So I took the "Home State" version of the ACE today, the "Currently Residing In" state version of which I took at the beginning of April. The Home State version was computer-based whereas the Current State version was paper-based, although Home State allows one the option of choosing paper-based.
Paper-based testing requires enormous administrative feats, which ensures that they will only be offered in a limited number of sites at a few times during the year. Taking a computer-based version meant I could go to a testing facility right here in the Shining City where I currently live, choose a date and time convenient for me and (and this is the biggie...) get my "unofficial" results moments after completing the test.
I passed. It's not as momentous as passing the Current State ACE, because I probably already had a job in Home State through the career-changers program I'm participating in, and I wasn't as concerned about it, given I'd already passed a very similar test a couple of months ago, but still, it's good to get that done.
The tests were similar, but with some significantly different emphases... for example, there was only one real stats question on the Home State test, versus probably 8 - 10 on the Current State test. There had to have been 5 or 6 circle/angle (geometry) questions on the Home State test, versus only 1 on the Current State version.
One fairly weird thing... I did a day in a "high needs / at risk" school in Home State, in which I sat in on an Algebra II class and a Geometry class. There were questions on the test relating to both class sessions, which, given that there are 180 days in the school year and only 70 questions on the test, is somewhat surprising. Both were questions I would have struggled with if I hadn't been in the class.
On to the info session in Home State, next week.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Certifiable
Here's the subject line from the Home State Department of Education's email to me noting that I'd applied for certification:
Teacher Certification Program - Welcome, [TOKEN:First Name][TOKEN:Last Name]!
I feel so much better now.
Teacher Certification Program - Welcome, [TOKEN:First Name][TOKEN:Last Name]!
I feel so much better now.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Late Returns from Outlying Counties
One of the counties in which I'm most interested in working had no job postings for teachers throughout April, and I had heard they were in a hiring freeze. It seemed unlikely they could actually accomplish a complete hiring freeze, given that many teachers retire each year, and there are limits on the size of classes. Nonetheless, I wasn't optimistic, given that they hadn't posted anything.
Today, however, I noticed the county has posted 7 or 8 open math teacher positions in 5 high schools. I immediately applied for positions in all 5 high schools. So that seems like good news...
Today, however, I noticed the county has posted 7 or 8 open math teacher positions in 5 high schools. I immediately applied for positions in all 5 high schools. So that seems like good news...
Monday, May 18, 2009
More transcripts
To apply for educator certification in home state, I have to send official transcripts to the department of education of the state. Of course, if I've applied for any jobs in the state, I've already requested the transcripts be sent to each of the counties in which I've applied. Wouldn't it make sense to coordinate this in some way? Say... send official transcripts to the state department of education, then allow the relevant counties to access those records? Hmm...
Meanwhile, it's back to FedExOffice (formerly known as FedExKinkos) for another round of copying and faxing request forms. Sigh.
Meanwhile, it's back to FedExOffice (formerly known as FedExKinkos) for another round of copying and faxing request forms. Sigh.
Monday, May 11, 2009
School Visit
One purpose of the previous post was to describe the in-school visit I made as part of the career-changers program, which I then forgot to include. So here it is, in a post all its own:
I went to a school where most students are "at risk" kids... low income, often single-parent households, etc. My assignment was to shadow a teacher throughout her day, and deliver a 15 minute presentation to one of her classes so that she could assess my ability to interact with the kids, my "front of class" presence, etc. That went fine. The fascinating part was my observations of the classroom when I wasn't presenting. My assigned teacher (I'll call her Miss Marple) taught three Algebra II classes (1 1/2 hours each) and had one free period. During her free period, I sat in on Mr. Poirot's geometry class. Miss Marple was enthusiastic, energetic and clearly enjoyed interacting with the kids, respecting them and what they had to say. Mr. Poirot, when I introduced myself and described why I was in the school, spent 10 minutes telling me what a horrible job it is -- the kids are disrespectful, the system is broken, no one can teach anything and no students can or will learn, the pay is terrible, etc., etc. Miss Marple's students were respectful (within the constraints of being 16- and 17-year-old kids), took the class seriously and were clearly trying to learn. Mr. Poirot's students fully lived up to his expectations -- they were disrespectful, disinterested, surly and uncooperative. He spent as much time as possible avoiding interaction -- lecturing on terminology and then an enormous amount of class time on individual work that was essentially the day's homework.
