Testing

As a high school senior I could think of nothing better than going to college at the beach. So I did. I went to the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. I loved every second of it. I loved it so much, I took a victory lap year (aka 5th year).

I graduated with a double major, biology and Spanish. Two subjects I loved, professors I adored, and no thoughts of what I would do for a career. Hence came the Victory Lap year, and a teaching license.

I left college with a North Carolina Spanish Teaching license... but no plans on staying in North Carolina. I didn't always use my brain well... remember, I only went there for the beach. I'm not the best "future planner."

Anyways... years later, a few jobs later, a few towns later, a husband later, etc... I'm a teacher in Texas with an expiring NC license. So, I began the process of converting my useless NC license to a TX license. And do you know what every state does? They make it very hard to convert a teaching license. oh and very expensive too!

I took (and passed) all the required tests while in NC, but TX of course has their own set of tests. They work the exact same way, they cover the exact same material, but they have a different name and they cost more money.

And you may have noticed that I haven't been blogging much lately- even after my recent return to a "happy heart" (that's for you Sarah W.) Well, I've been spending every spare second studying Spanish. In the last 2 months, I have gone through 2 college grammar text books (cover to cover). I have done practice questions downloaded from the internet. I have gone through hundreds of flashcards!

Fortunately, the test is over. Last Saturday I went to a testing center and took my Spanish Texas Oral Proficiency test. I had to sit in a classroom with one other person (the test proctor). I had to listen to a tape recorder read off a situation or question. I had 30-60 seconds to think about my answer in Spanish. Then I had to speak perfect Spanish into the tape recorder for 45 seconds, 1 minute, or 2 minutes (depending on the question).

My stomach was in knots. I know I used a few wrong words. I was supposed to use EVERY verb tense. And I haven't counted, but I think there is close to 15 different ones. I did use them all (I think). It's all a blur really. They asked some WEIRD questions: "Do you think all teachers should be drug tested?" "Describe to a business man all of the major cities in Texas and their defining characteristics." "You're meeting with some other teaches to plan a field trip, where do you think you should go and why?" "You are the guest speaker at an education conference in Mexico. What is the main problem today facing elementary students?" (you could have chosen high school or college, but I teach elementary so I chose that.)

And on and on. for 15 questions.

and now it's over. PRAISE THE LORD!! I think I did well. I felt prepared. I know I made mistakes, but I think overall it was good. And I can't worry now. There is not a thing I can do. They will send my tape recording to 2 graders (real live people). They will both grade it and either decide pass or fail. As long as they both agree, then that's the final answer. If one person passes me and the other fails me, then they send it to a 3rd grader for the final decision.

So, I'll know in a month or so. And then I just have 1 more test until I am an official Texas teacher. But that one is about education stuff- not Spanish.

We've been doing big time construction at the house- and I've been taking daily pictures! So now I just need to upload and blog. Now with all my free time... maybe I will later this week!