WEEK #2 = STILL AWESOME AND BY THE WAY - HAPPY NATIONAL TALK LIKE A PIRATE DAY - ARRRR!

I am SO excited.  I taught 6th and 7th grade pronunciation today, and 8th grade I reviewed basic grammatical concepts.  Apparently their last teacher had no idea how to teach Latin and tried to shove it down as quickly as he could without explaining things or attempting to make it fun/alive/relatable.  He went through 3 declensions in 1 marking period (and they had the class 1x a week, so that's like 12 classes). The 8th grade was feeling demoralized because they always had done so poorly in Latin.  Hopefully, I can turn that around.

Today went soooo well.  I am having problems with people talking in class, but I am following my classroom management guide and I'm keeping track of who is talking/when per class.  I'm starting to remember people's names, which makes it easier, but I still don't know enough names that I can't pinpoint which Jake* is talking.  (* name which no student of mine has)  I'm trying really hard to bring creativity into this subject, but it's really difficult with the boring stuff that's out there.  What I'm thinking I may have them do for extra credit is to research Roman clothing and headgear/dress and come in on Halloween wearing them (when they have their test).  I think that would work really well! I'm planning on having 1 extra credit project every marking period.

I think I have finally mastered google sites... that was such a pain.  Blogger is much more user-friendly.

I have to tutor another student tonight (through Wyzant) for Latin. YAY

YAY!!!

Okay, so first with the bad/annoying news...

I've been trying to complete the requirements of my CE.  I have to complete a 4-hour observation - yet, I've been having a very annoying time trying to get it done.  The problem isn't finding a willing teacher - it's finding a willing administration.  Ugh. I would be done before lunchtime.  More on that to come when I'm not so tired/busy.

My first day last week was AWESOME.  I laid (I hope that's the correct use of lay/lie/laid) down the law last week with all the grades and I kept their attention for the full period.  I want to keep up the enthusiasm as much as I can because Latin is worth it!!  Problem is, most resources are either super-boring and really lame or way too scholarly for the kids to enjoy it.  If anyone sees anything fun related to Latin, let me know.  I'm trying to think of fun things to do as a class. In any case, I created a class website and personalized it to be all Roman-like.  I'd provide the URL, but I'd rather it be private for the sake of my students' anonymity.

Tomorrow is my second day.  I have 5 classes - two 8th grades, two 7th grades, and one gigantic 6th grade.  Classroom management will be incredibly essential for the 6th grade.  I'm going to need a seating chart as soon as I possibly can have one - I'm planning to arrange that with the 6th grade teacher.

I just created all my lesson plans for tomorrow, complete with the Classical Language Learning standards they cover.  I have to review Latin with the 8th grade, but everyone else is starting on a clean slate.  Tomorrow, I'll be working on pronunciation and derivations. YAY!

I'll say more tomorrow (or Thursday), but I wanted to give an update! I am very, unbelievably happy with everything I am doing... I do have to admit, though, that I am sorely missing taking classes myself.  

I HAVE A DESK!

I AM GOING TO BE A PART-TIME LATIN TEACHER AT A CATHOLIC ELEMENTARY SCHOOL!

I start tomorrow!  I am going to teach grades 6-8.  I just got the book today and a planning book so I can record all of my lessons.  It's a once a week position, so I teach all day on Wednesday and then I'm free to do other things during the week.

So these are the teacher-y things that I'm doing so far:

• working part-time at Sylvan Learning during after-school hours
• working on designing the curricula for a charter school for 7th and 8th grade Latin
• tutoring on the side - WyzAnt tutoring is giving me some opportunities
• working part-time at the elementary school teaching Latin to 6-8 grades

I'm also concurrently working on my certification and I am almost complete with the paperwork needed to be a substitute teacher.  I am registering for the 24-hour class requirement for the CEs.  In some way, I'm glad that I didn't get a full-time position after I already accepted the other part-time jobs.  I have a lot of good things that are very complementary (not "complimentary" - "Hi, nice dress you've got there") and are giving me experience that money can't buy. 

I'm excited! 

Another Interview

I think this makes it Interview #9?  I can't remember anymore.  Interview #8 wasn't an interview; I was just collecting the materials for curricula writing, but I'm counting it because I wore the suit and drove to a different school. Anyway, Interview #9 is this afternoon at 2 pm.

