Questions

Do you have a question that you'd like the great minds of earlier Cohort members to tackle? Write it here and/or check out the Cohort Page and email a PTEP member directly!

1. Do I really have time to complete a Master's when I have so much else I am involved in?

From Julia Fortman: Of course you can!!! Will it be easy? No, but you will be so proud of yourself when you are finished! I look at the picture of Cohort 1 at graduation and notice smiles on their faces that show pure pride, joy and accomplishment. It's a feeling like nothing else. I promise, the two years go by faster than you can imagine. (I, too, completed a 2-year Master's degree - though I didn't have the opportunity to have half of my degree funded by EEF. ;))

To survive working full time while going to grad school, I believe, some things "have to give." Most people that I know can't do everything they are used to doing AND complete a graduate degree. I suggest that you think about ways that you can give yourself a break while you are in school. At home, the dishes might pile up in the sink for longer than you'd like, perhaps you'll pick up take-out instead of cooking a few nights a week, perhaps you'll buy an extra pack of socks and underwear so that you can stretch the distance between loads of laundry a few more days. So what? In your classrooms, think about ways that you can simplify your instructional practices so that students needs are met, but you are not spending endless hours in your classroom. Your centers might get changed monthly instead of weekly, you may give more scantron based tests than you'd like, or you'll lean on a teammate for lesson plans in one subject area, or you'll refrain from volunteering to participate on any of the endless committees. So what? If you have young children, rely on your spouse for things like baths, the bedtime routine or the packing of lunches. I think it was Mitzi Bogan at VVVE who said that her husband made dinners two nights a week when her children were young and she was in school. She said that her kids still talk about the fun memories they have of eating pancakes for dinner with their Dad during this time. :) If you have older children, consider having a "family meeting" about how the entire family can rally around you to take care of things around the house so you can study.

And, probably the most important thing is to not make yourself feel guilty about the areas in which you release responsibility. You're only committing to these changes for two years, and everyone around you will grow because of the opportunities you're giving them to develop indepence and responsibility. :)

You CAN do it!