Work and College

Like most college students these days, I have to work while I am in school. This can become an extremely difficult thing to do, comsuming time and energy and taking away from study time. Luckily, I do not have to pay for school, so I lucked out in that sense, but taking care of bills and even basic living expenses becomes difficult and demanding. When I took my introduction class for Elementary Ed. I was told that I probably would not be able to have a job at all for the four months that I will be in "the block" because I have to be available from eight to five monday through friday and it's overwhelming! This is sneaking up on me for September already, and I do not know how I am going to do that when I am barely scraping by now! It is just discouraging because we are in school so that we can ultimately make more money, but we struggle to stay afloat for the time being.

Double Major-Double Stress

I came to Bridgewater State College with the intention of getting a degree in Elementary Education. I had no idea that I would have to double major, or that I would choose English, a major with thirty-three extra credits! I am in the last semester of my third year now and although it has been extremely difficult at times I am proud that I have already made it this far. I am nervous about entering the block in the fall, which is my ultimate goal, but I believe that I am ready. With five english courses this summer, and hopefully my english seminar over the summer, I will be ready to graduate next May. This is a scary thought! All of the requirements have caused a good amount of stress in my life, but I am hoping that it will all be worth it in the end.

Substitute Teaching !

Since my major at Bridgewater is Elementary Education (and English, of course), I have had to do some outside, field experience for a few of my classes. When I recently learned that I was able to substitute teach after completely two full years of school for education, I was immediately on board! I am so excited to teach and I cannot wait to get out into the world of education, so I thought, what a great idea! So, I went to the elementary school in my town and filled out an application.

Tuesday was my first day as a substitute teacher, and the real-life, hands on experience was incredible. It is definately something I would like to continue doing in order to prepare myself for when I have a classroom of my own. I taught a fifth grade special needs class, and although a few of them were a bit wild, they were a particularly hard-working bunch. I was nervous at first, but the day went well and I learned a lot! I also got to apply a lot of what I have learned so far in school, which was great!

Online course

Being a third year student at Bridgewater, it is often difficult to keep track of all of the requirements that are needed in terms of majors and semesters and specific classes. This semester I decided to take an online class. I had taken a simple, ENGL102 online course before, but I am learning a lot more through this one. It is much more detailed and specific with its qualifications and expectations. Online courses can be just as overwhelming a course load than any other class. I am sure that some people think an online course will be easier and less time consuming than a regular class, but that is obviously not always the case. I am glad I enrolled in this class so that I can broaden my views and experience with computer programs and online education, but I am paying the price of inexperience as well!