A MidWestern transgender woman trying to survive in the real life.

Tag: teaching

First Term at National-Louis University

I just completed my final course for the summer quarter at National Louis University (NLU). I took two classes this quarter and got an “A” in both classes. I’m working on getting my Master at Teaching in Secondary Schools with a concentration in social sciences. I mentioned I was going to start this with a post that I made on May 19, 2023. I never did a post when I started. I’m really terrible at trying to keep up on this blog.

The coursework so far is easier then the graduate study I did at Northern Illinois University (NIU). The textbooks that NLU is assigning us to read is more geared towards an undergraduate student than a graduate student, in my opinion. When I was getting my Master of Arts in Anthropology at NIU we use to read articles from scholarly journals. The textbooks for NLU are not research or anything that in depth. It just glosses over the subject and is written in more layman’s terms.

This was also my first time doing online courses. It seemed odd not to sit in on a lecture in a classroom environment. We didn’t even have video conference calls at all. It was all done a web-based application where you would upload assignments and post in an open forum. It was hard for me to get use to. I still don’t know how I feel about it.

The fall quarter doesn’t start for me until late September, so I have some time to do other things. I’m substitute teaching secondary schools within my district. I think I might be able to substitute teach and take courses at the same time. From what I understand from other people that just recently graduated from the program, it is doable.

Going Into Teaching Secondary School

I usually never discuss anything about my employer publicly over the internet. Yet, I thought I would share that I’m going to have a career change.

I have mentioned in a post about my agoraphobia and how it caused me to lose my job at the United States Department of Agriculture. It is a long story on how I was eventually let go by my employer, so I won’t get into it. Ultimately, I managed to get on disability retirement. It is enough to pay the bills and live comfortably. I am very grateful for it.

Back in about September of 2022, I decided that I would start working as a substitute teacher for the local school district. I would be able to pick and choose the days that I wanted to work, and I could ease into it. I got all of the required paperwork completed and started early December 2022.

I eventually thought that I would try to obtain a license to become a secondary education teacher. I looked around at a number of universities and eventually decided to attend National Louis University (NLU) to obtain a Master at Teaching (MAT) degree along with my teaching license. It was just two more courses to take to get my MAT, so I thought I would work towards that to spruce up my resume.

I was required by NLU to take two under graduate courses prior to admission.  I enrolled at Elgin Community College to take courses in economics and human geography. I completed these requirements on Tuesday.

I was also required to take a content area test in either history or geography. I elected to take the geography exam. I took in in late March and passed it.

If everything works out as planned, I will start at NLU on July 3, 2022.  I’ll start to student teach in January 2025 and obtain my degree in about May 2025.

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