Creature Bug

7 Quick Takes Friday: Back to School Week

: 1 :

Before you do any reading, you have to look at Sarah's First Day of School pictures of all the Family Farm kids (plus a picture of both me and Sarah). They are seriously fabulous. Go ahead and click over. I'll wait.

: 2 :

We successfully made it through the first three days of school, although today's drop-off was definitely the hardest on Sydney. I've been walking her into her classroom, but today she cried and cried when I left. Her teacher and a classroom helper were next to her in a flash, so I felt okay about walking away, but I got a little teary eyed. Not because I was sad to drop her off, but because I was sad she was crying. I think next week we're going to try not walking her into her classroom, and just walk her into the school. It's good for her, but I know it's hard too.

: 3 :

After we dropped Syd off at the first day of school, Jules said, "I'm really going to miss Synny."

"Me too," I said.

"We'll never see her again," lamented Jules.

"We'll see her when she gets home from school," I told her.

"And then she leaves and we'll never see her again. I'm so sad."

Jules evidently got the whole Sydney going off to school/Aunt Andrea going off to school mixed up, and thought Sydney was gone forever. It was sweet and sad and touching all at the same time. Fortunately, we got it all figured out. Sydney does come home. Every day.

: 4 :

Getting up early to make sure Syd gets to school on time is tough work. We have to be out the door by 8 am. We are often not out of bed by 8 am because I've trained my children to be late sleepers like me. So far we're all a teeny tiny bit grouchy with the new schedule (I wake up at 6:45 and wake the girls up at 7:15), but I'm amazed at how much time is left in the day after we drop Sydney off. There's, like, a whole day to do stuff. Still. Regularly using an alarm clock for the first time in 7 years is tough.

: 5 :

Jason starts school next Wednesday, but this week and last week he's had some meeting/training/orientation stuff going on. For the first time in six years, I do not lament him going back to work. Work is good. Paychecks are good. Schedules where I know what kind of day we're going to have is good. Hallelujah for a job.

BTW, in case you didn't know, he's teaching an 8th grade Social Studies/Language Arts inclusion class (which means he has all the 8th graders who have IEPs). He'll do great at it, and I should publicly state (because I know Jason reads my blog) that he'll do just fine teaching Language Arts, no matter how, er, condescending my tone gets with him sometimes. (I believe in you, honey! Nevermind my condescension. I'm a crazy pregnant woman, remember?).

: 6 :

Bragging time: Sydney got rewarded for being such a good listener in class today.The teacher picked one boy and one girl who were paying attention the best, and tada! A blue lollypop was bestowed on my sweet Miss Manners. Also, her favorite subject is music. They had a little survey in class today to see if students enjoyed yesterday's PE class or Music class best. Sydney was one of TWO kids who picked music over PE. I smiled. Jason groaned.

: 7 :

She might be a good listener, but Sydney is not immune to peer pressure. After the first day of school, Sydney told me that all the other girls at her table had granola bars for their afternoon snack. EXCEPT HER. And so would I PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF MERCY pack a granola bar in her lunch. I did.

And the girl was happy.

: Extra non-school related item :

We all know what Cinderella sang: A dream is a wish your heart makes when you're fast asleep. But let me tell you, if you're wishing for a baby to arrive, you won't be fast asleep for long. I had contractions last night every 4 minutes for 3 hours. Today, nothing much going on, but it's a good sign that I will not, in fact, be pregnant for much longer. Maybe, just maybe, this really will be Labor Day weekend.

Check out more quick takes at Conversion Diary.

The Application Story (Phd not required...evidently)

I have a lame joke I tell in my classes. All of their speeches are timed, so I have a little kitchen timer sitting on the podium so they can (ideally) insure that they don't talk too long (rarely do they not talk long enough). I give a mini-tutorial on how to use the timer and end by saying, "I got the one that doesn't require a college degree, you know, because you don't have one yet." Ha!

I know. The students don't laugh either.

But I thought of that joke when I was filling out the application for Texas Tech. Evidently, a PhD is not required to go to graduate school, but you still have be darn smart.

I worked all day on Tuesday on my application. I ordered my transcripts, feeling proud of myself again that I got a 4.0 in graduate school, which will hopefully cover for me getting a 3.6 in undergrad.

