Dear Heidi,
It’s January 2010 and you have decided to make a change in your career path and go back to school to get another degree. I know you are hesitant and questioning whether this is the right decision; well it is so stop doubting yourself. Two years until graduation seems like a lifetime away but it will go fast; I promise.
My first piece of advice is to pay attention in your CORE Education classes. They may seem boring at times and you will probably think you will never need to know all this information but you will. Don’t feel overwhelmed by the course work, especially the FERs. It is not as bad as it seems and you will get through it just fine. Manage your time wisely. You will be taking 16-18 hours a semester, coaching, and working. Don’t let all the stress bring you down. Stay organized and have fun when you can.
You will be nervous at the beginning of your last semester when you will be doing your student teaching. There will be times when you think that there will be no way you can do this, but you can. You will actually have a better experience than you could ever imagine. Yes, some of your placements at the beginning will be a let-down, but in the end you will end up where you were meant to be. You will learn more during your last semester than all the semesters combined.
In all honesty, student teaching will be the least stressful time. Yes, there will be times you struggle and feel like you have no clue what you’re doing. However, the Praxis, KPTP, and the job search will be things that begin to bring you down. Don’t let the Praxis stress you out. You will pass it and everything will be ok. It is overwhelming and a hard test but go in prepared and you will do fine. The KPTP, well that just sucks and there is no way to avoid it. It is the most time consuming assignment you will ever do. Do not put it off until the last minute. Begin working on it in January. Break it down and do a little every week and you will thank yourself in the end. Make a goal to finish it before spring break. Finally, there is a little thing called the job search. This will be an extremely stressful time. You will be disappointed; you will worry. Yet, in the end everything will work out. You will find a job and end up at a place where you would have never thought. You WILL find a job. Don’t stay awake until the wee hours of the night worrying.
You can do this.
HD
