Back to School...Again

The schools around here went back last Monday, August 13. Since it was the first week of school there wasn't a huge need for subs. Plus, at the end of last week I had an episode where my blood pressure dropped tremendously when I'd stand and I'd almost black out. I'm not 100% of the cause, but it's gotten better, so hopefully it was only a one time thing. Either way, it would be HORRIBLE to happen in a classroom full of students. Hopefully I'll be able to start scheduling some days toward the end of this week/beginning of last week.

Right now since I'm not teaching or subbing as much as I'd like/should. So the other day during a minor pity party I decided to create a list of things I would like to accomplish before the beginning of the year. This have been my goals for awhile, but until recently they were not physically do able with the amount of bad days I was experiencing. In order to stay realistic I only came up with a few, but I'm still not 100% yet and experience days of great pain. Here is a list of my goals until the end of December:

1. Study for the GRE! I started studying last Spring, but I didn't stick with it. Then, this Spring I started from the beginning. I have gotten through a lot of the material that will be on the test, but I still have a ton of vocabulary and math cards I got to help me prepare. I don't want to walk in there and feel unprepared. This has been one of my work in progress goals, but I don't feel like I can confidently take the test and receive a respected score.

2. Schedule the GRE! While this seems easy enough, I keep putting it off. I need to decide where I want to take it, what time (either 7am or noon), and what date I want to schedule it. I'd prefer taking it at LSU because I am familiar with the campus and know where I'm going but it's a nice commute. Also, if I did choose to take it at LSU I'm guaranteed to hit rush hour traffic, either first thing in the morning or at night because it says the test ends near 5pm. UNO also offers the test, but I know nothing about that campus. So there are pros/cons with each testing taking site. I think I'm going to take it in the beginning/middle of September though.

3.Fill out the grad school application. Most of the universities allow you to work on the application online in stages. I've already started working on the general parts of the applications. Most applications are due sometime between October-December which is why I need to take the GRE in September because it takes 7-10 business days to get the scores. Plus, I am still looking into which University has the best plan to work for me right now.

4.Finally, I really need to get in and sub more in different schools. In the past I didn't sub that much because when I signed up they said once you commit to a job, if you have to cancel principals take notice. Once this happens three times you're out. I totally understand this rule and it makes total sense, but I was still having more bad than good days. When I can't predict how I'll feel from day to day makes committing to jobs VERY hard! I didn't want to give myself a bad reputation because of something like that. Since my last Botox injections I've been having several good days, but I'm still cautious jobs too far in advance. I'm looking nightly for jobs the next day. Plus, I have friends at various schools that said they'd let me know when substitute positions are open. One of my good friends is a para at one of the elementary schools so I told her I'd appreciate if she could give be a heads up if one of them are absent. Since I'm leaning toward my masters in special education it would be perfect to start working with those classes when I can!