my education, my plan: getting from here to there

Ever since I was a little girl, I have wanted to be a teacher. I would play school with my younger siblings and as I got older, I planned out what I wanted to major, minor, and master in to reach my goal of being a teacher. I decided to major in Elementary Education. The minor and master are still a little fuzzy because I’m not sure what would make the best combination with my major. I do know, however, that I want to tie business in there somehow. A lot of people like to point out that teachers don’t make a lot of income but I don’t want my career to be all about the money. I love working with kids and I know that I will love my job as a teacher; I don’t think money can make-up for being unhappy with how your life turns out.

When I started my senior year of high school, I also started thinking about where I wanted to continue my education. I made a list of my top five schools based on location, expenses, and, most importantly, the education program available. I gradually received the acceptance letters and the FASFA statements and eventually decided to attend the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. I got all the paper work for my meal plan, housing, and scholarships completed and started packing up my belongings. On August 21st, I moved into my dorm room here at UNCG and started classes on the 24th.

My goal for the next year and a half is to complete my General Education Core classes and to study abroad. My Fall 2009 classes were all GEC classes and I am positive that I have passed all of them with flying colors. I have already signed up for Spring 2010 classes and they are GEC classes as well. My sophomore year will be about finishing and possible starting some of my major’s classes while working on my acceptance to the UNCG School of Education. Hopefully I will be able to do this while studying abroad either semester. During my Spring 2010 semester I will start talking to my advisors about when the best time to study abroad is and what the best course plan would be. I am hoping to be able to study abroad somewhere in Europe because, besides the fact that it is full of beautiful countries, it would give me an awesome opportunity to visit more than one country. I love the idea of being able studying in Italy during the week and then taking the train to France or Spain for the weekend. I believe that not only will it further my school education, but it will broaden my view if the world and all that is in it. There is so much that is unknown to someone who has never left his/her home country. I am confident that I will be able to reach these goals, and maybe more, within the next year and a half.

The two years following will be all about completing my major’s classes and finishing with a minor while graduating by May of 2013. Being a student in the School of Education will keep me quite busy but I am confident that with help from God, family, peers, and teachers I will be able to reach these goals as well.

As far as the master’s program I wish to become a part of is still unknown. I’m pretty sure that I will just continue here at UNCG and that I will start the graduate program in Fall 2013. My advisor has pointed out that waiting a couple years to start graduate school would be beneficial to my career both in working and education. Working for a couple years in between undergraduate and graduate school would give my some experience in the classroom with children that would help in the classroom with peers. I have always heard that what you think you would do in a certain situation is usually different that what you would actually do in the situation. Despite my desire to complete grad school, I know that if I waited a couple years, I will be less likely to go back to school. I still have a couple years to figure that aspect out so I’m not too terribly worried about it.

When I graduate school, whether it’s undergrad or grad school, I am planning on getting a job with an elementary school, hopefully not too far from home but I will take what I get for the first couple years. If this is before grad school, I hope to work a couple years and then go back to school while working part time in either a school or daycare. The business aspect of my education will come into play if I ever decide, for whatever reason, that I don’t want to be in a classroom any longer. I am planning on using the business aspect to start my own business, either a daycare/aftercare or a tutoring center. All of these options allow me to be with children while helping them learn. As I have said, I am confident that these plans will work out and that I will thoroughly enjoy the experience!