I had to start one more thread so I thought I might as well confess my dark secret. I'm not actually an education major
I'm making up my own major--individually designed, as we call it--through the Interdisciplinary Studies department. My concentration has to do with educational philosophy, looking at education as a social institution with cultural and political implications. This is one of the classes I chose to include in my concentration (rightly so, I believe).
Sometimes it's been strange that I can't immediately relate to the topics of conversation that concern other education classes or background knowledge on the state of North Carolina's public schools that most of you seem already to have. I do plan on teaching in public school once I graduate from Appalachian, but since I won't be certified I'm planning instead on applying to a need-based urban/rural teaching program, where I get sent somewhere and earn my certification in an alternative manner. Eventually I want to go back to school and teach at the university level.
Despite feeling like an oddball at times, I've learned an enormous amount from this class and from all of you. At the risk of sounding cheesy, I have to say that I'm really glad and excited for the students you'll have and for NC schools in general. I've found myself spreading words of praise for education majors this semester, and it's because I've gained a lot of respect for you and I think you're all pretty cool. So...I guess I just wanted to say thanks for showing that to me
I hope revealing this information does not lead to me being shunned on Hope Day...I'm bringing the ice! Iceman.