Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic. Those have been the courses that our schools have offered forever. We call English, math, science, and social studies courses – core courses in our school. Those are the basic courses you’ll find taught at every school at every grade level, but schools have to expand beyond those courses and offer vocational courses as well. Some schools do a great job at this; others need improvement.

There are some courses that are tailored more towards the student who isn’t college bound such as welding or auto mechanics or nursing, but some courses are not so obvious. Technology and business courses are classes that could be used by both the college-bound student and the student who is headed straight into the work field. Will they be typing office documents, designing the next technology gadget everyone must have, or repairing computers? Will they work on an assembly line where they may need to repair material handling systems? Or will they use these skills to move on to higher education learning? Irregardless, education needs to move in a direction that makes vocational courses as important as core courses if we are going to truly prepare our children for the future.

Putting our children on a school bus is very frightening for many parents. How will we know for sure that our children make it on the right bus? Will they get off? What if my child falls asleep on the bus? What if they get off at the wrong stop?  Yea. And that’s just the beginning of the nerves.

What if the bus had a system that tracked every student that got on the bus and when and where they got off? Think it’s possible? Well in my current reading, I’ve discovered that zpass which in fact makes it possible. The technology would automatically log each student that loaded up on the bus mornings and afternoons and when and where the students exit the bus.

Will buses ever implement this technology? I’m not sure, but I suspect that it’s very possible. I remember when no buses had air condition, but now all but one of our buses have air condition. I remember when buses didn’t have seat belts, but that has slowly started being standard in buses in our area so it might not be long until we know for sure which students ride the bus on a daily basis and where they load and unload for each trip.

As I prepare to return back to the classroom, I am once again thinking that I need to be thinking of continuing my education.  I’ve decided that at the beginning of next year (after filing my taxes), I’m going to make the first move, going to http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/ and filing a FAFSA to see if there’s any chance I’d receive any financial assistance because the first thing holding me back from pursuing a master’s degree is the cost.

Next I’ve got to go through the list of online universities to find one that would actually work for me and m schedule.  I’ve looked at those on traditional schedules/semesters and those that just offer one class after another (still online) as you finish.  They have deadlines that you must finish them by, but if you finish early, you can begin the next class. This non-traditional schedule really appeals to me as there are times of the year I could commit a lot more to it, and there are busy times when I would never have time to do much and would be doing the minimum.

Third and maybe most importantly is deciding what to get that master’s degree in.  I’ve looked at online degree programs in education, but I’m not sure if I want that. I am a teacher, but that’s not what my bachelor’s degree is – I have a business degree, but I really don’t think I want an MBA either as I have no use for that.  I’ve actually thought of maybe just a technology/computer science type degree and because I teach English, I’ve thought of getting it in English.  How do you decide?

Every year, at least once, I ponder if I should be going back to school and continuing my education in pursuit of a master’s degree. Sometimes it’s a fleeting thought. Sometimes I go so far as to research accredited online college degrees and colleges. One of my best friends took the GRE in the Spring and another is studying for it now.  I really don’t fear the GRE though.  And I don’t think I’d have to do much studying.  My three problems in order are

1. I have no idea what degree I want.

2. I have no incentive – no pay raise, promotion, etc.

3. It costs $$ that I hate to spend because of issues 1 and 2.

*sigh*  Obviously, this is on my mind again.

I’ve almost made it through my email and can get some shut eye. I’ve gotten my teeth brushed, almost done with Castle on the DVR and then will rub on the eye wrinkle cream I’m trying out before calling it a night and trying to get a few hours sleep before heading to work tomorrow.  I’m tired enough to even be thankful that it’s Thursday, but we are going on a trip Saturday and I have to be at school before 6 so really I shouldn’t even be thinking about the end of the week.  *sigh*  Good bye weekends!