So I completed my teaching application for the Diocese of Pittsburgh; all that’s left now is to print it out somewhere (my own printer has been out of black ink for the past few months and this is the kind of thing I can’t just switch to dark blue for), add my clearance documents, and mail it in. So that’s done.
I’ve also requested information about Reading Specialist certification at Pitt, which seems to be the only school in the area offering it. My only concerns about “getting in” at the moment would be a teaching experience requirement. I’m not sure if my teaching internship qualifies as experience, nor if my day-to-day substituting counts. Part of the reason I want the certification is to make me more adaptable to the job market (though I would definitely enjoy teaching reading, as well) but if this is yet another Catch-22, where you need experience to get experience so you can get hired and get experience…well, let’s just say I’d be less than pleased. It’s hard when you’re a qualified applicant (and also a pretty damn good teacher), and all that matters is what step you’ve reached in a school (more than 1, but less than 5 seems to be the golden standard of school districts in southwestern Pennsylvania – and it matters little whether or not you actually try to do your job, regardless of how good you are).
I have looked a little more into the PhD programs. They sound really fascinating and getting my doctorate is definitely something I will do in the future; my research has led me to that conclusion. There are two programs that stick out to me, both offered at Pitt. One is Learning Science and Policy, which would appeal to my interest in institutions, systems, and research; the other is Language, Learning, and Culture, which would appeal to my interest in language, gender, and social constructs. I will continue to look at these as my future becomes a little clearer.
But I don’t think now is the time. I’m getting married in July. Who knows when Ian will know what he is doing next year (he is working on it), but there’s no guarantee we will stay in Pittsburgh. I’ve begun to scope out the employment situation in other cities we may move to (Washington, D.C. is a likely candidate) and while I know “there are always a million reasons not to do something,” committing to something for the next 4-7 years without knowing what my future spouse is doing or where he’ll end up may not be a wise choice. Even if it means I am stuck with belittling administrators, a tough job market, and waking up to calls at 5am telling me, “Why yes, you are working today,” and that’s about as much advance notice as I ever get. Plus, who knows what might happen with the Diocese of Pittsburgh. From what Ian says (as a K-12 product of the Catholic school system), it’s hard to get qualified teachers in Catholic schools who are willing to work for less salary and minimal benefits who also identify as members of the religion. But they better believe that I’m willing.
Even though I think public education has so much to offer to the world, my experiences thus far have made me seriously reconsider whether or not I ever want my children in public schools. And while I strongly believe that religion and government institutions just should not mix, I don’t have a problem with education (that parents choose, not have forced upon them) that helps instill religious values also being taught at home. It’s no more brainwashing than forcing students to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance every day – or even better, look at the view of history presented in some/most American high school social studies textbooks. There is some scary stuff in there. In tenth grade, my social studies teacher ranted for a good fifteen minutes about the Nazi sympathies of the textbook we were using while studying Hitler’s rise to power.
The primary question for me as a (future) parent is whether or not the values are good and ones that I share. The “undercurrent values” taught at most public schools I’ve worked in, despite the efforts of a few great individuals, are not something I want my kids exposed to as young children or adolescents (primarily, minimal work, lack of care and attention, and testing, testing, testing over thinking.) Obviously, some of these values are pervasive throughout American/Western society and part of growth comes from exposure and then rejection of these ideas, so it’s not like I want to protect these as-yet-non-existent children from anything and everything that might disturb their little world. I refuse to be one of “those parents.” But I probably will be, to somebody out there.
Anyway, the point is that I think I could really enjoy teaching in a Catholic school, just because the mission is more aligned with my tastes and values, and I feel like I could have more freedom to teach, because private and parochial schools have less oversight from the government so there’s less pressure from the administration. Kids in Catholic school don’t take PSSAs (one HUGE point in their favor). But they’re not free from scrutiny, either. Seems like a good mix – we’ll just have to see.
So despite the kind of dead-end I’ve reached for this year, maybe it’s not too bad. While I’m glad that I finished my MAT in one year rather than two, it makes sense that there would be a bit of a lag until Ian was finished and we make some permanent plans, finally.
For now, I think about ten different directions I could go, and I wait.
