what specialty should I pursue?
I know I've talked a lot about the possibility of going into performing arts medicine at one point or another, and I'm resolved to the fact that the idea will always be in the back of my mind (PAMA rocks). Now, I know that if I do make the switch, it is definately something that would work for me.
From the University of Virginia Health System's Medical Specialty Aptitude Test:
Rank - Specialty, Score:
1 - Physical Med and Rehabilitation, 48
2 - Occupational Medicine, 47
3 - Rheumatology, 46
4 - Nephrology, 46
5 - Endocrinology, 45
6 - Infectious Disease, 45
7 - Hematology, 45
8 - Pathology, 45
9 - Nuclear Medicine, 44
10 - Neurology, 44
What I find amazing is that the test did not actually ask about specifics of a medical career, but rather character traits of your personality such as how detail oriented you were or how quickly you liked to see results of something. What I find more interesting is that the only show I watch on TV is House, MD, and he's an infectious disease specialist and nephrologist who happens to enjoy playing piano.
Very intersting.
time for a name change
Well, I looked at the date of my last post, and realized it was time to take a moment and update. I officially ended my career as a "student teacher" Wednesday at 3:16 pm, and it was an interesting way to end the day. We were having third hour jazz band, and half of the band and a few other random students came into the office, blocked the door, and said en masse, "You're not leaving." That in turn left me standing there with my bags and coat looking at them blocking my exit. I then had to negotiate for ten minutes as to why it was okay for me to leave finally saying, "I gave you all of my contact info - it will be easy for you to keep track of me!" That was apparantly enough to convince them that it was okay to let me go to DMS.
Overall, the semester went well and I really enjoyed all of it. As compared to other student teachers, I think that I had a much better time than a lot of them. True, there were moments where I was bored stiff, but I think placement in a larger program would keep me from that problem.
So, I titled this entry, "time for a name change," with a specific purpose - to state
why the title will be what it will be (revealed at the bottom of this entry). About a week ago, I got an e-mail from the music department chair at the university I had been attending (don't think that I'm going to slip on this anonymity thing either!!!) stating that an area middle school was looking for a long-term sub in band. I responded to the e-mail, made contact, and within eight hours was offered an interview. More specifically, offered an interview without the teachers or administrator seeing my resume or other official documents I would send in. I scheduled the interview, and went to that Thursday morning - the first morning I was done with student teaching (in other words, to the students that are reading this - I did not party).
Long story short, I got a job, albeit a temporary and part-time one, the first day after I finished my placement - within twenty-four hours. I am now a substitute teacher for this area school district, and as of March, will be a long-term sub for band. They liked how I presented myself in the interview and with my resume (still at four pages) and my portfolio. They thought I was well-qualified. I think this was a big confidence booster to me.
The interview was interesting and nothing like other interviews I have had in the past. It was more like several music teachers meeting for the first time who all knew of each other through other music teacher; it was like that becuase that was exactly what it was.
I'm excited!!!
As of that statement, the name of this blog will now change to "Life of a Substitute Teacher."
three days left
Well, I looked at the calendar and realized that the end is almost near - the end of my student teaching that is. I have three days left at CHS, and by finally writing this post, I am admitting that I will miss it greatly. I have developed a greater love of the profession over the last several months than I ever envisioned I would have. I also will miss my students greatly. There are several students whom I worry about, and hope they will succeed, but I cannot say. I will give them my e-mail address so that I can keep tabs on them to make sure that they have a support network behind them.
My duties at the school have waned as well. I am teaching a few lessons here and there now, with SCT taking over more of the responsibilities again. Now that I think about it, I've been teaching almost all of the lessons since early October, and I can see why - not having anything to do is hard.
Oh, good news!!! I have an interview for a long-term sub position at an area middle school this Thursday morning. I have been at the school a couple of times in the past few years, and I know at least two of the music teachers there. The teacher that I would be subbing for will be on maternity leave for six weeks. The position, if I am hired, will be part time, and I would be able to pursue other interests on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and half of Fridays. Two other people know about the position and may have applied, but I am not sure if either of them did.
Overall, the next few days will be incredibly bittersweet. On one hand, I am looking forward to finally being done and not having another teacher watch and critique my every move. On the other, I have forms close bonds with colleagues and students, and I will miss them greatly. It is hard to teach a lesson and know that I will not be able to hear/see that student's next lesson to see the improvement over the course of that one week. It is hard to know that I will not be accessible to these students who have come to me for help and someone trusting to listen to them. I am seriously going to miss them, and the few times I will see them this semester will still be hard, but I am looking forward to them.
no school today
So, there I was, driving on the highway to school and wondering why I saw almost no cars and no school busses. I passed the point where I usually see a bus, but noticed I was running five minutes late, so I figured that's why I didn't see any. Then, I began to wonder some more, so I took out my cell phone and discovered I had four new voice messages from last night. The first one, from 5:13 this morning was a call to tell me that the administration closed the district for today's postal/bank holiday. The other three were from my mom who already had today off for the same reason they cancelled classes today. So, I now have the chance to burn those CDs for some of my students today.
Happy New Year 2006!
Well, it is officially the new year, and I have fourteen days left of student teaching, fifteen if you include the night that I'll come back for pep band. I've been looking online for jobs, and right now, there's not much as it is the middle of the school year. However, I have once again been tempted by the US Peace Corps webpage; according to their webpage, I'm actually very well qualified to join and probably teach overseas. That would be very cool.
I'm also in the middle of working on my application for my Wisconsin teaching license. Well, more like finding the application as we were given full instructions at the university but not the application itself. This is odd as they told us that they could notarize the application that day if we brought it to them.
We go back to school tomorrow morning, bright and early despite it being a postal/bank holiday. I'm pretty sure it's a day 1, but I'll find out when we get there. Of course, the last week we were in session, Monday was a day 1 as well. I get the feeling that I'll be searching around for that answer for awhile.
Well, off to do a few more chores for the night.
