Eight Days Down...
Three to go.
For my master's degree I am required to do a 90-hour practicum. The practicum is a point of contention for most of us because only the school librarians are required to do one, not public or academic library people (it's a state requirement for our teacher certification). However, all the people in the school library program are already certified teachers, and most of us are working full-time as classroom teachers. Some are even already working as media specialists already. So, the idea that we have to spend time outside of our paying positions doing work that we already know how to do can be a hard pill to swallow. Some people even have to take unpaid time off in order to get their hours in. I've been lucky in that, between personal days and well-scheduled doctor's appointments, I've been able to get in all but 3 days (two of which I've already taken... one more next month). For those days I've feigned illness and just hoped that the wrong people didn't see me outside of my home.
Don't get me wrong, the practicum is a valuable experience. I have learned quite a bit and have enjoyed getting to do "hands on" librarian stuff. It's really given me a taste of what it will be like when I have a media center of my own, and I can't wait.
But could I have done the job well without the practicum? Definitely. So much of the job is organization and common sense. Other parts the practicum can't prepare me for anyway because who know if the library I will eventually run will use the exact same systems and procedures as the one I am in now?
At any rate, as I mentioned yesterday, I used my compensation day today to get in another day at my practicum site. This makes eight, which, put together with my hours from the MAME conference a couple weeks ago, means I only have three days left. I have enjoyed the experience, but I've felt like I've been working two jobs for the last couple of months. It will be nice to go back to only working one.
For my master's degree I am required to do a 90-hour practicum. The practicum is a point of contention for most of us because only the school librarians are required to do one, not public or academic library people (it's a state requirement for our teacher certification). However, all the people in the school library program are already certified teachers, and most of us are working full-time as classroom teachers. Some are even already working as media specialists already. So, the idea that we have to spend time outside of our paying positions doing work that we already know how to do can be a hard pill to swallow. Some people even have to take unpaid time off in order to get their hours in. I've been lucky in that, between personal days and well-scheduled doctor's appointments, I've been able to get in all but 3 days (two of which I've already taken... one more next month). For those days I've feigned illness and just hoped that the wrong people didn't see me outside of my home.
Don't get me wrong, the practicum is a valuable experience. I have learned quite a bit and have enjoyed getting to do "hands on" librarian stuff. It's really given me a taste of what it will be like when I have a media center of my own, and I can't wait.
But could I have done the job well without the practicum? Definitely. So much of the job is organization and common sense. Other parts the practicum can't prepare me for anyway because who know if the library I will eventually run will use the exact same systems and procedures as the one I am in now?
At any rate, as I mentioned yesterday, I used my compensation day today to get in another day at my practicum site. This makes eight, which, put together with my hours from the MAME conference a couple weeks ago, means I only have three days left. I have enjoyed the experience, but I've felt like I've been working two jobs for the last couple of months. It will be nice to go back to only working one.
posted by Charlie at 7:06 PM
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