I'm a DC Teaching Fellow!!

I am finally able to tell the world about the exciting new step in my life...I'm going to be a teacher! A real life, certified teacher who works in America's public schools. (Provided I pass my training of course.) I knew I needed a change in my life and I just kept going back to the idea of teaching. I really missed being in the classroom and my little kiddies in Korea. I couldn't stop thinking about the possibility of actually being a teacher. Not just someone who used to teach EFL once upon a time. I finally told myself, Just DO it. Apply to grad schools, get certified, and get in the classroom. As I was looking for programs that would help me to get certified and my masters at the same time, I was frustrated by the fact that I wouldn't be in the classroom for another year or two, provided I found a job. A friend had mentioned the Teaching Fellows program to me a while back and I had dismissed it, as I didn't think the program was right for me. But then it hit me that this really WAS the perfect program for me. Not only is it an extremely rigorous training program to ensure that you are a highly effective teacher in an inner city school, but I could be in the classroom by the start of the upcoming school year. They also have programs all over the United States, including Washington DC. Colin and I have wanted to live in the same city again, but it was a bit scary to just kind of move on a whim, or move for a job that I may not be entirely into. I told myself: Just apply to the program in DC and SEE WHAT HAPPENS! It took me a while to complete my application, spruce up my resume, and answer the  difficult essay questions. But I was able to get my application in by their first deadline. I also registered to take the Praxis I. A week after I submitted my application, I received this email:

I was super excited to get this email, but this was also the week that the tragedy at Sandy Hook occurred. It did make me question whether teaching was the route I wanted to take or not. Sandy Hook changed America and it's going to continue to change the way schools are run. I felt so sad and scared for so many reasons. The Sandy Hook tragedy broke my heart. But I just kept thinking, those little kiddies need me! They need to be educated effectively and they need to feel safe when they're at school. For some of the kids I'd be teaching, school may be the only place they feel safe. I had to do this.

A few days later I had a 20 minute phone interview. It was TOUGH. The woman asked a lot of situational questions that I cannot believe could potentially happen in the classroom. I wasn't really sure how I did, but just hoped for the best. A week later I received this email:

Wahoo! I couldn't believe it! The following week, I took and passed the Praxis I. A few weeks after that, I traveled to DC to do a 5 minute lesson, a 20 minute in person interview, then retaught my lesson incorporating feedback that was given to me. The whole process took about 4 hours as you had to be a "student" for the other interviewees. It was actually kind of fun and I felt really confident about my lesson. I stumbled a bit in my reteach, but was still able to incorporate their feedback. I realized that if I wasn't accepted into the program, I was going to be pretty devastated. I really really wanted it. But I also knew I did the best I could do and the other interviewees did their best, too. Tough competition. We were told it would take 3 weeks for an answer, which just felt like forever. I thought about it everyday and would get a sick pit in my stomach if I thought about not getting accepted. I knew it would just mean I would take another route to be a teacher, but Fellows just seemed so perfect for me.

A week and a half after my interview, I was on gmail and literally watched the email show up in my inbox.

Holy Guacamole folks! I DID IT! Out of all the applicants, I was a part of the 20% who are accepted! I am going to be a Teacher! I quickly accepted and sent in my commitment form.

Three days later I had to take my Praxis II for Elementary Education. I was so nervous because most people don't pass the first time they take it. At the end of the test, my score popped up on the computer screen...a PASSING score!! I just couldn't believe it.

The application process wasn't easy to say the least, but it felt easy in the sense that everything fell into place so perfectly for me. It makes me feel as though this is what I am supposed to be doing with my life and the path I should be headed on. It feels pretty darn good :)

 It's going to be a lot of hard work, but I'm so excited to start. I'll train during the summer, interview for jobs within the DC public school system, start teaching, then continue to take classes during the school year toward my Certification. This also, of course, means I'll be moving to DC in a month. I'm sad to leave Philly, but also thrilled to explore a new city and be with my honey! I sure hope the kids in DC are ready for me cause I am ready for them!!