Making a change

Well, after a couple of years of thinking and talking about it, I'm finally doing it. I'm going to get my teaching certificate. I was just accepted into a program called ACT-Houston. It's an Alternative Certification for Teachers program (get the ACT part!). I hadn't heard of it before since there are lots of alternative teaching programs. My friend had gone through them and when I asked how she heard about them, she said the superintendent of PISD recommended them. So, I checked it out.

I'll be starting classes 3 nights a week in January. It's pretty intensive, but only lasts about 2 months. I also have to do 30 hours of classroom observation and I have to take and pass the TExES (Texas Examinations of Educator Standards) test. Then, and this is really the hard part- I have to find a job! A teaching job to be a real, live teacher!

Apparently, the teaching market is tough right now with the crappy economy. There are lots of teachers who had planned on retiring, but didn't. So, I'll have to hope and pray to actually find a job that's hopefully close and what I want to do. I had hoped to start substitute teaching in order to get my feet wet and get to know some teachers and administrators. That too is proving hard to do. I guess when a lot of people got laid off, they decided to start subbing, so they're not really looking for subs right now. My plan is to start volunteering up at the kid's school and to talk with the principal about my 30 hours of observation and hopefully get to know some people that way. PISD is opening a new elementary right down the road from me this fall. That means some new jobs! I'm not getting my hopes up, but that would be awesome!

Anyway, I'm excited. I'm scared. It's one thing to think big and talk big. It's another to actually do it. This is what I'm meant to do though. I know it. Knowing that brings me comfort. I know I can do it too. Not that it won't take work, but I know I can do it. Remind me of this if/when I start freaking out!