZ you need 30 hours of ED classes, which if I haven't already gotten I am close to. And some practicum experience. Which I can gain as a substitute or as a TA in a master's program. Getting my master's is another part of it. Since I settle on going for it, teaching right after graduation is less imperative. So learning these 'instructional strategies' if they are of any worth (which is debatable) can be delayed. Another thing my cousin told me is to get the degree in the area you want to teach as getting an ED degree doesn't give you the depth of subject. He says that for instance getting a History degree with give you a level of expertise that is important for the classroom, and the practical things will come in the classroom through experience. From what I've seen thus far, that seems to be spoken in wisdom. So thats that. I have an apt tomorrow to talk to History advising to see if I can get this done. It looks like I might even be able to graduate sooner under a History degree. Which is fucking fantastic as tuition increases dramatically. :-(
You know, I've been sick so long with this cold I'm starting to wonder if I have Swine Flu. Lulz. Hope not. My left ear got stuffed up and started hurting when I woke up yesterday and hasn't really gotten any better since then. I don't know why having a cold causes an ear ache. Or if its even related. Random. Anybody know?
I have a big rant coming but not atm. Gotta get the life biz stuff out. Helps ease my stress about it.