Next semester....

starts tomorrow- ah! Where did the break go? Oh well. In preparation for the new semester which promises to be nuts, I thought I'd blog about the classes I'll be taking and my schedule for those interested (Mom). Maybe this will explain why, if you ask me to dinner sometime, I'll have to be so particular about which night.
So, Tuesday nights (7:15-9:45) I'm taking Sociology of the Inner City Child. Can't wait for it, but it stinks that it's so late! Then, Wednesday at 9am-11:30am, I teach the literacy course with the same crew as usual all year. From 4:30-7pm, I take Critique of Ed. Research which promises to be painful but good preparation for my comps (will explain that in a minute). On Thursdays, I'll be out at an elem school supervising interns for the entire school day, but luckily the school is in our neighborhood and I absolutely love the school! Then, Thurs. nights I have another class from 7:15-9:45pm- Supervision of School Literacy Programs...wasn't planning on taking this, but the other (earlier) class I was registered for was cancelled and I love this professor who is teaching it. Then there's Fridays, where I usually have an all-day meeting one to two times a month.
So, what will I do during all those times I'm not in class? Study for "comps"- comprehensive exams. At the end of a phd program, one takes comps to ensure that one knows enough to begin the dissertation process. Since I only will have 3 classes to take this summer and fall, I'm going to go ahead and take them this semester. So, each member of my committee (3) creates a question for me and I have a certain amount of time to write it and turn it in. There's also one more question I'll have to do that is program-wide. Some people make you sit all day and write, some members will let you take it home and give you a few days to write. Some give you lots of 'ideas' about what your questions are so that you can really read beforehand and be more prepared. What I'm planning to do is do about 1 question a week beginning in March, and then turn them all done by the end of March so that I can then do an oral defense of them all with my committee- whew!! So if you don't hear from me at all in March you know why.....Before then, I have lots of reading to do to 'pre prepare' if that makes any sense.
Is it May yet? :)