This is for a position as a middle school Language Arts/Latin teacher at a Catholic school.  This is pretty much my last hurrah (or so I would think!) in terms of trying to get behind a desk for the fall.  My dad found out about this opening while he was at a funeral - a priest there knew that this principal was looking for someone.  The Latin teacher part is once a week to 8th graders (they already have Spanish twice a week).  They take languages seriously when considering who to put on the honor roll there, so even though its taught once a week, maybe the kids will be motivated.  They have a lot of technology and there is a lot of diversity in the student population (because of the local area).  I am not sure about EPICS at this point... I don't know if they would consider me "hopelessly behind" or what.

I feel pretty chaotic right now.  I started at Sylvan and it's going pretty well!  They are in accord with the core curriculum standards and the training is good because it covers things I would learn as an English teacher.  Yesterday they surprised me with my own table on day #3!  It's a lot like my last job, so I feel pretty comfortable with the work they expect of me; there's just a few ins and outs that I don't know yet because they're very structured and I haven't quite gotten used to how things go there.  I like it, though - it has a LOT of support for the teachers and their methods are extremely effective (I know this from my experience teaching kids).  I can literally walk into the building and do my job, and do it well.  It's great!  The curriculum that I'm designing, I've been pretty much looking over the material and such and I am going to start on that either today or tomorrow... things have just been hectic. Just Monday, I tutored a girl for 3 hours. I signed up for the pre-service 24 hour class for the alternate route process - I just need to make payment on that. Beyond that, I got my criminal history background check back, and the government says I'm able to work in a school district, so I can continue on with trying to get my sub license etc. I just have so many different things working for me at once! I also have a lead on a high school English teacher job down by Rutgers which I am in the process of applying for.

I also have to say that I'm a little heartbroken because Rutgers just started their class schedule on Tuesday... last year, I would've been going to class.  I miss studying (remember my confession about loving homework from my earliest posts?).  I feel disconnected. Sure, I'm getting enough sleep and exercise and being productive.  I guess ya'll down at Rutgers took a piece of me when I was leaving.

Alternate Headaches

This is what you get when you try to go alternate route.  To save anyone else from the enormous headache that I am having and massive confusion, I am going to dedicate a post (especially once I have completed the process) to help others considering the same path.  Now, because I haven't finished this process, my headaches aren't completely gone, and there is the caveat that there are specific requirements for different subjects. I'm going to lay these out as best as I can for now, and I'll let you know in an update post how things *actually* are.

1. Thinking about teaching? 

To make sure you want to be a teacher, I recommend getting tutoring experience and taking at least one education class to get the idea of the field and how it works.  Teaching is NOT for everyone - trust me, it's not.  You really have to have a gift/desire for it.  It's not a 9-5 job where you come home at the end of the day and can unwind and not have to worry about work until the next day.  It follows you everywhere. So work on getting experience. Get your substitute teaching license (this will be a post for another day... there is also a lengthy, hairy process to this as well!).  Anything that puts you in a classroom. You'll make some money and decide whether or not it's for you. I also recommend trying out different types of internships in fields you're potentially interested in, too, just to be well-rounded.

2. You want to be a teacher!

I'll assume for now that you want to become a teacher.  There are two ways you can go for now:

• You're a happy undergraduate.  Easy - just apply for a MA in Education for your subject! They will take care of everything for you.
  
  or
  
• You're a happy undergraduate. You're more concerned with graduating on time, since the economy is bad and your loan payments are starting to pile up.  It's senior year and you have no idea what you're doing next year, but you found out that you want to teach. You've decided to just go ahead and graduate and worry about those requirements later. (Option C also includes people who switch to the teaching profession, but they fall into Option B territory)

I recommend option A, but hindsight is 20-20.  In fact, I did try for option A, but that option caved.  I decided not to do the GSE or the Classics MAT program because I didn't want to be a full-time student for another 2 years while my dad is unemployed, plus I wanted to get started with living my own life and becoming independent, etc. So, now I'm stuck with option B.  If you're in option A, everything is golden and rosy - you just have to find that job once you graduate with your MA. 

For people like me who end up in option B, you still need to go back to school, almost to the same level as the people in option A.  The fun part is that you get a job while you're doing year 2 and you can skip student teaching and can pay back your loans (yay!).  The sad part is that all the paperwork that a program does for you?  You have to do it yourself.  It's like experiencing the infamous "RU screw" every day (Rutgers students/alums know what I'm talking about).  At least I can say Rutgers prepared me for the real world. Anyway, ultimately, people in option B oftentimes opt to get a MAT or something like that because they take enough classes to almost have one, they figure why would I not opt for having a masters degree??

