Just a short tag to my post earlier in the week. It appears I have a guardian angel after all.

Over the course of the week I had resigned myself that I was going to have to cut back to two classes, which might well mean I would not finish in three years as originally hoped. But last night I checked on a whim and someone had dropped one of the classes for which I had originally hoped to register. I'm down to two trips a week to Baltimore. Whew. I can't even tell you what a relief that is.

I think we can do this. The family is still going to be impacted but I'm not going to be away as much. Dad is still going to have dinner duty two times a week. One of those days will be a real challenge because the girls have Brownies after school on alternating weeks (one has it one week, the other has it the next week, etc.). He can't pick them up until 4:30-5:00 (the one not at Brownies will go to aftercare). That's good from a work perspective but it compacts the evening tasks of homework, bathing, dinner and bedtime by 8pm. I'm going to have an afternoon and evening class this day (ie. Wed) so I will be totally out of the picture. Maybe that will become chicken nuggets/applesauce night; fifteen minutes in the oven and "dinner" (one they will eat, at least) is on the table. The other day (Mon), though, I'll be able to get the kids at school and feed them a snack before I have to Ieave for class. I might be able to get baths/showers done as well if we hurry. Using the crock pot or leftovers I can make dinner pretty easy. I feel so much better about things.

I guess the moral of the story is that you should not panic if the initial schedule is not workable. There is a decent chance that things could change.

Posted by Kathi at 1:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Today is the first day of registration for the Spring Semester for us Foundation students. I have put more time into studying and thinking about the various concentrations, specializations and course offerings than I can tabulate. I have second guessed myself backwards and forwards, and have bothered a fair number of people on the staff (professors and administrators) with my questions. I don't consider myself to have the brains of Einstein, but I do think I am reasonably intelligent. Yet, I am very confused by the the Concentration/Specialization/ Subspecialization system at the SSW. When I was applying, I looked at the various categories and figured, once enrolled, the path would become clear. Not so. What really became clear was the complexity of arranging your schedule to assure that all the requirements of your chosen Concentration/Specialization/Subspecialization can be met. To me, at least, it seems like it would be extremely easy to find yourself in the last semester, missing an essential class either due to a failure to understand properly what was required (despite all the handouts listing these courses) or failure to plan the course of study over multiple years carefully enough to assure completion. I also remain foggy about what options are foreclosed/opened in terms of clinical placement by choosing a particular Concentration/Specialization/Subspecialization.

The school offered a couple of short seminars (one day, one night) in which each specialization and concentration chair talked about his/her area. I went, even though this necessitated an extra trip to Baltimore for me. I thought this was important enough to warrant the trip. Unfortunately, this seminar complicated, not simplified, my registration preparation, since I realized there was another appealing option of which I had not previously been aware. But after pestering the chair with multiple questions and studying the written materials closely, I found I just could not make this other choice work between my family obligations, my commute from DC, and my desire to still complete this masters in 3 years.

I have settled upon Clinical - Mental Health, because it seems comparatively general and offers some choices in the latter part of the program. Yep, I have essentially chosen my Concentration/Specialization based upon logistics. I am hoping the choices this track of study offers will make registration easier in ensuing semesters. Unfortunately, it puts me in a bit of a jam for this coming Spring. As a part-time student, I am limited in what I can take because I have not yet had Foundation Practice and Field. The goal would be to take my classes during the day while my kids are at school. There are two choices for advanced policy in the Mental Health track. I had hoped to take the web class, but this option is popular and closed. The first section of the alternative advanced policy course for the Mental Health track is also closed; this section could have saved me a trip to Baltimore because I could take another required course (Hum Beh II) in the afternoon. I am left with a Friday afternoon advanced policy course. Bummer. I'm told by the registrar that it is possible that someone will drop one of the closed courses.....We shall see.

I really should move on to preparing for tomorrow's class but I'm distracted. I'm left feeling really guilty, and kind of stupid, because, despite all the time I invested in studying my options, under my current Spring schedule I will have to go to Baltimore three times a week, twice in the afternoon/evening time frames. This is really going to affect my husband and children. Dad is going to have to make dinner twice a week (I can only recall two times TOTAL in the past when he has made dinner for the kids) and he will also have to deal with homework and bedtime one night. Yikes. It's silly at this juncture I guess, but I find myself wondering if this whole thing is really doable for me given my family obligations. A week ago I would have said yes; I was feeling good about my midterms. This week I feel weighed down by reality.

Posted by Kathi at 2:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)