Athena: English

Augustine,

I'm still feeling drained and too exhausted to write about anything really reflective, but I need to get writing again. So I decided to write about the two Masters' programs I'm hoping to pursue in the near future, because I need to be excited about them.

I started off at my current school by teaching English, not math, despite the fact that my Bachelor's is officially in Mathematics. When students would be stuck on a math problem, even if it wasn't my class, I'd give them some help, telling them that even though I mostly taught English, "math was my first love."

Except that once, as those words were coming out of my mouth, I realized that they weren't actually true. Sure, math was my favorite subject in school, but I really loved most every subject until middle school. (Ah, elementary school, where things aren't divided as simply as they are in later years.) And even in middle and high school, I loved English and math pretty equally, I just was two years ahead in math, so that just seemed to make the most sense to be the subject I chose to teach.

But when I thought back on things, I realized that "English"--or more specifically reading--was my first love. I loved numbers and math, but I've actually been reading before I can remember. I'm told stories about how when I was a toddler, I used to listen to books on tape so often that I memorized them. My parents aren't even sure when I learned how to read, because one day when they tried to read me a story, I just started reading and spelling out the words myself. :) (Yup, my nerdiness began preeeeetty young).

My sister was always into dolls and imaginative play, but that just was never my style. I preferred puzzles and books, especially books. I loved going into Barnes and Noble and picking out books whenever I had a gift certificate or some money (I still love that ;) ). In college, I once counted to find that I had 100 non-course-related books in my dorm room, because I just loved to have them with me. I didn't take any English courses in college, but so many of the electives I choice (and JAF) had literature of some type as a core piece.

I got away from reading real books for a few years--I found that I was so sucked up in reading articles that I barely made any time for a full-length book. But the past three years I've changed that, and I hope to continuing reading more and more books.

But when I read, classics especially, I miss delving deeper into criticism and background. I miss the literature courses that I had that led me to insights beyond what I can pick up myself. I devour the introductions to these books and look for critical texts online, but there's something missing.

So I decided that it was time to look for a Master's in English Literature, and I found one that I hope will be a good fit. Sure, it helps me professionally to beef up my credentials a little more; it will allow me to be a Dual Enrollment teacher for English as well as math, but mostly I want to do it for myself. I want to study a subject that I love in a classroom setting again, and have the accountability that I need to process and analyze what I read in a more formal way.

And I'm super excited about it. :)

+Athena