Reflections on Week One of Grad School and Other Fun Cartoons

For those of you who are interested I am in school to get a Master's Degree in TESL (Teaching English as a Second Language) even though I am already licensed to teach English as a Second Language. I am doing this

1) because this seemed easier than majoring in say, Medieval literature

2) because I need this degree if I ever get a crazy desire to teach at a community college.

Looking at my program outline though, a lot of classes look very familiar. I am not being a brat when I tell you that this week already I was tempted to say:

Here are some other interesting things that happened.

• Class of 20 educators had a hard time defining education. Don't tell me you knew that the word education came from the Latin word e-ducere which means to shed light, lead out. Maybe YOU should become an educator then.

• Five language teachers (including the instructor) weren't sure on the spelling of the word knowledgeable

• I had to write a descriptive paragraph on who my best teacher was twice this week

• On the first day of school I was greeted with a note "Jesus Loves You" posted on the wall in front of the Help Desk. Today next to it someone added a sticky note with "So Much" on it. I was shocked if pleasantly surprised.

• During an ice breaker activity I was introduced by a classmate as a "mother of three kids five and under who works at a high school as an ESL teacher during the day and takes classes for the graduate program during the night and her hobby is blogging. " They greeted me with a deer in the headlight look so I had to reassure them that it is not as bad as it sounds and that I really wasn't neglecting my children. Really. I hope I won't get a phone call from child services.

• One of my instructors recited one inspirational/motivational/educational quote every 15 minutes of class.

• The same instructor asked us to please consult with her if we want to video/cell tape her because someone tried to take a video of her using his cell phone last quarter with an intention of putting it up on youtube without her permission. She said she is rethinking her belief in using cellphones as an instructional tool in schools.
  

The best discovery I made today is that I after I am done with the program I will owe Uncle Sam more money than my current yearly salary. Yippee! In the meantime I have to remember the following if I want get through this: