Where life takes us
I have finally reached the point where I don't feel like I have to update everyone on the move and the minutiae of our daily lives in order to make a blog post. Life has settled in and we are living it to the extent that we can manage it. It's always hard to remember if the last move was like this in the beginning also, but looking back, I think I was in the same position.
I think the hardest part is adjusting to our budget. Right now because of the taxes being higher this year (26% - going down to 16% soon) and having to pay myself back (returning money to our savings), I am finding that we are not able to do as many things as I would like to. It's not bad, just restricting, and requires a continuous awareness of what we have to spend. I live on a cash basis, and don't have a credit card, so there is no borrowing beyond our means. I think the boys are quite happy to stay at home, and don't stress about it, but I do want to get out of Putrajaya and the KL area at some point in the future. There is so much of Malaysia to see. But I have to be patient and allow for it to happen when it is possible.
In the meantime I have had the opportunity to do quite a lot of reflection about life in general. I have been considering my present and past teaching experiences and my career goals.
As always at the beginning of working in a new teaching position I question my teaching, the teaching going on in the school, and I always wonder if this is what I want to do for the interminable future. Generally I survive the first few crazy months, and move on through the year understanding the growth that has occurred and how I want to move on within the school I am working in, or how I need to develop myself to move on to the next location. This is always at the forefront in my mind in the beginning because I am always questioning whether I have made the right choices. I should learn to let go and let it just be, but that is just not in my personality!
These last few months have led me to think about the next steps I need to take to develop within my career. The largest problem is having two masters degrees. What do I do next?
The logical thing would be to do a PHD. When I think about that I cringe at the thought of doing it as a part time learning experience because it would just draw out forever. But then to stop working and take on the studies for a full time program is just scary, because as a single mother I am not sure that I can even consider this option. I have found one program that I am interested in, and it would pay full tuition, living expenses, etc. It is a program that focuses on teaching history and would give me the opportunity to develop curriculum for schools, while also working to teach teachers who want to teach history. It is a damn cool program in a great school, with a lot of aspects that are exactly the direction I want to go. But I would need to leave teaching kids ?? Plus I would have to retake the GRE - I hate the thought of preparing for it and retaking the exam. Yet it is something I could do over the next year as applications for August 2013 are not due until next December. But I would have to move back to the US for the time I study. I am really ready for that?
The other programs I am looking at focus on Educational Leadership. One would be a professional principal's certificate and the studies could be done over tow summers with a few courses in the fall and the spring. The summer courses could be in either Bangkok or Spain. The other program is MEd in Leadership with the same university where I got my last MA. It would also be a summer program over two summers and courses in the spring and fall. These courses could be in either Spain, the US, India, or Switzerland (weird combination huh?) Right now the costs are not clear on these programs. If I do either one of these I would have to work with my present school to cover the expenses, and that means that my contract here would extend until a certain period agreed to with them. This is a good possibility, as the boys are enjoying school here. As I have joked - I would stay a minimum of four years, and a maximum of seven here. I am just not sure yet if I am ready to commit to that length of a time in one location, and in Malaysia. I just might never adjust to the heat here. :-) Plus do I really want to be an administrator in an international school??
Reading above I see that I have really been working through the positives and negatives of this all. It appears that that I really am not sure which direction is calling me more. Which part of Education do I belong in - teaching the teachers, or working in the crazy international school field with great adventures, but strange politics? I feel like I am going through that process of wondering what I will do when I grow up all over again. Sometimes it seems like there are too many choices in life. Who knows where they will take me.
I think the hardest part is adjusting to our budget. Right now because of the taxes being higher this year (26% - going down to 16% soon) and having to pay myself back (returning money to our savings), I am finding that we are not able to do as many things as I would like to. It's not bad, just restricting, and requires a continuous awareness of what we have to spend. I live on a cash basis, and don't have a credit card, so there is no borrowing beyond our means. I think the boys are quite happy to stay at home, and don't stress about it, but I do want to get out of Putrajaya and the KL area at some point in the future. There is so much of Malaysia to see. But I have to be patient and allow for it to happen when it is possible.
In the meantime I have had the opportunity to do quite a lot of reflection about life in general. I have been considering my present and past teaching experiences and my career goals.
As always at the beginning of working in a new teaching position I question my teaching, the teaching going on in the school, and I always wonder if this is what I want to do for the interminable future. Generally I survive the first few crazy months, and move on through the year understanding the growth that has occurred and how I want to move on within the school I am working in, or how I need to develop myself to move on to the next location. This is always at the forefront in my mind in the beginning because I am always questioning whether I have made the right choices. I should learn to let go and let it just be, but that is just not in my personality!
These last few months have led me to think about the next steps I need to take to develop within my career. The largest problem is having two masters degrees. What do I do next?
The logical thing would be to do a PHD. When I think about that I cringe at the thought of doing it as a part time learning experience because it would just draw out forever. But then to stop working and take on the studies for a full time program is just scary, because as a single mother I am not sure that I can even consider this option. I have found one program that I am interested in, and it would pay full tuition, living expenses, etc. It is a program that focuses on teaching history and would give me the opportunity to develop curriculum for schools, while also working to teach teachers who want to teach history. It is a damn cool program in a great school, with a lot of aspects that are exactly the direction I want to go. But I would need to leave teaching kids ?? Plus I would have to retake the GRE - I hate the thought of preparing for it and retaking the exam. Yet it is something I could do over the next year as applications for August 2013 are not due until next December. But I would have to move back to the US for the time I study. I am really ready for that?
The other programs I am looking at focus on Educational Leadership. One would be a professional principal's certificate and the studies could be done over tow summers with a few courses in the fall and the spring. The summer courses could be in either Bangkok or Spain. The other program is MEd in Leadership with the same university where I got my last MA. It would also be a summer program over two summers and courses in the spring and fall. These courses could be in either Spain, the US, India, or Switzerland (weird combination huh?) Right now the costs are not clear on these programs. If I do either one of these I would have to work with my present school to cover the expenses, and that means that my contract here would extend until a certain period agreed to with them. This is a good possibility, as the boys are enjoying school here. As I have joked - I would stay a minimum of four years, and a maximum of seven here. I am just not sure yet if I am ready to commit to that length of a time in one location, and in Malaysia. I just might never adjust to the heat here. :-) Plus do I really want to be an administrator in an international school??
Reading above I see that I have really been working through the positives and negatives of this all. It appears that that I really am not sure which direction is calling me more. Which part of Education do I belong in - teaching the teachers, or working in the crazy international school field with great adventures, but strange politics? I feel like I am going through that process of wondering what I will do when I grow up all over again. Sometimes it seems like there are too many choices in life. Who knows where they will take me.
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