Thursday, August 04, 2005
Back to School?
All of Diana's looking for schools down in this area sent me on a bit of a research spree. In the looking about, I saw that Alabama State offers an education Doctorate. I worked on my Ph.D. in education (emphasis in Instructional Design) for a couple of semesters before Luke was born. I was going through Capella University online and I liked it, but the degree included practica that required you to take an entire week and travel to a designated city. If I go through ASU, everything would be done right here in Montgomery and my G.I. Bill would totally cover it. I'm just not sure if I want to go back or not. We'll probably get pregnant again soon and I don't know if I want to sacrifice the time. Perhaps I'll wait a year and then see how things look. Anyway, have any of y'all considered more school time? I think I'm addicted...
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funny hting about alabama state... they used to give white people a free ride there due to tthem being a minority at the school. Now, so many white people did it that they had to stop...
HAHA! I know they don't do that for any graduate work, but I thought they still did for the Bachelor's degrees. That sucks, man. We were gonna see about Di going there for free. Probably better for her to go on and finish in MB, though. I know ASU had a big influx of whites after that, though.
I periodically think of going back to school but then I just watch my wife. Seeing her go through the whole educational process has been insane. There is so much work, and so much crap to go through it's a miracle she is still sane.
Yep, it is a bunch of work, man. I'm glad I finished my Master's, though. When I interviewed for this job, my interviewer's eyes lit-up every time she said "Master's degree". Of course, they were almost as interested in my military time. It's weird because my Master's isn't even a technical degree. It's like they just want to list in their stats that they have "X" number of people with Master's degrees or something! Odd how that works.
i have thought i might like to go back to school someday. and then i come to my senses. i know it's all well and good to better yourself with education, but my brain isn't programmed to think that way anymore. i can't imagine having to write a paper, much less take an exam. i have much respect for those of us who can go back, or who are currently in school. i think if i didn't have kids i might be able to feel differently about it. but right now...nope...
That's what I'm saying. It's just so hard to do school and work and have a family and all the other numerous things in life. I think I'll probably wait till our kids are a little older before I try again. It's not fair to them or Rachel to spend all my time educating myself, epsecially when they haven't even started school yet! Maybe I can make that the cut-off.
Someday I might go back to school. If I do it will be in ethnobotany or something else that I have a minor fascination with like carpentry or the physics and laws of magnets. For the time being the whole idea freaks me out and I've not got enough time now to work on my other projects because being with my family is much more important, so how in the world am I going to be able to take time for classes, projects, reports and all that other crap.
Honestly, my opinion only, unless you're in a situation like Amy and you’ve been in school since you’ve gotten out of school, “higher education” becomes something of an scape-goat and excuse for not doing what you think you really want to do unless you’re taking how to save the world 101, astrophysics, teaching, law (like we need more of that) or medicine. Getting a degree so you can have more merit to write a book or make a TV show or another “creative” process is ridicules because those things can be done without the schooling as long as you know your stuff and have the resources to learn the actuals rather than the theories. The same can be said about most computer stuff I would guess. I read a statistic once that said the most successful small business owners who were making over a million a year never finished college; their motivation was not based on hours in a class room and a scrap of paper it was based on their desire to do what they wanted and to do it well. The education obviously can help and while you're young that's what people look at but being able and passionate is often more important as far as I’m concerned. A degree from religious schools doesn’t help you win souls; it helps you debate a subject further. My point is that if you don’t know what you want to do why would you pay to learn how to do something you really don’t think you want to spend your time actually doing. If you’ve got a degree and want to get another or further it along have at it but having a destination for your sacrifice might be equally important.
But I don’t have a degree in anything so I’m not really at liberty to speak about those who are more learned than I. Thusly I say to what end doth a degree make for a man who to himself is still unknown.
I gotta say, it does get depressing sometimes knowing how much work I'm putting into my degree compared to how little pay/respect I'll get as a teacher. It's worth it, though. I want to make a difference and making a difference gets you paid in grins and giggles.
I think I've decided to stay here in MB until I finish my degree. None of the schools I researched in Montgomery would take transfered specialized courses, which would put me behind a whole year, which would put the baby makin back a whole year. And coastals cheap, and I really like coastal... We definatley want to head to montgomery summer of 2007, though.
P.s. Go for it Josh!!!! Oh, and we had a baptism tonight during VBS!!
"Back to School"... one of Brewsters fave movies of all time
Thanks for the encouragement, Di! Awesome on the baptism! Hallelujah! I know for sure I won't go back to school right noww. I agree with Mullins that spending time with family is far more important right now. I also know that I do want to finish a doctorate eventually. I would love to teach in a college or university. That is my ultimate goal. I feel sort of like Amy does about teaching and not dealing with the headaches. I'd just like the opportunity to mentor people who want to learn and I really enjoy the academic environment. When it comes right down to it, getting degrees is a good thing. Showing that you have the tenacity and drive to learn is appealing to the work world at-large. That doesn't mean that you're not going to go far without it, but it sure does help. I think Mullins nailed it about doing what you enjoy. I have believed this and applied it since I was a kid. My Dad still does, too. He finished his B.A. in Bible. He enjoys preaching and caring for people, but didn't want to do it full-time. So, he has always been a part-time preacher. But, he loves to carpenter and farm and has managed to do both of those successfully. Cool thing is that he organized everything around us. We would get out every afternoon and play football or basketball, or something with Dad. Just proves that you can have your cake and eat it, too. Anyway, you can do both. You can get educated, do what you love to do, and take care of your family. Only thing is, I can only do music, writing, work, and family right now. So, education will have to wait. All in all, it's a very small sacrifice.
I agree Sipp. Again I'm not knocking getting a degree I'm just saying that staying in school forever seems like such a waste. I mean where your passion could be better filled could be in an inner-city afterschool program or something like that. They don't need phd's they need bodies. If teaching at the university level is your goal then by all means do it.
Thanks, Mullins. I also don't think there's anything wrong with not continuing education. It's not for everyone. It's all about your philosophy on how to get to where you feel most comfortable. For me, I felt like if I didn't go on and educate myself more, I couldn't call any shots. I would be stuck in the military, moving my family around till retirement. Or I'd be doing whatever job I could get. But, I've been able to call more shots and get more looks with the extra ed, and that was another big goal for us. I prayed to God for a long time and worked my tail off to get to that point, and He blessed us. The cool thing is that the same principle can be applied prayerfully to any aspeect of life. Just like you are doing with the prod gig. You and yours pray and we pray for you and yours. Keep it up, my friend, and God will provide!
UGH! Y'all were just seeing how long I could stand it, weren't you?!?! Well, there! 14!
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