Really, how hard can it be to figure out the next best step for the rest of your life? (It'd be easier if my fingers weren't numb due to the cold basement and I didn't have to backtrack to fix so many typing mistakes as a result of said numbness...)
I mean, come on. Joyce Meyers told me to be determined. Okay. So does the Bible. Even better!!! I'm determined to be a teacher. Ok. The internet is supposed to make that easier too. ok. Here's an idea: why aren't teaching standards national??? I'm so tired of trying to navigate the morass of 'what do i have to do to get certification' based on what state I'm planning to teach in. GIVE ME A BREAK. Talk about a system built in the times of living your whole life in a 50 mile radius! MOBILITY means I can go anywhere in this country, but I have to decide where I'm gonna end up in five years right NOW so that I'll know what requirements I need to fulfill. But really, it doesn't much matter anyway, because unless someone else is going to pay for this, I ain't going anywhere any time soon.
So, I start looking for all those 'things' people say exist: programs for high-need areas, programs for women over 35 (that's me!) to go back to school, blah blah blah... MORASS of internet sludge...
Places to post your resume... great, okay, but I LOOK TERRIBLE ON PAPER, and I don't HAVE $85 to pay to post anything, thank you very much, no thank you.
TESOL/TEFL/ESL certification, because at least then I can be qualified to teach abroad... OH. MY. STARS. Go ahead, I dare you: put "online TEFL courses" into google... go on. Holy cow. And all touting their great and all-important accreditation, and all with different accrediting organizations... So how do I know which ones just MIGHT be accepted by US school entities at a later date? I don't, I guess. At least, I can't find that info. And the little info I did find seems to change from- you guessed it- state to state!!! So, I've got my last $500 to spend on 1 program... I feel like I'm playing Russian roulette!
Come ON people. I want to teach. I want to work hard and study hard to learn to be a better teacher. I am willing to go just about anywhere in the country to do so. What google search do I run for that???
Really, how hard can this be? (And do I have to spend much longer sitting at this computer? Cuz I think I'm developing a hemorrhoidal condition.)
Seriously, prayer for research that actually yields profitable results in the matter of finding gainful employment is appreciated. Especially pertaining to pursuing TEFL, etc. certification/diploma online in order to make myself more marketable (and I just would really LIKE to do it!!!!) Thanks. And now my fingers aren't moving so I'm going to bed. ;)
In Des Moines, there are a LOT of opportunities to teach ESL with no cert or degree. I am sure you have similar opportunities where you are now or where you might want to go. Maybe start with a church or community group or refugee service or something to see what is going on in an area and see if you can get in.
ReplyDelete-- Michael Snodgrass
I have been reading blogs in blogspot at random. Yours came up today in my random search. I read though your post comparing coming home to living in Peru. One thing really amused me. I visited Peru in 2010 and really loved the country, but I can not imagine how you would miss Inca Cola. I tried one and had a difficult time finishing it. : )
ReplyDeleteYour thoughts and comparisons were very interesting.
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ReplyDeleteHhahahaha You sound just like me! Love for teaching, lived in Costa Rica for 5 years, Biology and Spanish are my thing, would love to teach ESOL. I just looked at and rejected the Fellows Program, booo, and I am also broke and confused about the TEFL and countries who will take it! Something will work out one day I'm sure!!!!
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