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I'm going to go back and get my Master's degree. I already have Bachelor's degrees in Political Science and Education, and a diploma in Adult Education. The MA in Political Science is a bit of unfinished business, one that I swore I'd go and finish up. It's been years since I wrote an academic essay, but such skills don't usually atrophy over time. I... I want this. Not just for the sake of having an MA, but because politics is something I've grown to love from both the outsider's drama of it, as well as being deeply involved in my own personal battles with elected officials and political systems. I want to be teaching political science one day, and while teaching in high schools would be deeply satisfying, there's something about politics that keeps bringing me back. I can do it. I know I can. I also know that the last time I tried, I wasn't able to prove it. My marks have changed, but perhaps that won't matter. I like to think that it will, especially since my grades have gotten significantly better through my programs. I was always a good political science student as well, and my GPA only went down because of elective courses that were required for graduation. The only thing I don't have are recent letters of reference. I think it may be time to go and see if there's anyone at my old/current school who will write me a reference, and who feel doing so won't be a waste of time or insult to their time. There are plenty of people in the department that will still remember me, hopefully fondly. In the meantime, I'm going to be taking some time to write a couple of long-overdue papers to get myself back into the swing of things. I can do this. I need to do this. I know it's where I belong.

In eight hours, I'll be inside a science classroom, watching my new patron teach and taking copious notes about how to do the same when my turn comes. The main thought I've been having during all of the long spring break is "how did this happen?" Not the teaching part. I gathered that would happen when I went to teacher college and graduated with a bachelor of education degree. That part makes sense. But how did I go from being a political scientist, political activist and former candidate to a science teacher? I took my teaching program in civics and history, subjects I actually know something about. Now I'm preparing a lesson on comparative energy sources for a physics class that I'm nowhere near prepared for. I suppose this is similar to how substitute teaching would be as well; no preparation or strategy, just a classroom that you get thrown into and you do your best to work with what's left to you. But, wow. This is hard to consider and deal with, even if this is for the best in terms of my career development. This isn't really where I want to be. I want to be in back in my social studies classroom, where I can mold minds and teach students to think critically about things. I haven't even started teaching in this class yet, and I already miss my social studies practicum when my students would openly debate me about the issues we were discussing.Those were the best moments in class for me, when I could stop everything and have a class debate, or invite my students to come back during lunch or after class to finish arguing a point they passionately believed in. You can't do that in science. A resource is either renewable or its not. Energy conversion formulae are not subject to different perspectives and contexts, they're the same all the time and you either do it right or you don't, but there's no way to say "well, if we consider it from another perspective, here's how it could be". I shudder at the very thought. But, as I said, it's another way into the school system to become a real teacher. All of this is to say that while I know I'll enjoy teaching, wherever I'll end up because of how much I enjoy working with youth, this whole thing is weird. And it makes me miss politics. God, it actually makes me miss being politically involved. That'll be a post for another night. Wish me luck, and for goodness sake, pray that I don't have to do any lab experiments!