It was the clearest demonstration I could ever hope to have that the teacher is the one who determines how the interaction will go... There's no reason teaching kids can't be fun, involving and rewarding, if the teacher is willing to put in the effort to meet the kids halfway. On the other hand, it can be hell if the teacher makes it so. At least, that was my takeaway. I am virtually certain the program designers didn't set the school visit up in this way to make that point, but they probably should.
I went to a school where most students are "at risk" kids... low income, often single-parent households, etc. My assignment was to shadow a teacher throughout her day, and deliver a 15 minute presentation to one of her classes so that she could assess my ability to interact with the kids, my "front of class" presence, etc. That went fine. The fascinating part was my observations of the classroom when I wasn't presenting. My assigned teacher (I'll call her Miss Marple) taught three Algebra II classes (1 1/2 hours each) and had one free period. During her free period, I sat in on Mr. Poirot's geometry class. Miss Marple was enthusiastic, energetic and clearly enjoyed interacting with the kids, respecting them and what they had to say. Mr. Poirot, when I introduced myself and described why I was in the school, spent 10 minutes telling me what a horrible job it is -- the kids are disrespectful, the system is broken, no one can teach anything and no students can or will learn, the pay is terrible, etc., etc. Miss Marple's students were respectful (within the constraints of being 16- and 17-year-old kids), took the class seriously and were clearly trying to learn. Mr. Poirot's students fully lived up to his expectations -- they were disrespectful, disinterested, surly and uncooperative. He spent as much time as possible avoiding interaction -- lecturing on terminology and then an enormous amount of class time on individual work that was essentially the day's homework.
It was the clearest demonstration I could ever hope to have that the teacher is the one who determines how the interaction will go... There's no reason teaching kids can't be fun, involving and rewarding, if the teacher is willing to put in the effort to meet the kids halfway. On the other hand, it can be hell if the teacher makes it so. At least, that was my takeaway. I am virtually certain the program designers didn't set the school visit up in this way to make that point, but they probably should.
Mid-term Update
In my "home" state, I'm in a program for career-changers seeking to become teachers. I missed the deadline to enter a similar program in the state in which my youngest children live, so I had to go a different route there. Because I'm not in the program in that state, my odds of getting a job there are lower, but presumably still pretty good, particularly now that I've passed the Assessment for the Certification of Educators (ACE) in that state.
Anyway, the final interview for the career changers program was Thursday, and it seemed pretty clear I passed that hurdle, based on the end-of-interview conversation. Moreover, the lead person for this program was very careful to state that, because of the budget cuts, even people who are in the program may not have jobs until December or January. But then the other people in the room spent a lot of time trying to avoid completely undermining what the lead person said while still indicating that, as someone with a masters in math, I am almost certainly going to have a job in August. So I guess the probable worst case at this point is that I'll have a job in the home state. Still obviously would prefer a job where the kids live, of course, but we'll see.
One new wrinkle as of noon today... E's mom lost her job. (That now puts E's mom, KB's mom and me all out of work. Sheesh.) Anyway, there's a solid chance she'll need to leave the state to find a new job. So at this point, my taking a job in the home state for a year and then figuring out what to do based on where E's mom (and E) have landed is actually looking like a solid option.
Meanwhile, K is a lawyer. Or at least, a graduate of law school. Or at least, a person who has gone through the graduation ceremonies at law school, and is merely awaiting notice that she's passed all her last semester courses making her officially an actual graduate of law school. The bar exam in July will, as I understand it, finally determine lawyerhood. Whatever, it's a pretty cool thing. And, as an added bonus, I learned how to play Flip Cup, a game I wish I'd known about 30 years ago. (Did it exist?)
Anyway, the final interview for the career changers program was Thursday, and it seemed pretty clear I passed that hurdle, based on the end-of-interview conversation. Moreover, the lead person for this program was very careful to state that, because of the budget cuts, even people who are in the program may not have jobs until December or January. But then the other people in the room spent a lot of time trying to avoid completely undermining what the lead person said while still indicating that, as someone with a masters in math, I am almost certainly going to have a job in August. So I guess the probable worst case at this point is that I'll have a job in the home state. Still obviously would prefer a job where the kids live, of course, but we'll see.
