Fall 2016 Masters Schedule.

As I was falling off the face of the blogosphere last year, I was also in the process of going back to school. I fell out of blogging before I even got to tell you guys what I decided to get my masters in or what my career, academic, and life goals were! Don’t worry, I’ll just answer the first one about my degree today, but no promises I won’t get around to everything else eventually.

Here’s a super, tiny, little background summary: I got my bachelor’s degree in history, got a job as a special education teacher’s assistant, and was thrown into the only spot available which was in the English department. Getting that salaried job finally got us financially stable enough for me to start the crazy adventure of getting my masters and finally achieving my dream of becoming a teacher. The only hitch was that I was beginning to fall in love with English and especially teaching it, and a little out of love with history. So I was at a crossroads of what subject to pursue.

That’s where I last left off.

I am happy to announce that I 12 credits deep into my 30 credit English masters with a concentration in the teaching of writing and literature!

At the time I enrolled into the program, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to teach high school, community college, or at the university level, so I opted for the shorter, but amazing degree that did not lead to licensure. However, I am extremely glad I decided that, now as I continue to swing through continually opening doors and explore opportunities that I promised I wasn’t going to get into today.

This semester I am taking 12 more credits, which is George Mason’s highest limit of graduate classes allowed during one semester… and yes, I will be working full time as well. But last semester I took 3 classes while working and got straight A’s, so I’m not too worried.

Here’s how my schedule looks!

Introduction to Special Education – Online.
This will make dealing with 12 credits much easier. Just as many trips and hours on campus as last semester; just a lot of extra time behind the computer. This is also the self paced class I mentioned, and it has opened early so I’ve already knocked most of it out (and by most, I actually mean all!). This class doesn’t actually count towards my English masters, but I promise it has a purpose!

Proseminar in Composition Instruction – M
Fun name, huh? I took its counterpart Proseminar in the Reading of Literature Instruction last semester, and it was actually by far one of my favorite college classes I’ve ever taken. So, I have hope for this class, this year. I truly love classes that delve into how to teach, and I’m excited not to be completely submerged in just writing heavy classes. Unfortauntely though, this is the only class this semester that I haven’t seen the syllabus for, or know anything about the teacher, so I am a little leery.

21st Century Novel – W
This is going to be a cool, yet scary class. Or at least it will be when finals roll around. I’ve glimpsed at the early released syllabus and saw that 50% of my grade is participation and the other 50% is just the final paper. Talk about pressure! Don’t get me wrong, I’ll enjoy not having a bunch of 10+ page papers to write for a class, but it is more than a little daunting having one assignment be worth so much of a grade. Anyway, I have the twelve book reading list carted in Amazon already, and I think I’m ready to go with this intriguing class.

Research in English Studies – T
Last semester I ran into a classmate who was taking this class at the time, and I asked for a peek at the syllabus. While it was quite intimidating, almost 20 pages in total, and more than a little confusing in most parts, I was relieved (and slightly wary) to hear my classmate say that the teacher felt similarly about his own class. Apparently, the teacher doesn’t grade any of his many assignments until after the semester is over (so he can’t expect growth or give harsh critiques), is extremely amenable and meek about his own guidelines, and had been mostly disjointed for the entire class. I can definitely look forward to a flexible class structure, but I hope it’s not too chaotic.

With all that and a 40 hour a week job, a social life, house, hubby, and sanity to keep up with, I’ll most definitely be kept busy this semester.

Cheers,
— Brey