Extended About Me (part 5 of 5)
As I am preparing to return to grad school once again, I can't help but reflect back to one of the first papers I wrote in graduate school. Here's the end of my "Extended About Me" from August 2013: I returned from Japan almost exactly one year ago, certain that I wanted to go back to school, but uncertain of how to translate my interest in out of classroom learning into a degree program. Even though I knew I was not going to stay in Japan for more than a year, I dreaded returning to California without an idea of where I was going next. After all the work I had done, would it be a step backwards? To alleviate my conflict, I knew that I wanted to get a job in a community school, and within a week I had a first grade teacher’s aide position at a Catholic elementary school which neighbored my own elementary school. Providing service to my home community proved more fulfilling that I ever envisioned. One day, I stayed seven hours past my typical clocking out time t...