The past two weeks of work have gone well, I think, especially considering I've never had any experience working with autistic teens.
Other than work, I haven't been doing too much else. I mailed my application to Concordia this week. After I dropped off the envelope at the post office, I realized that I had forgotten to include the $35 application fee. Feeling like an idiot, I mailed it the next day in another envelope with a letter explaining my mistake. That wasn't a good way to make an initial impression. The check hasn't been cashed yet, according to my online bank statement, but I think I'll wait just a little longer before I call to check on it.
My application to Lewis and Clark will go in the mail next week and the University of Oregon not long after that. I'm not putting a whole lot of hope that I'll get in because there are a few factors that are against me. On the other hand, there are a few things that might also help me get in.
Here's a handy list!
Bad things:
*Low undergraduate GPA. How low? Don't ask. Just take a look at how long I was in school and you can guess. Boredom, alcohol, winter blues and journalism classes don't mix well.
*Lack of experience working with children and teenagers. I have been volunteering and I just got this job, but that only amounts to maybe a little more than one full month of work in a school.
*I want to be an English and/or Social Studies teacher: Two of the least-sought-after-types-of-teachers in the country. Additionally, those appear to be the two subjects most education students want to teach. The end result is a glut of new English and Social Studies teachers competing for a few jobs. Sure, I guess could've studied math or science (which are in very high demand), but then you probably wouldn't see me trying to become a teacher. I would have gone off to work for Black Mesa or the Umbrella Corporation.
*I haven't done the two or three standardized exams needed to be accepted to any of these schools. However, I am registered for the exams, which take place in the coming months, and I can submit my scores after I've sent in my application.
Okay, good things:
*I'm a guy. Schools are looking for more male teachers, period.
*I'm a –gasp– minority. The vast majority of teachers are white. I'm not. I know it's absolutely ridiculous that the color of my skin is any indicator of my teaching ability (plus I grew up in a mostly white community, so I'm probably as banana/twinkie as you can get). However, with kids of increasingly diverse backgrounds entering schools, I know that schools are looking to make their staff mirror their students' demographics. So, if my ethnicity helps me get into school and get a job, so be it. I can't really do anything about it.
*I'm preparing myself to become a teacher. I've got a teaching assistant job and I'm studying for these tests. If I can at least get an interview for graduate school, I think I've got a good chance to prove that I want to be a teacher.
Well, if it doesn't work out after all of this, the most that I'll lose is a year; and I really wouldn't call it a "loss" since I'll spend that year continuing to work and gain experience. After a year working at a high school, I think there's very little chance I'll be rejected by any school in this state. The question by then may not be whether or not I'll be accepted, but whether or not I'll want to teach English, or Social Studies, or special education, or anything at all.
(An extended draft of this post can be found on my MySpace blog, which is only visible to friends.)