9.5.2012

Well, the saga continues. I’ve almost made it through my third week of classes, and I’ve given myself some time to think about what, exactly, I need to get done in the next couple of months. And by time I mean that stretch of time that occurs immediately after you lie down in bed but before you actually fall asleep. You know, the time when visions of potential failure and unresolved conflict seem to poke and prod at your dozing conscience.  And, lucky for me, my subconscious is always accommodating, and has no problem providing me with a chance to think about everything that needs to be accomplished by representing, through the vivid medium of dreamscape,  what would happen if I were to forget to take care of business. 

I have managed, though, to narrow down possibilities for next year. As of now, I’m considering the following possibilities:  

·        Teach for America

·        The Indianapolis Teaching Fellowship

·        A.C.E  (Alliance for Catholic Education) Teaching Program

·        Higher Education and Student Affairs 

I actually started an application for the Teach for America program last night. It was to a certain extent both exciting and nerve wracking. For one thing, I know that Teach for America is all about sending teachers to high needs schools, which, to me, is where the uncertainty comes into play. I’m idealistic in the sense that I truly believe that I could change a student’s life for the better, but am realistic in the sense that I recognize that every individual brings to the classroom a particular life story that I might not be able to understand, work with, or change for the better. I’m highly empathetic, but I wonder if that, in fact, might be my undoing. Will the fact that I’m so empathetic interfere with my ability to separate my personal and professional lives? Will I lose sight of the content I’m required to teach while trying to help each student overcome what it is that is holding them back? 

I’m not sure, but I am excited, quite simply, to have a job prospect for the upcoming year. I just know that I’m finding it harder and harder to sit in class. I want to go out and do something meaningful. I could insert quite a few hackneyed phrases of passion here, but I think I’ll just leave it at this: I definitely feel as though it’s time to move on and start something new. Maybe it will be Teach for America. Maybe it will be something entirely different. We’ll see, I guess.