I wrote up a curriculum vitae, which is like a resume except not quite. Mine is pretty lame. I have no awards, no honors, no stars next to my name. Technically, I have been published twice (once in an academic journal (page 20 if you click on the link), and also as a co-author for our school's speech textbook), but they're both pretty weak. I need to work on this.

For my writing sample, I revised a paper I wrote several years ago, which was really difficult to do. The paper itself was good (according to the professor's end comments), but when I reread over it to edit it, I had a hard time. Where the professor had written "Bakhtin begs to be discussed here," I could only helplessly nod my head. I've largely forgotten the how Bakhtin relates to the paper's topic, and felt completely unprepared to discuss him in any intelligent fashion. My ego was bruised; I did what I could. Adding to the paper's complications? The professor hadn't required a works cited page, and I can't find the original essays. Meh.

But I muddled through it, and finally started the Statement of Intent. It has to be 500-1000 words. It has to explain why, of all the applicants, the program should pick me.

I wrote it. I was ready to send off the entire application but then just before I did I happened to click on a link on Texas Tech's page.

Applying to Graduate School in Technical Communication

If you're applying to graduate school--whether for your masters or PhD, whether for technical communication or otherwise--you have to read this article. Even if it's practically impossible for the school to turn you down (like it was for me and my graduate school that accepts nearly everyone who applies), it's good info to read.

Considering I'm applying for a program that I suspect is more competitive than any of the previous schools I attended, I shudder to think what would have happened if I hadn't read it before I emailed my application. Well, what would have happened is that I probably wouldn't have gotten accepted because my Statement of Intent was apparently exactly what admissions people hate. Personal anecdotes? Oh dear. Demographic information? Oh my. Use of humor? Oh no.

Not to mention the fact that I didn't include anything relating to current technical communication research (yeah, that's because I haven't done any...). I even started to wonder if I had picked the wrong program.

I was horrified that I was *this close* to sending in my application.

The good news is I have a much better idea of what I need to write.

The good news is I have the first draft done...the first of a recommended 10 drafts.

And the good news is I realized they changed their deadline information, so I'm too late for the fall semester and I'll have to wait to start until January 2011. Why is that good news? Well, it's not exactly, except that now I have lots of time to work on my application because I have until September 1st.

It was a shiny light bulb moment, realizing that this is going to be work (which I knew) and that I need to prepare for it (also knew) and join an academic community that focuses on technical communication (had not even considered it previously) even if I'm not really all that excited about technical communication. This is the degree I have to get to do what I want to do. The light bulb shining above my head is a bit too bright for comfort, but two days later I feel myself breathing deeper.

I have a Statement of Intent to write, GREs to pass, and research to do. And I have eight months to do it in.

I know what I want to be when I grow up, and I'm willing to work hard to get there.

Hopefully that'll be enough. ♥

The Backstory (PhD required)

Last fall I decided I wanted to become a full-time college professor. The hours are good, I really enjoy what I do, and the girls will get free tuition. Since I happen to teach at a small private liberal arts college where tuition is currently hovering in the mid-$20,000 range (let alone where it'll be in 13 years), then free tuition is a really nice perk.

Despite the fact that my job is inconveniently located 70 miles away, it is a sweet teaching gig. Although I'm perfectly happy with my 2-afternoons-a-week classes, at some point in the next 6-7-8 years I'd like to see if I can turn it into a full-time profession. In order for that to happen I have to get my PhD. Preferably before the next 6-7-8 years.

My major qualification for the program: it has to be done by distance. As in, mostly online with a smattering of on-campus work. Moving somewhere to go to school is not realistic (although it would make it so much cheaper because I could get a teaching fellowship). The local-ish universities are really not so local, and I've already ruled out University of Oregon because I refuse to be a Duck. Plus, they don't have the program I want. Even still. I just say no to Duck.

So my choices are already quite limited.

I've done a fair amount of research on PhD programs, and I've come to the conclusion that I don't want to study literature. I like literature. I do. I like it a lot. I even like teaching it. But I can't imagine myself as a full-time literature professor. It's not my thing.

