Over the weekend, I presented my long version Northern Renaissance Symbols class at church.\u00a0 It was very successful.\u00a0 I already have people requesting that I teach it again.<\/p>\n
Today, I (humbly feel) that I totally nailed my Mission College short version of the same material.\u00a0 True, I did deliver it in my usual frenetic style so as to keep it within the 20-30 minute time frame (25 minutes!), but I felt that it was easy enough to understand, and yet still \u201cmeaty.\u201d\u00a0 My college professor may have a different opinion.\u00a0 I\u2019ll see her on Wednesday and ask for her critique.\u00a0 So far, it still looks like I\u2019m on for guest lecturing in another class in November, so I must not have done all that poorly.<\/p>\n
When I got home, I sort of collapsed after my \u201chigh\u201d from teaching.\u00a0 I did some reading and watched a little TV.\u00a0 Before you knew it, it was time for my first class at NHU.\u00a0 Ugh, the start of a year (or more) of four nights a week in the classroom.\u00a0 This is going to be a major adjustment in my life.<\/p>\n
I tried to drive the non-highway route to school and I took a wrong turn.\u00a0 It still worked out OK, so now I have a third route I can take.\u00a0 This third route took 30 minutes.\u00a0 I\u2019ll try the other two routes this week and see how they time out.<\/p>\n
We had a substitute our first day, but what a substitute!\u00a0 Our sub was the head of the student teacher program at NHU.\u00a0 It was really good to meet her.\u00a0 We really seemed to hit it off.\u00a0 She now knows that I have a Masters and that I actually seek a position at a Community College.\u00a0 I also found out that her son is taking an Art History class at SJSU and is struggling.\u00a0 I may become a tutor for him.<\/p>\n
She also knows that I applied to NHU.\u00a0 I got the impression from her that because I lack a PhD, I will not be considered for the position (which now shows as closed on the job website \u2013 Oh ya, I also applied to be a substitute teacher today).\u00a0 NHU is trying to become a 100% PhD school to gain credibility.<\/p>\n
The class, by the way, was absolutely packed.\u00a0 The teaching credential program is definitely the most popular thing on campus.\u00a0 It was also a very ethnically diverse class, so I felt right at home.\u00a0 Out of the 24 in the class, 7 (including me) are going for a credential in HS Social Studies \u2013 slightly more than one quarter of the class!\u00a0 This got me a little depressed \u2013 there might be only one job in any given year in the Bay Area for a history teacher, and I am one of seven in this single class (not to mention all the other classes in all the other colleges) who will be vying for that single position when we graduate.\u00a0 My adviser John was absolutely correct when he said: \u201cTry for something else, everyone wants to be a Social Studies teacher.\u201d\u00a0 His graduating class had three; it looks like mine will have seven (and John is going for his PhD right now in part because he couldn\u2019t get a job).\u00a0 For the next year or so, I\u2019ll try my best to treat my history classmates as friends and colleagues.\u00a0 At SJSU, everything was graded on a curve and I wanted the \u201cA\u201d so I got a little competitive.\u00a0 I\u2019m not sure if NHU grades on a curve, but even if it does, teaching is about collaboration, not competition.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Over the weekend, I presented my long version Northern Renaissance Symbols class at church.\u00a0 It was very successful.\u00a0 I already have people requesting that I teach it again. Today, I (humbly feel) that I totally nailed my Mission College short … Continue reading