I have found my people.

[letterchaser202]

Hi all! 

I am so glad that I somehow found this forum. You are my people/kin/spirit animals. My family thinks I am nutty for how badly I want to continuously pursue higher education. I have been reading through the posts and kind of getting my bearings. I guess I'll give a little about me. 

BA in Anthropology, 2013 (FAU) with lots of other credits outside of the degree 
M.Ed in Bilingual Education, 2016 (ACE) with several credits outside of the degree 
M.Ed in Teaching English Learners, 2020 (ACE)
M.Ed in Advanced Teaching, 2021 exp. (UofP; its an interesting experiment) 

I recently discovered Sophia (as in yesterday) and have done a few classes there. I enrolled in Purdue University Global, Bachelors of Professional Studies (not sure what that's all about but we shall see). I have some Coursera classes that I have taken, some graduate history credits. I also clicked through Saylor.org and will be doing what I can on there. 

Future goals: Turn the random credits into something. I am thinking that the TESU program would be a good fit, I think. More importantly would be an Ed.D; for that, I was looking at American College of Ed or Univ. of the Cumberlands. And do it while getting the best degrees possible for the least amount of out-of-pocket. And then I came across the Master of Arts in Economics and Entrepreneurship for Educators (MAEEE) from the University of Delaware and the Global Field Program from Miami University..... so adding those to the list   Maybe at some point, look into business programs. Again, I am doing this for personal fulfillment; I like to stay busy and this is far preferable to something like knitting or something.

[natshar]

If you are looking for more cheap random courses:

onlinedegree.com has a bunch of interesting ones including cooking, education and robotics. Only $9 and you don't pay until the end. TESU accepts these. Actually TESU accepts everything I'm listing below.

CSM course is a really well done and not too difficult math course that costs $39. I like this one a lot.

ALEKs is only $20 a month but they only offer stats, college algebra, and trig which you might already have. finish all 3 in a month and its $20.

TEEX has about 10 credits in cybersecurity that are FREE but kind of boring. They also have some forensic science and criminal justice ones that are $45 - $75 that aren't as boring.

Also there is FREE insurance ethics course. (unsure if TESU accepts it)


I think a lot of us here have ADD (Addictive Degree Disorder).

[Merlin]

Hi all! 

I am so glad that I somehow found this forum. You are my people/kin/spirit animals. My family thinks I am nutty for how badly I want to continuously pursue higher education. I have been reading through the posts and kind of getting my bearings. I guess I'll give a little about me. 

BA in Anthropology, 2013 (FAU) with lots of other credits outside of the degree 
M.Ed in Bilingual Education, 2016 (ACE) with several credits outside of the degree 
M.Ed in Teaching English Learners, 2020 (ACE)
M.Ed in Advanced Teaching, 2021 exp. (UofP; its an interesting experiment) 

I recently discovered Sophia (as in yesterday) and have done a few classes there. I enrolled in Purdue University Global, Bachelors of Professional Studies (not sure what that's all about but we shall see). I have some Coursera classes that I have taken, some graduate history credits. I also clicked through Saylor.org and will be doing what I can on there. 

Future goals: Turn the random credits into something. I am thinking that the TESU program would be a good fit, I think. More importantly would be an Ed.D; for that, I was looking at American College of Ed or Univ. of the Cumberlands. And do it while getting the best degrees possible for the least amount of out-of-pocket. And then I came across the Master of Arts in Economics and Entrepreneurship for Educators (MAEEE) from the University of Delaware and the Global Field Program from Miami University..... so adding those to the list   Maybe at some point, look into business programs. Again, I am doing this for personal fulfillment; I like to stay busy and this is far preferable to something like knitting or something.

Welcome to the forum!

That is a nice academic resume. Completing 3 M.Ed. degrees is quite a feat. Are/were you a language teacher or do you just enjoy learning about it?

I think you'll find that most of the people on this forum are really just here to complete their first bachelor's degree, but there are a number of us who have stuck around and gone on to complete multiple undergrad and/or graduate degrees.

Personally, I'm also a lifetime learner and have been working on accruing degrees as well. My family also doesn't understand my interests in education when I don't need it for work, but they do give me the support and space I need to do so. I have already completed my first master's degree, but I am considering pursuing more. Though if I did, I'd want to spread them across a breadth of domains for diversity. Of course, my immediate goal is to find a good Ph.D. program since I love to research and I want to contribute to my field in an academic form. If I find the right Ph.D. program I will probably just handwave everything else since that will lock me down for the next 3-6 years. Otherwise, I'll probably start working on a master's in computer science, data science/analysis, or maybe look into a master's in I/O Psychology. The majority of my GenEd and electives were psych courses in my undergrad and really enjoyed them. I took enough that I probably should have pursued a double major to include Psychology, but I just wanted to get the bachelor's out of the way quickly and then look into master's degrees. I think I'd enjoy working on a psychology degree.

I'm also pursuing education for personal fulfillment since I love to learn new things, but it doesn't look bad on my resume either.

The people on this forum are very helpful and mostly non-judgmental, so feel free to post any questions after you take a look at the FAQ and Wiki for more info.

Good luck!

[letterchaser202]

If you are looking for more cheap random courses:

onlinedegree.com has a bunch of interesting ones including cooking, education and robotics. Only $9 and you don't pay until the end. TESU accepts these. Actually TESU accepts everything I'm listing below.

CSM course is a really well done and not too difficult math course that costs $39. I like this one a lot.

ALEKs is only $20 a month but they only offer stats, college algebra, and trig which you might already have. finish all 3 in a month and its $20.

TEEX has about 10 credits in cybersecurity that are FREE but kind of boring. They also have some forensic science and criminal justice ones that are $45 - $75 that aren't as boring.