3. Option B

So, let's assume you're stuck in option B.  This is where it gets very difficult to understand.  You have suddenly a lot of paperwork to do and you're not sure what is a prerequisite to what or why suddenly $300 is going to the state for... something.  I'm going to try to lay out the process as simply as I can, because the state makes it very obscure. 

*Caveat: this is only for the state of NJ. 

*Caveat: I am getting certified in English/Latin at the secondary school level.  Yes, it matters by subject and grade level. There are more layers of complication, so I am going to assume that you're someone going for English or Latin (which is a very unique "world language").  

First things first. You need to be familiar these websites: 

• New Pathways to Teaching in New Jersey - this lays out the alternate route process and the different dates classes are offered. 
• New Jersey Licensure & Credentials (NJDOE) - this website lays out specific requirements for all the different CEs in NJ.  CE means "Certificate of Eligibility".  This is what you are aiming to get ultimately because without it, you cannot legally be hired by a public school in the state of NJ. You might think, "I can bypass that by going to Catholic schools!" Actually, they care just as much about having you certified and being qualified to teach their students.  Trust me, I went on 7 interviews, 6 of them at Catholic schools.  They want to see that you're serious about being certified, especially in the more popular subject areas where you will have competition (English, Social Studies). 
• Apply Online for your CE - you need to apply online for your CE.  CEs that require a Praxis II exam cost $190, and any other CE that doesn't require one costs $170.  Pretty much expect the higher price.  

4. Initial Questions... 

Got all those websites in mind?  Okay, question time: 

1. Did I graduate with 30+ credits in my intended subject field, with at least 12 credits at the upper level (300-400)?

2. Did I have a GPA higher than 2.75?

3. Do I have my BA?  

If you said "yes" to all three questions, YOU CAN APPLY ONLINE FOR YOUR CE!!!!  (YAY!) They recommend that you apply just so you have a tracking number, which you get after you apply. 

5. Where to go from there: the Praxis II and the 24-hour class*

• After you get your tracking number, I recommend that you take the Praxis II test for your relevant subject area.  The ETS website allows you to register online. *Caveat: there are multiple Praxis tests.  Before you register and lay down a whole wad of money, make sure you are registering for the CORRECT test.  The ETS website allows you to look by state for the required test, but I recommend asking a real person rather than trusting in the website. Ask someone from a reputable education program, or someone else who is getting certified in exactly the same field as you are.  You can also look on the DOE website provided/call help numbers listed.*  Another warning: unlike the GRE, Praxis tests aren't offered every day.  The English Praxis I took is offered only 7 times a year. Therefore, if you are taking a Praxis test, don't expect to be able to just take the test whenever you want. So, sign up for the correct Praxis, study, take the test, do well, get your score report. You're allowed to take it again if you fail, but if you are fresh out of college/studied well enough, you should do well.
  
• In the meantime, before you mail in all the documents for your CE, look at the first website I provided. You have to find out where/when the 24-hour pre-service requirement is being offered so you can take it.  You NEED this in order to get your CE. *Caveat: there are more classes needed for someone who wants to do elementary education/special education*.  These are usually offered at a county college.  The NPTNJ website lists the schools and where they are being offered. When you find out when/where a 24-hour class is being offered, you should sign up for it.  YOU CANNOT GET YOUR CE WITHOUT TAKING THIS CLASS. You need to have a certificate saying, "Yes, I completed this class." 

6. After the Praxis/24-hour class.

Once you have your Praxis II scores and your 24-hour class done, you can finally send your documents in to the state!  What these documents are: 

• Oath of Allegiance (notarized) - you can go to a bank where they have someone who notarizes things and they have to watch you sign it etc
• ALL transcripts, with degree indicated on them
• Praxis II scores
• Program completion certificate

There are other things on the checklist, but most of them do not apply to me and I don't have the paper on hand. Mail the transcripts to yourself, because the state is disorganized and they will lose things more likely if you do not keep them all in one place.  

Then you have to wait.  Once you get your CE, you can begin the alternate route process!!!  This means that you just have to sign up for Stage 1 (listed on the NPTNJ website).  Schools prefer if you have Stage 1 out of the way because they don't want to have to pay for you to go to school.  When it's time for Stage 2, you have to find employment because that's just how life is.  You can't complete Stage 2 without a job.  Just a note: once you have your CE, you can legally be employed in a public school.  

I hope this was clear.  I'll summarize: 

1. Obtain CE. This means take your Praxis II, take the 24 hour class, get all your paperwork in, and wait. 

2. Sign up for Stage 1.  

3. Sign up for Stage 2, after you found employment in a school.