I suppose the tone was set for my "adult life" when, after
giving one of the commencement addresses at Colgate University (I graduated
in 1972), I bought an old jeep (1952 Willys!), took my life savings (about
$1000) and headed for Alaska in search of my soul.
To make a long story short, I had a religious conversion which reoriented
my entire world view. I started a small landscape business, lived real
simple, and I'm sure broke the hearts of people who were expecting 'big
things" from me in the way of ambitious advance in some corporate
structure, etc. I have always considered myself a gifted
teacher. Somehow a board of directors hired me above candidates who
had the educational credentials, to principal a private secondary boarding
school in West Virginia called Mountain State Academy.
I taught just about everything there in my seven years, (1984-1992)
including history, Bible, English, algebra, geometry and practical
arts. I also was senior counselor, boys dean, sports coach,
registrar...you get the idea...I loved it. I could teach in West Virginia
without being fully certified because of their "Exemption K"
provision which allowed me to teach as long as our students performed well
on nationally standardized tests, which they always did.
This position used all my talents, I was working with kids and feeling
"successful" at it...I moved on to get a masters degree in political science from Western
Illinois University and used this degree to teach at three community colleges.
My resume would show, besides the college teaching, successful stints at
newspaper reporting, corporate marketing, and financial consulting. But none
of this was somehow "the real me." I took a year off last
year with my family to do mission work in the Dominican Republic. I
ran a mission school in that country. It brought back fresh to me my
love for teaching teenagers and I decided I would make a career move to the
area which I really loved, and which is my true and best talent-set:
teaching. I found out about the alt cert
programs that Illinois had created a little too late to get into the first
cohort in 2000, but was accepted into the second cohort group, 2001/2002,
completed the alt cert coursework at Illinois
State University, and am now happily teaching at Streamwood High School, in
Streamwood, IL.
Feel free to email me or
the other alt cert students here with questions!
Illinois
Alternative Certification Programs
