For those of you who may not know, after three years of teaching you have to renew or upgrade your teaching license. My teaching license will expire in June of 2010, so I've been looking at the requirements for the past few months. I'm going to try to upgrade to a Level 2 license. The biggest benefit is that I will get 5 years to renew my license instead of only 3. I'm planning on keeping a current teaching license even when I'm not using it, so that I could fall back on it if I needed to.
One of the things that I have to do is take a Praxis exam. To get my teaching license initially, I took a math content Praxis exam. But to get my Level 2 license, I also need to take another Praxis exam that tests me on the Principles of Learning and Teaching.
At least, that's what the test makers claim. The test is made up of 24 multiple-choice questions and 4 case studies with three essay questions each. And you only have 2 hours to take the test. Basically, to pass the test you have to become familiar with the concepts and key words that they're looking for, and try to write really fast.
I took the exam last month at the University of Utah. Fortunately, I left myself plenty of time, because I'm only moderately familiar with the campus and thought I might get lost. Which I did. There was some construction that confused me and made it difficult for me to find the right building, even though I knew the general area where it should be. So after driving around campus for a good 20-30 minutes, I finally made it in to the test room right as they were shutting the door.
It was a miserable test. At the end of the 2 hours I had an awful headache and a horrible hand cramp. But it was over. I managed to answer every question, but I knew some of my essays were pretty pathetic.
I had to wait a month to find out my score and see if I passed with a high enough grade. I REALLY didn't want to have to take it again. But this past week I found out that I passed! I needed 160 out of 200, and I scored a 182. HORRAY!!!
And let me tell you, I am SO glad that I don't have to take it again. Now I just need to work on the paperwork for my Level 2 license. I have until June, but I'm going to try to get it out of the way earlier.
Sunday, December 20, 2009
The Saga of the Sweater
I have simple tastes when it comes to clothes. I'm not big into fashion or designer labels, and I enjoy wearing the same clothes for a decade or longer. I still have some clothes and shoes from elementary school.
I like having a few simple cardigans as part of my wardrobe. They can be either button-up or have a zipper. I usually like to have three: black, white, and cream/tan. They help me to expand my wardrobe in the winter, because I can still wear a short-sleeved shirt with the cardigan on top. They also help me stay warm, providing an extra layer of clothing so I don't have to wear my coat all day (I get cold really easily).
Well, the white sweater that I currently have is comfortable but a little thin and see-through, and doesn't provide much warmth. So I don't wear it very often. I have now stained my cream colored sweater multiple times and it's starting to look kind of ratty. This left my black sweater, which I wore all the time - up until a few weeks ago, that is.
That was when I noticed that I had a hole in the elbow of my sweater. Sometimes I'll still wear clothes when they have small holes or stains, but this hole is pretty noticable.
It's been really difficult not having a cardigan to wear. So for the past few weeks, as we've been out Christmas shopping, I've been looking for a replacement sweater. I especially want a black one, but I wouldn't mind getting a cream or white one as well.
I had NO IDEA that it would be so difficult to find a simple cardigan! I've run into the following problems in my search:
Hoodies (I want it to be nicer, something I can wear to church)
Shawls
Really big necks
Ties that go around the bottom (what do I need them for)
Too short (I want it to cover the shirt I'm wearing underneath)
Too long (looks more like a coat - not what I'm looking for)
Buttons that only go halfway
Writing or designs (I want a solid color)
Too big (is it too much to ask that it be in my size?)
Too tight (the sleeves of the shirt underneath would look bunchy)
Am I being too picky? I just want a simple, solid colored sweater to wear over my clothes. It should be long enough to cover my shirt, but not so long that it looks like a small dress. It can be either button-up or have a zipper. I don't want anything fancy or super fashionable - just a simple cardigan! Apparently, I am asking for the impossible. And any time I find something that comes close, they don't have it in my size.
I'm open to ideas, if you have any. But I don't want to order anything off of the Internet - I want to be able to try it on first.
I like having a few simple cardigans as part of my wardrobe. They can be either button-up or have a zipper. I usually like to have three: black, white, and cream/tan. They help me to expand my wardrobe in the winter, because I can still wear a short-sleeved shirt with the cardigan on top. They also help me stay warm, providing an extra layer of clothing so I don't have to wear my coat all day (I get cold really easily).
Well, the white sweater that I currently have is comfortable but a little thin and see-through, and doesn't provide much warmth. So I don't wear it very often. I have now stained my cream colored sweater multiple times and it's starting to look kind of ratty. This left my black sweater, which I wore all the time - up until a few weeks ago, that is.
That was when I noticed that I had a hole in the elbow of my sweater. Sometimes I'll still wear clothes when they have small holes or stains, but this hole is pretty noticable.
It's been really difficult not having a cardigan to wear. So for the past few weeks, as we've been out Christmas shopping, I've been looking for a replacement sweater. I especially want a black one, but I wouldn't mind getting a cream or white one as well.
I had NO IDEA that it would be so difficult to find a simple cardigan! I've run into the following problems in my search:
Hoodies (I want it to be nicer, something I can wear to church)
Shawls
Really big necks
Ties that go around the bottom (what do I need them for)
Too short (I want it to cover the shirt I'm wearing underneath)
Too long (looks more like a coat - not what I'm looking for)
Buttons that only go halfway
Writing or designs (I want a solid color)
Too big (is it too much to ask that it be in my size?)
Too tight (the sleeves of the shirt underneath would look bunchy)
Am I being too picky? I just want a simple, solid colored sweater to wear over my clothes. It should be long enough to cover my shirt, but not so long that it looks like a small dress. It can be either button-up or have a zipper. I don't want anything fancy or super fashionable - just a simple cardigan! Apparently, I am asking for the impossible. And any time I find something that comes close, they don't have it in my size.
I'm open to ideas, if you have any. But I don't want to order anything off of the Internet - I want to be able to try it on first.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)