I am considering a change. Alot of changes really. A change of direction, if you will.
For the past 10 years, I have taught college courses in American History as an adjunct. Adjunct is fancy college talk for "part-time". It means I teach 2 or 3 classes a semester and my job is renewed each semester at the will of the college. It is a job that I enjoy and one that I essentially had to teach myself. College professors are given very little guidance and even less oversight on how they run their classes. The first time I taught it was horrible. The students and I both struggled to make it work. It took me a couple of semesters to figure out what works for me. After all this time, I think I have it down now.
Meanwhile, for the past 16 years or so, I have worked full time in the museum world. I have worked my way up from unpaid intern to executive director and worked at some of the finest museum across Texas. This is another job that I love. Preserving our past means the world to me, especially at this time in our history when so many residents of our country share no heritage no history and perhaps even no love for America. Should the politicians one day allow this to become their country instead of our country, my job is to ensure that the history of our Ancestors, who built this country from nothing, is not forgotten.
Museums in America are privately funded. They raise money as 501(c)3 organizations, meaning they are non-profit. And with that non-profit status comes a boat load of petty local politics, corruption and backstabbing. The dark underbelly of the non-profit world is almost complete lack of ethics exercised by most boards of directors. I have had board members who paid their own employees from museum funds, board members who knew that was happening and looked the other way, boards who screamed at employees, and even one member who served on the board while, at the same time, serving as the executive director's therapist. (And I almost forgot the local politician who loaned a museum over $150,000 along with the promise to, one day, perhaps, forgive that loan... he was placed on the Board within days. Conflict of interest means almost nothing at most non-profits, except on paper, if the parties to the conflict are important people... or they are good donors. Its quite aggravating, really.
Anyway... I think I have decided to do something else with my professional life. I would like to teach full time... but since I only have a Master's degree, this is not very likely at the college level. I could teach at the High School or Middle School level, but I dont have a teaching certificate. Solution: Obtain teaching certificate!
I am considering returning to school for my (second) Master's Degree. This one would be an MA in Teaching... specifically, Social Science. I am considering WGU for this. I have applied, sent my transcripts, and I am studying for the assessment exam... which functions as an entrance exam. I know that I will need to pickup two Econ classes before I start as well. So, this blog will be about my journey. Unless I fail, then I'll just delete the whole damn thing and you'll never read this!
I guess the point is to give me a place to vent (since WGU doesnt have a campus where I can hang out). And, I'll leave for others this record of my journey so that you will have something to base your decision on if you are considering Western Governors University!
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