Teachers are Professionals

So, I go over a month without posting anything and now have 2 within 10 minutes.

On the first day of class, our professor gave us a link to a video:

I posted it on facebook that day because I thought it was interesting and set the tone for me.

What follows below is my contribution to the class discussion board. We had to read a few different codes of ethics and reflect upon them.  I felt it was important to share here as I continue my journey…

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I really appreciated the You Tube video at the end of the presentation. I posted it on my facebook page and received several positive comments with encouragement from my friends. I feel that the video did a great job of framing my reasons for deciding to become a teacher.

When I completed my undergraduate degree, I thought that I was going to become a high powered (and eventually wealthy) marketing executive. I pursued my MBA to help accomplish that goal. However, my professional career has been largely spent in sales to this point. This is a field that is not respected nor considered ethical by many people. I can appreciate this perspective as there is often a large grey area among sales people.

Teaching is far more straight forward. Many of us are in this program for the sole purpose of obtaining a certification to prove that we have met the minimum qualifications to enter the profession. This is similar to professions like Accountant or Lawyer, occupations considered to be professionals. No such certification exists for marketing and sales so the barrier to entry is very low and set by the individual employer.

Both the PA & NEA ethics shared a reoccurring theme. Essentially, as teachers we are to provide an equal education to all of the students without discriminating or favoring students for any of a variety of reasons and we are not to abuse our authority. I believe these to be fair, reasonable and even noble standards.

Kicking It Old School

The title of this post has a few meanings…

#1
I returned to college to pursue a degree for the 3rd and I think (& hope) the last time last week. I did so by enrolling at one of my “old schools”. I’m once again a Drexel University student. This time I’m pursuing a MS in Instruction. I should complete the requirements of my PA teaching certification by June 2011. I will need a few additional classes to complete the degree and plan to do that immediately after I get certified.

As a returning student, I had to reacclimate to my surroundings. I got a new ID card, dealt with financial aid, visited the student union and bought my books. In the 8 years since I graduated, the school has added and renovated many buildings. Yesterday I went to the library to take a look around and familiarize myself with all of the resources. I was surprised to see that the library has added a Taco Bell. After the shock of seeing fast food tacos in the library wore off, I found a very helpful reference librarian that helped me navigate some important databases. I have a few papers to do this quarter so I want to be prepared.

#2
The early assignments of one of my classes have been all about the history of schools in the US. I guess I always took it for granted that there had always been public schools. However, most of what exists today was created in the 20th century. I watched a video this morning about education from 1770-1890. Things are definitely different now. But, I’m finding the history very interesting.

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I haven’t posted anything in a long time. The process of starting school and now the actual coursework are accounting for a large portion of my time. And I’m only taking 2 classes right now. Over the Summer, I will also start course work at Community College to fulfill some of the certification requirements. Before that I need to take a standardized test called the Praxis and obtain all of my clearances. (Later today I get fingerprinted).

I enjoy posting here and it is an easy way to update all of my friends, so I will continue to do so.

Back to School

The last week has been interesting (and not just because of the 4 feet of snow). Between blizzards I went to meet with a career counselor. It wasn’t really what I expected and felt more like psychoanalysis than career research. I spent about 90 minutes discussing my background and trying to find out what new career path might be a good fit. The counselor asked me if I really wanted to abandon marketing. Oh boy, back to square one again!

I understand where he was coming from. If you look at my resume, you see that I have a BS in Marketing and an MBA in Marketing. On top of that, there is the last 12 years of experience in sales. But if I wanted to stay in marketing or sales, I wouldn’t have paid to get career suggestions. I asked for a list of hot careers and suggestions that might work and he suggested a government website. All in all it was a waste of time and money.

Here is what I “learned”… Applying for jobs online is useless. There are too many applicants to make it through the clutter. The only way to get a job now is to network and have the job before you apply. So, you need to make a full time job out of meeting people to find a job, while not telling them you want to work for them. Then hoping that when they have an opening that they’ll remember you. That just doesn’t sound like fun. But it’s the way things work now. I was also reminded that we are now expected to cycle through 9 different companies over our working lives.

I would probably have left very dejected, except that I had already scheduled my 2nd appointment of the day. When I finished grad school, I was very excited that my days as a college students were over. So, it was a little surreal returning to the Drexel campus. However, as I walked across the quad to the advising offices for the College of Education, it started to feel right. I met with my advisor and mapped out the classes I need to take to get my teaching certification. Between the 8 graduate and 8 undergraduate classes I need to take, I’m going to very busy for the next 16 months. It’s an aggressive schedule but if I want to be be able to get a teaching job for 2011-12 school year, I need to finish by then. All of that just earns me certification. To get a second Masters degree I’ll need to take 2 more classes, but I’ll do that after I get my certificate.

