Sunday, May 13, 2012

Decisions, decisions

As many of you know, I've been toying with my options in grad school. It's just time for a Master's Degree and to specialize in my field a bit. I have quite a bit of work experience in the education field. I have found out from experience that early childhood regular education is just not my thing. Hated the traditional classroom setting and how things are done in most schools. I do love working with children on an individual basis and found a great bit of enjoyment as a reading tutor, mentor, after school program leader, and classroom assistant (more individual work and in-depth classroom discussions with small groups.) I even loved teaching English abroad. I'm currently working in a group home with individuals with varying degrees of physical and developmental disabilities. Love it. But it's time to grow up, gain more skills and education. For the past year post Korea I've been preparing for a career in Speech and Language Pathology. I've been shadowing people in the field, taking additional coursework needed for grad programs, researching grad programs, etc. I'm fairly versed in American Sign Language (I could communicate with a deaf kid, age 4 if I needed to.)
I took an anatomy class and over all the field is just really interesting. I applied to the program for next year at my local state university. I didn't get into the Masters SLP program for this year. They accept 25/200 and the feedback they gave me was basically, you're good, but we have better. A few students I've talked to (about 10 or so) said they were accepted on their second attempt. However, upon completion of the application process, I received a letter and then a call admitting me to the Multiple/Severe Disabilities master's program at the same school, in a different department. No questions asked, just welcome to the program. So somehow that tells me from my application that they think I'm a better fit for that program. Maybe I am really a special ed teacher at heart? Do I go for it? Or wait another year to see if I get in to the SLP program? Taking classes is not an option, as graduate courses don't transfer like undergrad credits. It also doesn't help that I'm 30 now and already beating myself up over "wasted" time. I hate making decisions! Any feedback from the peanut gallery would be welcomed.

2 comments:

Blubtrflygrl said...

My only concern would be how easy you think it would be to find a job after graduation. I know here in NY, teachers are being laid off left and right, and that's even for special needs.

If speech is your thing (tends to be a demand for that from what I see in my work), I'd wait it out, or maybe apply elsewhere to someplace less competitive.

The costly mistake I learned that is when it comes to the helping professions, it really doesn't matter where you went to school, as long as you have the degree and it's from a legit institution.

Good luck with whatever you decide!!

Jennrose2020 said...

Thanks for the comment. I'm leaning the speech route too. Nothing in life is easy, and I was looking forward to settling in one place (Atlanta) for a bit, but I don't have to...