What I have discovered over the past four years of teaching speech is that communication is my thing. I love teaching public speaking. If I could teach six sections of Fundamentals of Public Speaking for the rest of my professional career, I would. I love helping students overcome their fears of public speaking and deliver speeches about topics they're passionate about. Just this past semester I got to listen to students give speeches on issues they cared deeply about, from helping the homeless, to ministering to children with disabilities, to encouraging members of the military with Love Boxes. Time and time again I hear students say that they were dreading the class to begin with, but loved it by the end. It's very rewarding.

Studying English literature doesn't really make me a better speech teacher. What would make me a better speech teacher is studying communication and rhetoric. That specific area also happens to be an area the college wants to grow in. It just so happens that (as far as I can tell) there are only two programs in the country that offer distance education degrees in communication and rhetoric:

Old Dominion University and Texas Tech University.

For a variety of reasons (mostly financial) I've decided that Texas Tech's program--a degree called Technical Communication and Rhetoric--is a better fit for me and my future at the college. The only thing I'm a little bit hesitant about is that it, naturally, emphasizes the technical aspect of communication. That's really not my field of expertise (or even vague knowledge of), so I have some serious homework ahead of me for that.

In fact, after working all day on my application I began to have some serious doubts that I am even PhD material. That story is coming tomorrow. ♥

Week 272: First Day of School

All summer long Sydney has been waiting for the first day of kindergarten. "Is it tomorrow?" she'd ask multiple times a week. No, not tomorrow. After we go on vacation.

We went on vacation, and when we got back we had to consult a calendar (regularly) to assure Sydney that she would, in fact, be going to school eventually.

The day came last Wednesday. The First Day of School.

She picked out her own outfit and hair accessory. Per usual, she looked adorable. These days I am not consulted much in the way of wardrobe, and since mostly everything in her closet has some element of pink, they all coordinate together pretty well. There was no doubt she'd be wearing a dress, no doubt she'd have on her shiny new glasses, and absolutely no doubt she was ready for school.

Was I ready for her to go to school?

Yep.

I briefly thought about getting sentimental and weepy, but then decided not to. No doubt my calmness is due to the fact that Sydney attends a small pre-school/kindergarten where there are few variables to worry about. It's the same school she has visited frequently over the past year, the same classroom she visited weekly for a church related event. Most importantly, Sydney's kindergarten teacher is her grandma and her bestest cousin Clover is her classmate.

I suppose, in a sense, it's not a true test of my willingness to let Sydney grow up just yet. She's not riding a school bus, not in a classroom full of strangers, not with a teacher I don't know. Next year, when we have to make a real decision about where she goes to school, I'll probably be considerably more anxious. But next year is next year, and I'm not looking that far ahead just yet. Let me bask in my zen moment for right now.

As for this year, I can't wait to see what Sydney learns. She may be reserved at times, she might occasionally be quiet, but when it comes down to it, she's the kid who jumps on the rollercoaster, throws her arms in the air and screams for joy.

(Video: Sydney on a rollercoaster--13 seconds)

Ah, my sweet Sydney, school is one ride I know you'll love.

Week 270: Red to read

Once upon a time Sydney had a pair of bifocal glasses she refused to wear. They were cute, plenty cute. But she didn't like them. And though we paid plenty for those glasses, we couldn't pay Sydney to wear them.

So, we let the "you should wear bifocals" issue slide. Until recently.

Next week, Sydney will be heading off to kindergarten. At school I'm quite certain she'll be doing school related activities like coloring and looking at books and doing worksheets about addition and subtraction. She'll be writing her name on dozens of papers, threading beads onto strings, gluing pasta onto construction paper. She'll be looking into terrariums at bugs, trying to determine how many legs a butterfly has.

Her eyes have to be in top shape. Her eyes need to decide that the shapes on the paper are letters, make sense of the order the letters are in, and then read them. That's hard work.

Her right eye does most of this stuff--the looking, the reading, the focusing--but her left eye stays out of the macro-lensed adventures. This being the case, she has to wear bifocals because her sweet little eyes need the extra help.

Last month she picked out new glasses, and they are RED. Not just a little bit red. A lot red. She likes them, especially since--according to her--they make her look "a lot older...at least seven years old." I kind of agree.

At the very least, she looks like a junior librarian.

Note the sparkly butterflies on the side. They are very important, as any five year-old girl can attest to. If you visit us, tell Sydney you like the butterflies. She'd be so pleased.