Skinny Jeans & a Chai Latte: Details.

Monday, November 15, 2010

Details.

The title of this post is deceiving. You may be thinking I'd post some pretty house pictures with details of small things that are fabulous. Instead it's the little details in my mind I need to post about. My mind is reeling. Now that I found out the interview is a no-go, I need to start figuring out my next moves! What I do know is this:

I do not want to teach what I am teaching now again (7th and 8th grade Math and Language Arts)
I do want to teach elementary school
I am interested in teaching "life skills" within an elementary school (extremely low functioning children who are most likely severely disabled in one or more areas...intelligence, learning, physically, etc.)
I could love it or hate it (teaching life skills)

So...I'm a little stumped. I know very few of you know about/care about any of this; however it is a big/expensive decision. Once I finish my teaching certification (in general special education), I can taking a teaching knowledge test, the Praxis, to gain additional certification areas. Last summer I passed the Middle Grades Language Arts and Math Praxis tests. The problem is that each test costs about $70-90 a pop plus a $50 registration fee. WTF?! If I wanted to take the elementary tests (two required) to enable myself to teach K-6 grades (regular education not special), I would have to dish out over $200. If I want to take the Praxis to teach life skills (which is different than my current special education certification), I'd have to take another $100+ test. I need to choose! I still think I would love teaching special education, but I long to have that classroom full of students of my own that stay with me almost all day. There is still a larger probability of special education job openings, but I want to be available for any elementary position. Ah....decisions.

Just a few reasons why I HAVE to teach elementary school...