One new wrinkle as of noon today... E's mom lost her job. (That now puts E's mom, KB's mom and me all out of work. Sheesh.) Anyway, there's a solid chance she'll need to leave the state to find a new job. So at this point, my taking a job in the home state for a year and then figuring out what to do based on where E's mom (and E) have landed is actually looking like a solid option.
Meanwhile, K is a lawyer. Or at least, a graduate of law school. Or at least, a person who has gone through the graduation ceremonies at law school, and is merely awaiting notice that she's passed all her last semester courses making her officially an actual graduate of law school. The bar exam in July will, as I understand it, finally determine lawyerhood. Whatever, it's a pretty cool thing. And, as an added bonus, I learned how to play Flip Cup, a game I wish I'd known about 30 years ago. (Did it exist?)
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Funding FedEx
So my ACE scores arrived in the mail yesterday, giving me the last piece of paper I needed to complete the various applications, making today a "fill out forms and fax them everywhere" kind of day. Several thoughts on that:
1. It is absurd that I have to send my transcripts to every single county to which I want to apply. One school charges $5 per transcript, so that was $20, on top of the $20 I'd previously spent for 4 previous requests. The other schools fortunately don't charge, but two of them also do not allow emailed or web requests, so I had to fax them, at $2.50 per fax... times 2 schools times 4 requests... another $20.
2. It is equally absurd that counties can't access the fact that I passed the ACE. So I had to fax my ACE scores to 4 counties... $10.
3. "ACE scores" is a misnomer... for some reason I haven't been able to completely follow, but vaguely understand as having to do with discrimination (according the the website), ACE doesn't report passing scores - only that I passed. So I don't actually know what I scored. I guess that doesn't matter to me, and maybe it shouldn't matter to schools looking to hire math teachers, because the test doesn't come remotely close to assessing whether the examinee can teach, or in fact if the examinee actually understands very much math. Whatever. I passed.
4. Not working in an office with an internet connection, a copy machine and a fax machine makes this process absurdly expensive. I probably spent $75 today at FedEx Kinkos, and that's only half of the total applications.
5. Still, it's done (nearly). I have to mail (!) forms to my references to complete, along with a couple of other ticky-tack things for a county I don't really want to work in. But when THAT is done, I'm through applying and can sit back and wait for the offers to roll in. Yippie.
Last but not least, got a nice email today from a contact of KB's mom. (KB's mom is a fiend about networking). This contact works with something called IB World Schools, which is embedded in a lot of school districts. Anyway, she seems to believe there are lots of unfilled math positions around town, so that's a good thing.
1. It is absurd that I have to send my transcripts to every single county to which I want to apply. One school charges $5 per transcript, so that was $20, on top of the $20 I'd previously spent for 4 previous requests. The other schools fortunately don't charge, but two of them also do not allow emailed or web requests, so I had to fax them, at $2.50 per fax... times 2 schools times 4 requests... another $20.
2. It is equally absurd that counties can't access the fact that I passed the ACE. So I had to fax my ACE scores to 4 counties... $10.
3. "ACE scores" is a misnomer... for some reason I haven't been able to completely follow, but vaguely understand as having to do with discrimination (according the the website), ACE doesn't report passing scores - only that I passed. So I don't actually know what I scored. I guess that doesn't matter to me, and maybe it shouldn't matter to schools looking to hire math teachers, because the test doesn't come remotely close to assessing whether the examinee can teach, or in fact if the examinee actually understands very much math. Whatever. I passed.
4. Not working in an office with an internet connection, a copy machine and a fax machine makes this process absurdly expensive. I probably spent $75 today at FedEx Kinkos, and that's only half of the total applications.
5. Still, it's done (nearly). I have to mail (!) forms to my references to complete, along with a couple of other ticky-tack things for a county I don't really want to work in. But when THAT is done, I'm through applying and can sit back and wait for the offers to roll in. Yippie.
Last but not least, got a nice email today from a contact of KB's mom. (KB's mom is a fiend about networking). This contact works with something called IB World Schools, which is embedded in a lot of school districts. Anyway, she seems to believe there are lots of unfilled math positions around town, so that's a good thing.
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