Grad School

I just had to get that "Watcher in the Woods" picture outta there, thanks Marcie.  So time to post. 

This is a picture of my little Lappy.  We bought it on craiglist lasvegas last summer for $280.  It is an iBook G4.  It is older than Isaac.  When it's closed it's approximately the height of a hamburger.  The buttons have a nice chunky click when pressed, as opposed to Ephraim's slick mac book pro which has a quiet humming keyboard.  The lower third of the track pad is a fat mouse bar that clunks when pushed.  It has a 12" screen which means most applications spread off the screen.  The plug is wonky, the CD drive is skippy, it has no camera, and it can't keep up with too many opened applications.  But it's mine!  And I love it!

And I'm applying to grad school.  So Lappy might really come in handy.

I'm going to tell you more about grad school.  I wrote Katie an email about it just now and then I thought, it's something I'd tell all of you if we were sitting around the living room together. So here's more...
 
i should find out about grad school by the end of the month.  maybe.  the program is two years.  as for day-to-day, i have to "attend" an online class every monday afternoon and one wednesday a month.  meaning i have to sit in front of the computer.  it seems i'll be doing projects related to things i'm already doing at the school--grant proposals, assessments, lessons, activities, observations, etc.  at the end of the program i have to submit a portfolio, like mom did.  i'm hoping i can just be working on it the whole time, so it wont' be too horrible at the end.  and graduation is aug 2014.  sounds so far away.  but ephraim's job is going great and is stable, and we're saving money for a house, so why move?

if i get accepted to grad school, i have to have regular interaction with students in grades 4-10, so i'll probably have to continue doing something with the school.  it's good.  it's my contribution.  i'll get to watch it flourish.

so why am i even applying to grad school?  well, for a few reasons.  having a masters degree and a teaching certificate will let me make more money when i have to work.  we're still planning on living in hawaii, but to afford a house there we'll probably have to have dual income.  so when my little ones are in school i can work at the school with them.  that's the major reason.  so we can afford to live in hawaii.  another reason is because it will be FREE because ephraim's a UH employee.  which is pretty amazing.  another reason is so i can do what i've been doing a lot better than how i've been doing it!  i'm already writing lesson plans, mapping curriculum, writing grant proposals and reports, promoting the school, doing classroom management, working with sped, creating standards based assessments,  and working with parents.  if i had been trained to do this, i'd be a lot better at it.  and i'd be less intimidated and make less mistakes.

oh, something funny about my application.  it was supposed to be due March 1st.  I had it all ready to go the week before (it should've been the month before, i know).  But since mail only goes out twice a week here, I decided to give it to my friend to give to her son to take on the plane to Hawaii on Sunday night to put in the mailbox Monday morning.  on monday morning, guess who i saw driving around town?  the son.  he didn't go on the plane.  so i asked who took it, and it was some person, you know, what's his name, who left last night.  okay!  so hopefully what's his name will remember to stick it in a mailbox somewhere in hawaii. 

later that week guess what I learned... the price of stamps went up.  how was i supposed to know that stamps went up?!  all my envelopes had 44cent stamps.  my letters of recommendation, my application, they'd all have to be returned to me (which could take a month) and then i'd have to send them out again (another month).  So i shot an email to the department office and they were so kind and understanding and even extended the due date to April 1st.  yay!  So, i just resent all the documents today--with proper postage-- and hopefully we're good to go!

Me and lil Lappy will keep you posted.