Schools and salespeople

While I’m waiting to ring in the New Year, I thought I’d write an update about my search for an online Education program.  As I said in my last post, once I’m in the UK, I’ll be trying to get into teacher training there.  But that won’t start until Fall if I get in.  I won’t be able to be in the classroom working (for school or otherwise) until then.  I need to take online Education program classes to keep my teaching certificate in Florida up.  But without access to a classroom, I can’t take any kind of courses that require field work or a practicum.

I was going to go with GCU, but after Christmas break, they called me six times a day, trying to get me to sign something that was “urgent.”  Since I’d already read bad reviews from them where it was said that they hound you to get a hold of your Financial Aid money, then dash off, never answering the phone or helping you again.  I guess they wanted me to sign off that they’d enroll me in classes on the 30th and have me give them money (which I don’t have now to attend class anyway).  But a normal school would just leave it up to the student.  If you sign up, fine, if you don’t pay, you’re out of the class.  The fact that GCU hounded me so much like telemarketers and salespeople, I really knew it was best to steer clear of them.  Plus, there were problems with the program:  I needed to complete a practicum and I couldn’t take more than 60 days off a couple of times while I was attending.  Just not a good vibe about the whole thing, so I ditched out of it even though a “supervisor” called me and “needed to know either way.” Strange practices that school has.

So I still am thinking about Liberty University except for the problem, again, of having to take a practicum by the end of the program.  Now, if I do get into a teacher program and get into the classroom in the UK, that’s fine, I can so something for Liberty.  The problem there is though, they want 120 hours of practicum.  Not entirely sure I’ll be able to swing that but at least I have 5 years to complete the program in total.  By then I’ll be teaching somewhere I’m sure.

But my latest prospect is Tiffin University’s online MEd program.  Their classes are 100% online and I don’t need to be in the classroom to finish the program.  That’s a major plus right there.  Second of all, it’s set up to match Ohio state standards which makes it a credible program.  My other option I had looked into was staying at TWU for their MEd in Reading program.  It’s listed in the online degree programs and I filled out a new application for it because I’d like to just stay put at a school I know I like.  Trouble is, after digging deeper, I found that the program isn’t 100% online and about every class needed some kind of field work with it.  So I guess all I can do is wait until later to get my Reading Endorsement under my belt.  After talking to a Reading teacher on Twitter who really enjoyed her job, I think it would be really beneficial to have that kind of range in my capabilities as an educator.

While I’ve mentioned before that this did start out as a blog about librarianship, I find that I have to add in my teaching endeavours as well.  It’s all steps to my dream job as a School Librarian.  I have straight As for the Fall term and a GPA of 3.6.  I think I’m headed in the right direction.

Oh yeah – Happy New Year, everyone!  I should be across the pond in about 21 days now.  Hooray!  Steve and I plan on having the best Christmas-in-January ever.