Comments | outofreality23: Change of Pace

outofreality23

Change of Pace

Aug 09, 2007 03:53

I've decided that this coming school year will be my last to teach in my current position. I currently teach 5th/6th grade music & choir, which I enjoy to a certain extent, but it's certainly not what I set out to do in this life.

So I'm moving on.

I've got two options I'm very interested in pursuing.

OPTION 1: Teach abroad for a year (most likely ( Read more... )

Comments 16

Hopefully my 'nuggets' of insight aren't too excessive - oops johnrye August 9 2007, 15:26:50 UTC

If you do choose to go back to grad school, it is better going sooner than later. The longer you may prolong it the less likely it tends to happen. At least you do have some work experience under you. Recently many grad schools are requiring students to leave, get a job, and then come back. That happened to my friend at A&M and my cousin. That and from my experience, work experience seems to trump schooling (but then again I haven't looked in the teaching field yet ( ... )

Re: Hopefully my 'nuggets' of insight aren't too excessive - oops outofreality23 August 9 2007, 20:17:02 UTC

Yeah, I wondered about the financial reality of teaching abroad. My parents aren't so much in a position to help me out, so I'd pretty much be on my own in terms of money... Something to consider. Thanks for bringing that point up.

From what I can tell just in my preliminary searches, you are right about some of the grad schools wanting work experience, but as you said, the longer I wait the less likely it is that I'll do it. Plus, I've got four years under my belt now. That's not so bad, but I guess it depends on what they're lookig for.

Thanks for the input! :-)

Re: Hopefully my 'nuggets' of insight aren't too excessive - oops johnrye August 13 2007, 05:32:59 UTC

No prob. Good luck.

trixiebella August 9 2007, 15:59:34 UTC

i'm going to have to disagree with sean up above. just based on my experiences up here in the north and my own thoughts about pursuing a masters in theatre ed, the really top-notch programs are super competitive and don't want people who are fresh out of college and without a lot of work experience. they like to see that people have been working in the field a bit and can apply their own experiences in the classroom towards their degree, which you certainly could do with your experience. i think it's different with more academic masters, like playwriting and theatre history and stuff like that......but for theatre ed and directing and arts management and things like that, the more experience you can put on your application, the better off you'll be. that's just my gist on the whole thing. i'm sure that someone much more qualified will chime in (aka RICK).

that said, nyu has got a really great program in theatre ed. super expensive, but super great.

outofreality23 August 9 2007, 20:20:20 UTC

Yeah, NYU's program looks amazing! Competitive and expensive, but amazing... I'd love to go there.

I've this year will be my fourth year of teaching, so if I teach abroad for a year and then apply for schools my resume' won't look too shabby. Now it's just a question of where to get the money!

Thanks for the feedback, Spring. I figured stuff up north probably operated a little differently, but I didn't know how. Thanks for the heads-up!

redhairedgirl26 August 9 2007, 16:54:39 UTC

You seem like you are perfect for grad school. Plus I agree with what Spring said above.

But do you think the teaching problem is the grade level? Or that it is music and not theater that you are teaching? Just curious.

redhairedgirl26 August 9 2007, 20:27:29 UTC

And I don't know about teaching abroad in the UK, but I know people teaching english in Japan and they love it, no clue of the pay other than they are self sustaining. To my understanding all they require is a bachelors degree, does not matter in what. I could find out that info if you were interested.

outofreality23 August 9 2007, 20:29:46 UTC

I think it's mostly the fact that it's music and not theatre. Every time I go to a music vertical team meeting or TMEA convention I'm terrified they're gonna find out I've been faking it all this time!! LOL Really though, I just kind of feel like my time here is done. I enjoyed the younger kids more than I thought I would, but strange as it sounds I miss teaching high school. And I miss teaching a subject I can actually pretend to know something about.

Thanks for the encouragement about grad school. I feel like I've been out of the academic loop for a while, so I want to be sure I'm not totally delusional. Thanks Jenn!

weasel_1313 August 9 2007, 17:34:10 UTC

christina will be back on Saturday she just finished theatre ed at NYU you should talk to her about what she thought

don't you have a show coming up?

outofreality23 August 9 2007, 20:31:11 UTC

Yeah, definitely! I absolutely should talk to her about it...

I do have a show coming up. But I'm not so much eager for my friends to see this one.

weasel_1313 August 9 2007, 21:21:49 UTC

we're bar hopping saturday

holla at ya boy

_weeone August 9 2007, 18:06:38 UTC

I think if you are ready for a change then do it now. Don't stay in this job any longer or you may truly come to dislike everything about it. I think either option is great. Financially both ways will be something you will need to look at. I am applying to schools this fall for fall of 08 to begin my MFA program in Directing. Whether you go for MA or MFA depends on what you want to do with it. Would you be interested in teaching at the college level? Also look for programs that offer an assistantship. You have to have 15 hours of graduate work but once you do many of the assistantships waive tuition and give you a stipend. A year abroad would not look bad on a resume either. I think you have many options and plenty of time to choose but don't stay where you are if you are not happy.

outofreality23 August 9 2007, 20:38:47 UTC

It's not that I'm miserable where I am, I just know that my time here is done, if that makes sense. I enjoy my kiddos, and I adore the people I teach with. I just want to do something I actually KNOW, and get back to working with older students.

That's awesome that you're doing your MFA for Directing! You'll be great!! I'd like to have the option of teaching at the college level some day, so even if I do the MA I can still keep my options open for either a PhD or MFA later on. I wouldn't want to do college until I'm a good bit older--no one is going to take me seriously when I still look and sound like a 12yr. old.

How do you find out which places offer assistanships? I've only done cursory searches so far--will it tell me in the literature, or will I have to ask specifically?

Thanks for the help, Shari. It's good to hear from someone who's been there (and is on a similar road!). :-)