The big question remains, is this the right career move? There is no way to be sure, but I’ve been feeling boxed in and not sure why. One of my friends summed it up well saying that I’m too “overeducated & under-experienced” to start in a new field. It seems teaching may be the exception to this rule as they look for varied outside experience.

As you can tell by now, I’m planning to go forth and teach unless something else comes along to change my mind. One of the final confirmations was an aptitude test that I took. It listed the characteristics of my ideal job:

Lets you earn increasing levels of responsibility.

Gives you people to manage, and they respect your authority.

Provides you specific, measurable expectations.

Lets you work within a clear hierarchy.

Lets you work systematically.

Provides a secure, predictable career path.

Credits you for your experience.

I think that these match up fairly well with teaching. But we shall see. For now it’s time for me to hit the books (& the Financial Aid Office).
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This is by far my longest post to date, but I had a lot to say. I’ll try to keep it shorter in the future. This is why I want to teach math and not English

Bring Out Your Dead

So, I just attended a convention for my fraternity today. I was asked to sit on a panel of distinguished alumni and I facilitated another session.

I need to start with the mind blowing fact that I was on a panel of “distinguished” anything. I guess to a room full of college students, a 35 year old is viewed as old & experienced. This is evidenced by one question we were asked:  “Do you think that you’ve reached your peak of success?”

Wow! I think she was ready to cart me off. I wanted to yell “I’m not dead yet!” But I restrained myself & reframed the question in a more philosophical way. First, I challenged the definition of success. I explained that my definition at 22 is far different that it is now. I also stated that I don’t want to peak because once that happens what is your reason to get out of bed.

From Monty Python's Spamalot

There were other questions too that mostly focused on how to better run their chapters, how to communicate with alumni & other topics.

The best question in my eyes was “How & why do you volunteer?” This question also took me by surprise but in a much more positive sense. The how was easy, but I hadn’t ever really stepped back to ask myself the why. It wasn’t that I didn’t know because the answer flowed easily. It also caused a few students to come talk to me after the session to get more insight. However, answering that question helped me too.

What I told them is that I find it very rewarding. I received a lot from my collegiate fraternity experience & I want to help others to continue to have those positive experiences. There was a table of students from a chapter I helped to found 15 years ago & I commented that it was nice to see that something I did back then led to them being there.

As I inch ever closer to starting down my new career path, this was an important day. I am now almost certain that I’m going to become a teacher. I have a few more meetings this week to help me with a final decision. But, I enjoyed my time speaking in front of a group & I like the energy of the students. I’m not naïve. I know that there is a difference between high school & college kids. And a difference between speaking at a conference vs. conducting a daily lecture. However, I’m ready for the challenge… Because I’m not dead yet!

Politics as usual

I don’t like expressing my political opinions in public. I think it is too divisive. I like people from with all political beliefs, as long as they are rational & intelligent about those beliefs. I also try to make my posts light & humorous. So, I have no idea why I’m writing this, except that I am frustrated.

I am watching the State of the Union as I write this post. Although I am a registered Democrat that campaigned for President Obama, I consider myself just left of center in the political spectrum. I have voted for Republican candidates in the past & will probably do so again in the future if they are the best choice for the office.

I think Obama is quite possibly the best speaker I have ever seen. I believed his message a year ago and I still do today. So, why am I so cynical?

After a year, I don’t think his administration has accomplished much. I believe much of the blame lies squarely on Congress. They bicker and bicker and don’t accomplish anything! I think that is why this speech annoys me so much. Even if President Obama is the smartest man that ever lived, with all of the answers to our country’s problems, he is rendered powerless by the legislative branch. Congressmen & Congresswomen seem more concerned with keeping their jobs and helping their party than actually doing anything. Our democracy is supposed to be representative, but I don’t see anybody fighting for my interests.

I am sad that at age 35 I have lost faith in our political process. Despite the fact that President Obama seeks to change the system, I fear it will change him.

For the sake of my future, your future and our country’s future, I hope that my cynicism is unwarranted and all of our best interests prevail!

Countdown to (Career) Kickoff

We are 24 days into the year and my quest for a new career. So, obviously I have all of the answers. OK, I really just have more questions. But at least they are productive questions.

For several years I have been thinking about becoming a teacher. As such, that is the first path I’m exploring. Step 1 was a trip down memory lane to visit my old high school. Listening to morning announcements over the PA while I waited to speak with the principal was surreal. So, was the assistant principal recognizing me and the fact that I had lost both weight & hair since my graduation 17 years ago.

The meeting with the principal was educational (pun intended). I was pleased to hear that  if I do pursue my teaching certificate in math that he believes that I would be able to get interviews. This is important as I want to be able to get a job at the end of my career change.

As I continue to consider other options, I am laying the groundwork to teach. Last week I applied to reenroll in grad school and I am awaiting a review of undergraduate and graduate credits to find out what classes I need to receive my teaching certification. However, a quick estimate has me ready to teach in the 2011-2012 school year. In some ways this seems fast but it means that my new career could be 18 months away.