Also there is FREE insurance ethics course. (unsure if TESU accepts it)


I think a lot of us here have ADD (Addictive Degree Disorder).

I love that - ADD!! This quarantine has been most dangerous for it, too lol 

Thank you for those suggestions! I will add those to the list.

---

Hi all! 

I am so glad that I somehow found this forum. You are my people/kin/spirit animals. My family thinks I am nutty for how badly I want to continuously pursue higher education. I have been reading through the posts and kind of getting my bearings. I guess I'll give a little about me. 

BA in Anthropology, 2013 (FAU) with lots of other credits outside of the degree 
M.Ed in Bilingual Education, 2016 (ACE) with several credits outside of the degree 
M.Ed in Teaching English Learners, 2020 (ACE)
M.Ed in Advanced Teaching, 2021 exp. (UofP; its an interesting experiment) 

I recently discovered Sophia (as in yesterday) and have done a few classes there. I enrolled in Purdue University Global, Bachelors of Professional Studies (not sure what that's all about but we shall see). I have some Coursera classes that I have taken, some graduate history credits. I also clicked through Saylor.org and will be doing what I can on there. 

Future goals: Turn the random credits into something. I am thinking that the TESU program would be a good fit, I think. More importantly would be an Ed.D; for that, I was looking at American College of Ed or Univ. of the Cumberlands. And do it while getting the best degrees possible for the least amount of out-of-pocket. And then I came across the Master of Arts in Economics and Entrepreneurship for Educators (MAEEE) from the University of Delaware and the Global Field Program from Miami University..... so adding those to the list   Maybe at some point, look into business programs. Again, I am doing this for personal fulfillment; I like to stay busy and this is far preferable to something like knitting or something.

Welcome to the forum!

That is a nice academic resume. Completing 3 M.Ed. degrees is quite a feat. Are/were you a language teacher or do you just enjoy learning about it?

I think you'll find that most of the people on this forum are really just here to complete their first bachelor's degree, but there are a number of us who have stuck around and gone on to complete multiple undergrad and/or graduate degrees.

Personally, I'm also a lifetime learner and have been working on accruing degrees as well. My family also doesn't understand my interests in education when I don't need it for work, but they do give me the support and space I need to do so. I have already completed my first master's degree, but I am considering pursuing more. Though if I did, I'd want to spread them across a breadth of domains for diversity. Of course, my immediate goal is to find a good Ph.D. program since I love to research and I want to contribute to my field in an academic form. If I find the right Ph.D. program I will probably just handwave everything else since that will lock me down for the next 3-6 years. Otherwise, I'll probably start working on a master's in computer science, data science/analysis, or maybe look into a master's in I/O Psychology. The majority of my GenEd and electives were psych courses in my undergrad and really enjoyed them. I took enough that I probably should have pursued a double major to include Psychology, but I just wanted to get the bachelor's out of the way quickly and then look into master's degrees. I think I'd enjoy working on a psychology degree.

I'm also pursuing education for personal fulfillment since I love to learn new things, but it doesn't look bad on my resume either.

The people on this forum are very helpful and mostly non-judgmental, so feel free to post any questions after you take a look at the FAQ and Wiki for more info.

Good luck!

Thanks! I am a general education teacher, but I went with the ESOL focus because a - I teach a lot of students who speak other languages, b- that was really the only option that would get me my teaching certification AND a pay boost, and c- if I wanted to jump on the online English teacher bandwagon, I feel like that would give me an edge. 

I definitely get what you are saying about wanting to spread the masters over diverse subjects; I need to focus on that. A psych degree would be very fulfilling, I think. I wish you the best of luck with that! I would love to hear if/when you find a suitable program. 

I will take a look at the FAQ and wiki!

[eriehiker]

Welcome. We have been waiting for you to arrive.

[jsd]

Love it.

FYI, looks like you're implying TESU for a 3rd bachelors. They won't admit you after 2, unfortunately.

[rachel83az]

What's the UoP program like? I've been eyeing them for a while but never took the plunge.

[letterchaser202]

Love it.

FYI, looks like you're implying TESU for a 3rd bachelors. They won't admit you after 2, unfortunately.

Thanks! 

It would be my 2nd, but that's ok right? 

---

What's the UoP program like? I've been eyeing them for a while but never took the plunge.

So I was able to transfer in a few classes (honestly, it should have been more but I didn't feel like fighting with them past the four round of "but these are the same exact courses!" emails) and I was able to reduce it from 13 courses (which is a LOT as far as a masters goes) to 8. I am looking at this program as a way to get professional development points for my teaching certification renewal. At $200 a class, its worth it for that. The international students' perspectives are definitely the highlight of the program. The written assignments and discussion board posts are peer graded (so essentially 60% of your grade) which I have an issue with. I have had points deducted for several things that should have received full marks, but in order to get a re-grade by the professor, you have to defend your rationale - so essentially write another paper saying why the first one was worth a higher grade. There is also a 0 tolerance policy with late work, which I find absurd (even if you're in the hospital, you have to take the 0 for your assignments). Basically, I am not concerned with trying to graduate cum laude and I am happy to take the recert points, plus the fact that I will be able to teach at an IB school is a major perk for me. Would I recommend this to anyone who had other viable options? No. Would I recommend this to anyone who was in a similar position as myself, sure.

---

Welcome.  We have been waiting for you to arrive.  

Hey! I see you are a fellow educator! Thanks! If you have ever seen the Netflix movie "TAU," that's the voice I read you post in lol

[rachel83az]

That's a shame about UoP. It looks like a good program otherwise.

[letterchaser202]

That's a shame about UoP. It looks like a good program otherwise.

Hopefully they will continue to change and grow over time. I like the overall concept though.