posted
I've been studying the requirements for getting my degree in elementary education and talking to people, including an advisor at the university I want to transfer to.
Here's the deal - in order to be admitted to the teacher education program I have to have 60 hours of undergrad work. I also have to apply one semester before I intend to enter, and there is a mandatory course I must take that semester. It's only offered fall and spring, not in the summer. I also must have observation time in an elementary classroom, which of course I can't do in the summer.
Since there are other courses in the education program later on that are not offered in the summer (many classes in the upper level have practicum requirements that must be met while local schools are in session), I may be putting my graduation date off by an entire year if I apply just one semester later.
I don't want to be in a position where I'm sitting on my hands not taking any courses because I didn't apply to the program in the right semester. Yet, to get the necessary number of hours under my belt so I can apply this fall and be admitted Spring 2006 is going to take some major commitment on my part.
Here's what I'd need to do: Take one 3 hour class in the May miniterm. Take 4 classes this summer, one of which is a science class with a lab, so a total of 13 hours. Take another 13 hours in the fall, plus the teacher's program orientation course, plus the classroom observation requirements.
I'm taking 9 hours right now, and I'm doing fine. I've made an A on every quiz taken so far and I've turned in every assignment on time. However, I'm not taking any math or science right now and in the summer I'll be taking physics AND calculus. That makes me nervous.
The summer will have challenges, with all four kids being home all day, but it will also have a calmer evening schedule - without all the kids extracurricular activities. (right now I'm ferrying one kid to ballet on Monday and Wednesday afternoons and another one to gymnastics on Tuesdays and Thursday evenings)
The fall schedule will be more manageable, because I'll be able to take classes during the daytime, but will still require taking an advanced math and a science in the same semester.
My husband says go for it. I would love to do it, it means finishing earlier and getting a job sooner. But, let's just say I don't have a huge amount of confidence in myself when it comes to school right now, despite the fact that I'm doing well so far.
Posts: 14428 | Registered: Aug 2001
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posted
Go for it, Belle. If you find it too hard in the summer, drop a class and you'll know it won't work out for the fall, but yeah, try it. You might surprise yourself. Posts: 9871 | Registered: Aug 2001
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I'd check out the physics course before enrolling in it. While there are beginning "physics for LiberalArts" that are supposed to be easier, beginning physics for science majors requires working with derivatives and integrals, ie calculus.
Also, how are you with geometry and trigonometry as far as current knowlege? Though a calculus course is passable without current fluency, it's a whole heck of a lot less work if you can drag stuff learned in those courses out of the back of your mind. Then again, I've also heard that there are "math for LiberalArts" (including calculus) courses which are considerably easier. Not suggesting that you should retake those subjects if you don't remember them well, but a light review before the first calculus class might getcha back into the "ya always remember how to ride a bicycle" type of familiarity sose ya don't get blindsided by the calculus course.
posted
There are two physics courses, and one requires calculus. I'm planning on taking the one that does not.
My husband is the one who is encouraging me to take calculus. He is one class shy of a math degree, and is very good at teaching it. He is confident I can get through calculus easily.
I'm planning on picking up a calculus text for homeschoolers, and working my way through the workbook before I take it. In fact, I need to order it.
Posts: 14428 | Registered: Aug 2001
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I don't know if anyone remembers Fael, my aunt who used to post here. She's working on getting her master's and found herself in a statistics course at the graduate level that assumed a knowledge of calculus, which she had never taken.
She was lost, and panicking, when I suggested she come over and spend some time with Wes. She stayed at our house for about six hours, getting a crash course in calculus and statistics, and made an A in the course.
My husband really, really needs to become a teacher when he retires from the fire department. At the fire station where he works, a couple of kids hang out there after school, and when he began taking an interest in their math homework and working with them, both boys wound up passing algebra which each one had previously failed. One of them said "Lt., I never could get math before you explained it to me." His Dad, my father-in-law spent over 40 years as a math teacher, so I guess it rubbed off on him somehow.
Posts: 14428 | Registered: Aug 2001
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Fael is doing great by the way, she just got accepted for an internship that will pay for a good bit of her tuition. She is extremely busy, but loving it.
She's my inspiration, whenever I think "Why am I going back to school at age 33?" I remember that she didn't start back until she was 50.
Posts: 14428 | Registered: Aug 2001
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posted
This is supposedly the most depressing week of the year. So if you are willing to countenance it now, it is probably something you are capable of. And as was mentioned, if you have to drop a class you are not that much worse off. Do you have trouble with procrastination at all? That would be my problem- getting into due dates for too many things and freaking out. If you are good at disciplining your efforts, I'd say you are set. But if you know you have trouble with procrastination, it might be better to be less aggressive.
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