The beginning of a new semester seems to bring a certain amount of overwhelming emotion: anxiety, excitement, fear, worry, tiredness, etc. Now that our first week back is over, I'm feeling much more confident and relaxed.
We started out just doing PQA, to get students interested and to review. After all, PQA is the best and easiest thing ever. The students are interested because we're talking about them all the time, but just using different structures. It's easy to review and introduce using PQA.
I was really starting to feel overwhelmed though as I was looking at my vocab lists from last year. Since this is my first year with TPRS, I started paring down my lists into the 2000 most frequent words in the language. It's really difficult to do because of the fear of my colleagues thinking poorly of me for teaching fewer words. It's overwhelming to look at a list of 500 words and think "I have to teach all of these".
But while driving home, I realized that during last semester, and even at the end I felt wonderful for doing this thing. I know my students knew the "vocab" better than they ever had, and that they had tasted true success in Spanish. I know that it works better for me to teach fewer things, way more in depth than a ton of things not at all.
Showing posts with label indecision. Show all posts
Showing posts with label indecision. Show all posts
Friday, January 7, 2011
Thursday, June 24, 2010
The next step...
Recently I've been thinking about taking the next step with my own education. I've played with the idea of getting my masters in Spanish, Educational Technology or Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment. Early on, I threw out the idea of Educational Technology because 1) I can keep up with technology if I make an effort, 2) by the time I graduate with the degree, all my knowledge will be obsolete.
I narrowed it down to Spanish and CIA. I'd love to get my masters in Spanish because I had a professor in college that I really enjoyed who taught Spanish majors how to be Spanish teachers. I've entertained the idea of doing the same myself. However, I've recently (ie only yesterday it dawned on me...) realized that I LOVE PLANNING! I really am interested in finding out today's best practices and how to make these even better. I'd like to be in the classroom for awhile longer, perhaps much longer. So my indecision here, doesn't help me decide which one is a better choice.
Therefore, I look at the structure of the programs available to me for these masters. The trouble with these two options are that they are only offered at certain schools. In order to get my masters in Spanish, I will have to go to UNC for three summers in a row leaving behind my life. However, I will not have to work on my masters during the school year and I will get to travel abroad. For my CIA masters, I will have to attend Regis for two full years in a cohort program completing a course every 8 weeks. For this option, I have to work and go to school; but I will complete my program quicker without having to leave my life.
I'm currently leaning toward the CIA program. I feel like it fits my passion for planning and being in the classroom more closely than the Spanish program does. It also isn't dragging out the process of getting the masters degree either. I always prefer long-distance endurance to sprints.
Thus, the last problem: if I am to get my CIA degree in a convenient setting, I'd have to start it August 30. I'm not sure if it's a good idea during my second year of teaching to take on such a project along with planning my wedding and possibly moving. But I do enjoy a challenge and being busy. So I think I might just do it.
I narrowed it down to Spanish and CIA. I'd love to get my masters in Spanish because I had a professor in college that I really enjoyed who taught Spanish majors how to be Spanish teachers. I've entertained the idea of doing the same myself. However, I've recently (ie only yesterday it dawned on me...) realized that I LOVE PLANNING! I really am interested in finding out today's best practices and how to make these even better. I'd like to be in the classroom for awhile longer, perhaps much longer. So my indecision here, doesn't help me decide which one is a better choice.
Therefore, I look at the structure of the programs available to me for these masters. The trouble with these two options are that they are only offered at certain schools. In order to get my masters in Spanish, I will have to go to UNC for three summers in a row leaving behind my life. However, I will not have to work on my masters during the school year and I will get to travel abroad. For my CIA masters, I will have to attend Regis for two full years in a cohort program completing a course every 8 weeks. For this option, I have to work and go to school; but I will complete my program quicker without having to leave my life.
I'm currently leaning toward the CIA program. I feel like it fits my passion for planning and being in the classroom more closely than the Spanish program does. It also isn't dragging out the process of getting the masters degree either. I always prefer long-distance endurance to sprints.
Thus, the last problem: if I am to get my CIA degree in a convenient setting, I'd have to start it August 30. I'm not sure if it's a good idea during my second year of teaching to take on such a project along with planning my wedding and possibly moving. But I do enjoy a challenge and being busy. So I think I might just do it.
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