Why do you ask? Well, I'm about two weeks into my second summer session here at ECU and I have three words to describe my experiences so far....educational, exciting, and exhausting!
Let me explain......
I am taking two courses this session: Computers in Education and Early Childhood Intervention. This leads me to my first E: educational. ECU does a fantastic job making sure that you're educated in your specific field of study, no matter what! No short cuts because it's a shortened class. No easy way out because the instructors empathize with your time constraints. Nope, you're going to get your moneys worth even if you have to stay up all night to do it!
This leads me to my second E: exciting. I have learned more in the past two weeks about computers and early intervention then I thought I would starting out this summer. I am in love with the field of early childhood education so the topics we are discussing in my early intervention class are very exciting and just reinforces that fact that I'm where I should be in terms of my chosen field of study - BK. The computers class holds a different kind of excitement for me. I was overwhelmed at first because I am not at all tech. savvy and I actually dreaded doing some of the assignments. I thought, well, this class is just a means to an end so lets get started. It wasn't until I was learning how to do all this really cool stuff that I appreciated what this course had to offer me. I have never heard of Googledocs and although I can't say that I LOVE working with it, it does serve as a great time saver to share documents. And blogging....ha-ha-ha....I always thought those "bloggers" had too much time on their hands, but it's actually kind of fun! However, it wasn't until I starting creating my own webpage that I started to actually get excited to hop on the computer to tweak and add to it. So while I'm still overwhelmed, I'm not as scared anymore (and this is huge for me!).
I also have my three children at home with me this summer and a husband who cannot help out much due to the fact that he's active duty in the Marine Corps and works a lot of late hours. Those factors coupled with two intense classes over the next four weeks leads me to my last letter E: exhausting. Going to bed before midnight is a novelty around here, but thank goodness I get to sleep in. :) I don't want to ruin my girls' summer by locking them in their room all day just so I can do homework, so I have to divide up my time wisely and do the majority of my work after they go to bed (hence the night owl that I've turned into). Although I am tired, I am also thankful. Thankful that I am off work this summer to focus more time on my studies, thankful that I can keep my kids home with me instead of in day care, and thankful for a husband who is supporting me throughout this endeavor. All these blessings make the exhaustion a little easier to handle.
My goal over the next month is to continue become "elephantine" - that is like an elephant, big and strong - while I navigate through these educational waters. With my head held high I know that when I am finished, I will have become more educated, and although my journey will have been an exhausting one, I will head back to school with even more excitement so see my students again and put into practice all that I have learned.
For those reasons and more, I say THANK YOU to ECU for making me a better teacher!
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