I do have one deadline in front of me now. Grad classes would start at the end of March. So, the countdown to my future is on…

Dances with Smurfs

I went to see Avatar as part of a guy’s night out on Saturday. We decided we needed to do it the right way, so we went to see it in IMAX 3D!

I’ll start by saying that this movie deserves to win any & every technical award that exists. It was so much better than anything that has ever come before it that they should name the awards after it. The 3D was neat and the googles are much better than the blue & red lensed ones of the 80s, but it was still disorienting at times. When it comes out on Blu-Ray, I’ll get it just to watch the behind the scenes of how they made it.

So, it was an stunning visual display. But it was LLLLOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNGGGGGGGG!

James Cameron like to tell a story. Unfortunately, that story is overdeveloped and designed so that a 2nd grader can follow the plot turns and foreshadowing. Did I mention this movie was long? You’d think with almost 3 hours of screen time there wouldn’t be any plot holes. Wrong! There were some glaring omissions that were not critical to moving the story along but could have been filled in easily enough.

I took the title of the blog from a line from Sigourney Weaver in a Saturday Night Live skit last night. It was one of the very few funny skits they’ve had all season. I saw this skit just after watching the movie and thought it was a great description.

Cameron deserves a great deal of credit for advancing movie effects, but the story is nothing original. At it’s core it mirrors the plight of the Native Americans. At the periphery it’s got some Saturday morning cartoons (see picture).

Seeing this movie felt like a pop culture necessity and I’m glad I went. I’d recommend it to others too… as long as you aren’t seeking high art.

Reconnected… and it feels so good!

In a previous post I said that I was too connected & that I was going to cut the blackberry cord.  Well, that lasted a month. 

I still feel that I was too connected and I don’t want to return to previous levels, but I’m a victim of circumstance.  I’m not looking for pity. Nobody is pointing a gun to my head and making me use a blackberry. I am doing it of my own free will.

So, why?

Well, first of all, I work in a cell phone store. It is hard to sell the wonders of the Internet if I’m not online. Plus, the best phone that I own is a blackberry. I could easily buy a $30 replacement but it wouldn’t be as good of a phone. So, I want to use it. Also, I’m an information junkie. I get text messages all day long with news updates. For the same reason,  I like to check my email occasionally. I still object to the fact that the only option on a blackberry is to have emails automatically delivered.  I’m very Pavlovian (I get that from my mom). When my phone beeps, I feel compelled to check it. I would prefer to check them when I want, but I can’t resist.

So, how do I avoid becoming too connected again???? The low tech answer to a high tech question… I’ve shut off the beeping. There is still a number on the screen displaying my unread messages but I think I can ignore that more easily. The rest comes down to self discipline. I don’t have to be on my blackberry all of the time. It isn’t attached to my hand yet.

— This post is dedicated to my lovely wife who I can assure everybody means more to me than the blackberry.

My Path

Happy 2010! New year. New decade. Blank slate… sort of.

When the calendar flips to a new year most of us pause to reflect on the past year and think about how the next year will different.

There are the obvious resolutions. Like many others, I am preparing for my triumphant return to the gym. (Fortunately it’s only been a few weeks absence so I still remember where it is.) I’m also going to read more or at least listen to audiobooks more. But those are small changes and resolutions I’ve made before.

But, for me I think 2010 is a very important year. After working for the last 12+ years, I need to find a career path. I have had some good jobs but none of them have really had a clear progression to the next step. So, I go into this year on a mission to figure out what I want to do when I grow up. Since I’m 11 days away from turning 35, it’s about time!

I’m hoping to find an occupation that  I will enjoy and can be passionate about for the next 30 years. I have no idea what that will be, but the search begins in earnest next week as I explore the possibility of becoming a teacher.

I’m not sure where 2010 will take me, but as I ring in 2011 I hope to have some answers.

Aught-a Here

So what the hell was this decade called??? The 2000s? Wikipedia lists “The Noughties” & “The Aughts” as contenders.

It just seems weird that we have no label for the past 10 years. Last century it was easy. I was alive for the 70s, 80s & 90s and refer to them as such. But how do I refer to the last 10 years? Is this why there is no VH-1 special for I love the {name}?

It does seem odd to me that there haven’t been many decade retrospectives this time around. Granted last time was a new century too & we all thought the world was going to end. This time the world isn’t supposed to end until 2012… so we have time.

But what’s in a name? The decade wont shortchanged in our memories because we don’t know what to call it. The world changed so much in the last 10 years that that would be impossible.

So, even though it sounds like the way Mr. Burns referred to the decade he went to college (1900s), I’m putting my foot down on this & going with the Aughts!

Now all I have to do is figure out what to call the next 10 years. Here we go again.