ABCTE -American Board Certification for Teaching Excellence

Do you want to teach? Do you have a Bachelors degree? Do you want to do it in your own time at your own pace and not pay $10,000 to do it? Do I sound like a sales person? lol

Well if you said yes to all of these then do what I did. I'm living proof that a normal, non-genius person with a family and a job can finish an educational program and be on their way to teaching. ABCTE is not perfect but it's fastest, least expensive way to get this accomplished. Passing their tests means you are highly qualified in your content area and meet the standards of No Child Left Behind.

So anyway- check out their website and see what programs are available for you. I've been through it so I'm happy to give support and answer all questions and tell you my experience. It's not the easiest thing to do- but it's not crazy hard either. I think there's a discounted price right now!

In all seriousness, the one thing I have really learned through all of this is- don't wait. Stop putting off something that you secretly know deep down you want to do. Make it a priority. There will never be a better time than now and when you finally come to your senses your only regret will be that you didn't do it sooner. It's like having a baby. No one is ever really ready. You just do it and you're so happy you did. True stuff.

I'm so happy it's done. I can't wait to have a classroom of my own!

Ps. If you decide to do this, please let them know I recommended you. 

http://abcte.org/

I Passed

Well I didn't get the job but I passed my test! It took two tries and a lot of tears but I passed my freaking test!

I was pretty upset about the last rejection. I have been rejected A LOT in the last year. I can't tell you how many times I have applied for jobs and how many times I have been told no. I've been rejected by people, by jobs, and by the last test I took. To my surprise it hasn't all been so devastating. I thought the last job rejection would kill me because I want so badly to put our financial issues to rest, but I guess now I'm mature enough to realize that if it's not meant to be then something better is coming. And something better is coming. I passed. I really passed. I can apply for certification to be a real Language Arts teacher in the state of Missouri.

It's not the best time of year to finally get certified and be able to find a teaching job but there is always hope that I can get hired somewhere in the middle of the year. Until then I'll just keep on subbing. I really want to be at Platte City Middle School or Barry in KC.

Sometimes you think it's never going to happen. You can dream and work hard but it all seems so far away. Then as quick as you're ready to give up something happens to perk you right back up. I can't wait to start my teaching journey.

If you want information on how I became a teacher (after college) then see my next post and feel free to ask me any questions.

I passed!

Still Waiting

I'm still in limbo. Limbo sucks. Did I get the job? Who knows. Did I pass my test? Who knows. Maybe I'll never ever know. Maybe I'll live in limbo forever. That's what it feels like. So I've just been enjoying the moments.

Once again I've given another shot to being healthier. I have thyroid issues so it makes it very hard and very slow to lose weight. I'm a compulsive scale checker, too. If I spent an entire week working my butt off to lose and I don't lose then I eat my feelings. It's a terrible circle. But the smart voice inside me knows the number isn't so important. Whatever I do I have to ask myself, can I do this for the rest of my life? Can I make this change? If the answer is no then why waste my time? So little by little I've been eating cleaner, less carbs, less sugar. I've been doing just a little exercise at the Y. These are things I can do and teach my children to do. And I will still have my bread, pasta, and chocolate. I will just have it less often. I feel good.  I feel like I'm trying. That's good enough.

So that's a little update. I'm in limbo, I'm trying to be healthier and I'm trying to enjoy the moments. Here are some moments from this year:

Bad End of the School Year Mom

I've read other posts on moms who have given up by May. I am just like those moms. It's true. I'm terrible. Sometimes I don't check Briana's backpack for days. I have stopped reading her Accelerated Reading Books with her at night. Luckily, she reads them on her own and it has made no difference. She still gets %100 on the tests. I have even stooped to only practicing spelling words with her once a week-the night before the test. We used to practice a little every night. Again, I'm so glad she doesn't need much of my help or she'd be in trouble. I'll start the week thinking...I'm going to do better this week. But then I don't and rethink...Eh, the year is almost over. I'm so tired. Why does the school year make ME so tired?

So here's to three more weeks of school! May the force be with Briana because mom has checked out.

Still Learning

Did you know the grammar rule for I and E is : I before E except after C, EXCEPT when it sounds like A!

I never caught on to that second rule the first time around. For example: Beige.

Is it weird that I'm excited about that? Don't answer.

Waiting for Good News

How did my test go? I'll be honest-it was hard. I could have been more prepared but I didn't want to over achieve for all this information that I'm going to forget anyway. Like I've said before- teaching will teach me. The students will teach me and my experience teaching will teach me. Call me a slacker.

Here's the kicker. I needed a 270 to proficiently pass. My score? 271! Can you believe that? I'm a little embarrassed. But really it's no big deal. No matter the score, if you pass these tests you are considered highly qualified in your content area. They are supposed to be even more difficult than the Praxis. So now is the painful part. I have to wait atleast another 2 weeks to know if I passed the writing portion. I had 60 minutes to write a literary analysis on that poem about the caged bird. I followed the format to a tee but analyzing anything in an hour is crazy. I had to think, pre-write, write and then proof. I hope it was good enough because if it's not I have to take both parts over and wait again. Ahhh!

Also, I had another interview with SJSD. This time it was specifically for Lafayette High School-9th grade English. I felt much better about this one than my last 2 very awkward interviews. But I'm not technically certified yet and it's through a route many people don't know about yet. So I think I'm at a disadvantage. I still have a good feeling and keeping my fingers crossed.

If I pass the writing portion I'm going to party.

If I get a teaching position offer I'm going to party harder.

If both things go my way I'm going to go crazy-in a good way!

Wish me luck!  

Hudson Briana Me

Hudson is back to really eating everything he was eating before-so relieved. He has been scheduled to get his tonsils out at the end of the month. We hope this will help his eating and sleeping issues. I feel bad because I'm not sure how long his tonsils have been so big. It may have started back in December when he started to have sleep issues. I never thought of sleeping to be related to tonsils. It's always scary to have your kids go under but he needs this to get better. I'm just hoping he isn't re-traumatized by the surgery experience. You never know with Hudson.

I've spent so much time talking about Hudson; let's talk about Briana. She is doing so well in everything. She gets good "grades" and works hard in class and loves making new friends. A few weeks ago I got to watch her sing with her class on stage-so cute! She's also being recognized at a community egg hunt this week for a character award. She isn't quite the same at home. She's still wonderful, of course, but I don't get paid the same attention as her teacher does. Why is that :) ? She has been fibbing to us lately about brushing her teeth at night. When we ask her if she did it she will say yes when she hasn't. When we then talk to her about lying she bursts into tears and runs from the room.  I can understand being embarrassed because you got caught-we all do it. But she's done it several times now. Every time we tell her not to lie and every time she runs crying. So after the third time a parent has to get firm. Now I'm the mean mom. I'm thinking she won't do it anymore.

I'm excited about Easter. I love getting stuff for their baskets and dying eggs and going to hunts. I like to put in more than just candy. This year I got Briana some hair chalk. She's going to love it. I got Hudson a mini Royals bat. It's a little risky on my part but he's so imaginative and it's so fun to watch him play with swords, bats, or any kind of instrument like that. He rarely plays with things the way they are "supposed" to be played with. And he's famous for adding his own sound effects. I don't need TV. I can watch Hudson play.

I take my last test next week-wish me luck! I'm worried because it's harder but I'm hoping I can get by. It will be so much easier to secure a job after I'm certified.