This is the tale of two summers. Because my summer
really felt that way, with three intense graduate courses on one hand, and
three fabulous vacations on the other!
First, there was Nantucket...
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| It was cold. |
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| The greatest family photo in history? Yes. |
In Pennsylvania, teachers must complete 24
graduate-level courses within 6 years of active service. For me, that deadline
was up at the end of this summer. But I completed all of my credits before we
were married nearly 2 years ago, so I was in the clear... or so I thought. In
May, I received word from the Department of Ed that instead of 24 credits, my
records revealed just 16. Um, what? To summarize, the university through which
I completed my 24 credits--paying per credit for 24, showing up on all grade
records as 24--has this 'slash it by 2/3' policy, which they assured me is
common practice at ivy league universities. So instead of 24 credits, I had 16.
AWESOME. After an afternoon spent remaining calm crying in my administrators'
offices (all of whom were just as baffled as I), I was instructed that I had
the summer to successfully complete 8 additional credits. So that's what I did.
During the July 4th holiday, needing a respite from
reading and writing about educational theory, my husband and I traveled to
Niagara Falls, New York, where my best friend's family lives. We had a great
time touring the falls and picnicking. And writing discussion board posts.
My final class, an iPad training course, was over
mid-July. We decided to celebrate by taking yet another trip! Because we
teachers couldn't get the time off to take a real one when we married in
December 2011, we designated this adventure as our belated honeymoon. So off we
went...
EUROPE! For 16 days! Holy canoli. Obviously, I can't summarize 16 days (or 10 ports,
7 countries, and 2 continents) in a single post. If I get my act together, I'll
do a port-by-port synopsis in the coming weeks. Granted, that's already been done (and been done so
beautifully!), but really, can you get enough Europe? I think not.
That is just about the craziest thing I ever heard - they only give you 2/3 of he 24 credits you PAID FOR??! Can I ask, what Ivy League university pulls that kind of crap? UPenn? (You mentioned PA in your post).
ReplyDeleteIt is crazy, isn't it!? The 24 credits ("16" credits) were through Drexel, which is an old university but not IL; as I was told one the phone, "we utilize this system because this is common practice at Ivy League schools." Oh, thanks, I feel much better--not! The courses were all quarter credits--should that have been a clue, I don't know--but that's all that they offer. I even spoke with a big whig, who assured me that this information is in all student literature. But I have proof that it was not in mine, so there you have it. Does it matter? Unfortunately, no. The people I spoke with were very sympathetic but sympathy didn't get me anywhere, so I had to suck it up.
DeleteAnd yes, probably the most outlandish thing is that you pay PER CREDIT for 24, but receive academic credit for 16. My actuarial analyst father was NOT pleased with that part in particular!
I've nominated you for the Liebster Award! http://artroom104.blogspot.com/2013/09/liebster-award-twice.html
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