Back In the Saddle Again...
Hello!
I can't believe summer break is over. It was a fast and busy summer in our household. I hope your summer was good too.
You may recall that I am a part-time student trying to complete the program in three years. My track, right now, is Clinical - Mental Health. Last year I took only an academic load -- three courses each semester. I also took one summer class -- an advanced research course -- that kept me hopping through most of June. The class met intensively, all day every day, during the second-to-last week in May; that week was really nuts. I struggled to get a grip on my research topic while trying to complete the written assignments which were due during the course of the week. I thought things would be better once I got through that week, but the worst of it was actually the next couple of weeks, when I was supposed to be conducting my research independently. The kids were extraordinarly busy with end-of-the-school year events, early dismissals and the like. And my husband went on travel for work during those two weeks while my parents visited in his absence. I was tired from the push at the end of the Spring semester. Seriously, I'm not sure I digested a meal properly for about three weeks running there. But, somehow I made it through. I did the research, wrote the paper, presented my research findings in class, and completed the course. I learned alot and felt good about the final product. The intensive format worked particularly well for a research course, since much of the learning occurs by doing, outside the classroom. And it was great to get my advanced research and diversity requirements completed. Several weeks later, I learned I had a hiatal hernia, but hey...
This semester I have only my Field Placement and my Practice course at the Shady Grove campus. I am not eligible to take any other courses until I have a semester of these two. I hope to pick up a couple of additional courses at Shady Grove during the Spring semester. For my field placement, I will be working at a correctional facility. The inmates in this facility participate in a community-based work release program during the last 6 months of their respective sentences. The location of my placement is great -- just a few miles from my home. I'm a little embarassed that I did not know this facility even existed before I received this assignment. This placement also connects my legal background to my social work education in an area to which I have had limited prior exposure. I'm a little uneasy about the hours -- I have to work in the late afternoon and evening, which is when my family needs me most. If you have been following this blog, you know I struggled greatly last semester with the dilemma of taking an afternoon and evening course one day in Baltimore. Now I will be away from my family two evenings and the commitment extends through April. My husband is going to go into work early these two days and will manage the school pick-up/homework/showers/dinner/bed drill with the kids on his own. I keep telling myself this will be ok.
Tuesday, I have Orientation for Field in Baltimore. Wednesday, I have my first Practice class of the semester. Hold on ....
