February Happenings

It might be the last darn day of February, but I REALLY want to get back into the habit of writing a little bit. While picture recap posts are quick and easy, I think they leave parts of the story untold. So here goes…

February: A Grad Student’s Worst Nightmare

Catchy, yeah?! 😂 February has been a brutal month for me. I should backpedal a little bit and tell y’all about my classes for this semester first! As you know, my Master’s program is on an intensive 12-month schedule. Full time status for graduate students is 3 classes (9 hours) per semester. Last semester I was taking 5 classes, plus my TA class. This semester I’m taking 5 classes, auditing a 6th class, and I have a different TA class. Yes, that is absolutely as crazy as it sounds 😅📚👩🏻‍💻 Here’s a list of my classes:

Reading & Learning with Print and New Media
Literacy for Diverse and Special Needs Learners
Diverse and Special Needs Learners Practicum
Harry Potter & Children’s Literature
Reading Education Capstone
**Audit: Comparative Cultural Perspectives, Categories, & Patterns of Thinking (Educational Philosophy class)
**Teaching Assistant: Parent, School, & Community

To be fair, the Harry Potter class and the Capstone class do not have set class times every week- instead we meet about once per month. However, that means the work is almost entirely self-paced, which has been difficult to juggle amongst my other responsibilities.

I also have to take a moment to explain that the Harry Potter & Children’s Literature class is OBVS a dream come true for me!! Though anyone who knows me knows I’m a self-described Harry Potter fanatic, I have never looked at the series analytically through an educational lens. It has been entirely fascinating to dissect one of my favorite childhood series and look at how and why it is so universally appealing. The real kicker of this class is that the majority of our “class” time is actually a trip to England over Spring Break!!! We’ll spend half our time in Oxford and half our time in London engaging in the experiential journey of local England sites, studios, and museums. I’m SO EXCITED for this!

Last but not least, here are a few photos from February, since reading my journal-like posts probably isn’t all you’re here for 😜