Back to school!

Going back to school - am I insane?!? No, just hoping to increase my salary, and therefore, my retirement income. Our local university has started a cohort program for the Educational Specialist degree in Administration and Supervision. It's not a degree I need, in order to keep my job, but it is the only way for me to get a substantial raise. In education, the only way to make more money is to get another degree, and this seems to make the process as painless as possible. So, here we go!

I went to the organizational meeting in January, and 2 good friends, Leigh and Tommie, were also there. We agreed to stick together, and determined to start this journey. Since that time, both Leigh and Tommie have changed jobs. Leigh took a position with a different school system, and Tommie moved into Leigh's job. Now they both have even more motivation to get this degree. I'm still in it for the money.

This weekend we had our first class. We hadn't heard anything from the professor, so it was with great trepidation that we showed up at the class location on Friday. To our surprise and delight, this first class is mainly a process of gathering paperwork that we already have, and putting it all together into a portfolio, both in a binder and on a flash drive. No papers to write, no research, other than into our own accomplishments. We can do this!

After another 3 hours of class today, I'm excited about the prospect of broadening my perspective on education. I'm the first to admit, everything I see and hear is filtered through the lens of homeless education. Maybe it's time for me to look at the bigger picture, putting my program into that broader perspective, rather than the other way around. I'm ready!