Intro!

[cookderosa]

Hello, I didn't get a chance last week, so I wanted to just give an intro and say Hi! I plan to be here until at least next year. I just joined IC, but I have lurked the forums for months (unable to post as a lurker) which has been so helpful.

In October of last year I read a book called Accelerated Distance Learning by Brad Voeller. I read it "for" my children. I homeschool 4 of them during the day, and my oldest will be planning his high school....so I thought it would help me to prepare for his schooling. I, on the other hand, went to culinary school in 1990 and after a few years of "cheffing" took a job as the department head of a new culinary program at our community college. Had a baby and switched to teaching- I have been there ever since. Our program is an apprenticeship, so our students work off campus all week, and take 12 credits on Mondays. Nice deal for the teachers, we all only work one day per week year round. With homeschool, 4 kids, an exercise addiction, and just enough of a job to keep me busy- returning to college was the LAST thing on my mind.

After finishing Accelerated Distance Learning, I thought it might be a good idea for me to take a CLEP just to see what they were like. (for my kids of course ) I know a handful of homeschool moms who use CLEP as "final exams" for their high schoolers, and I want to do the same thing with mine. As my homework, I took an exam- Human Growth and Development- and I started thinking about how I might like to take some for "me."

I applied to EC and TESC. Turns out, that while the Culinary Institute of America is RA now, it was only NA when I graduated. The grace period was too long, and in the end I got zero transfer credit. I even called the CIA to ask about returning to finish my bachelor degree back with them- turns out they couldn't take my credits now that they have RA. (HA HA! Gotta love that) So, I started from scratch in January - enrolled in TESC BA Liberal Studies in June. I used an option they have called "credit for courses taught" to earn 28 transfer credits at TESC in culinary/hospitality for the courses I teach. This took care of my free electives. Worth all the paperwork and 12 (!) weeks of waiting.

Our "rules" around the house, the money I use to pay for my tests comes from my teaching salary -cough cough- (pays 2 CLEPS per month-InstantCert-and any other study guides) and I am using financial aid - which means a requirement of taking 6 credits per semester. That's fine. So, in a nutshell, I have to work it out so that it doesn't conflict with my homeschool time or the VERY LIMITED budget we have. I want to finish within the year to avoid the additional enrollment fee. It works out to taking 8 classes in all.

AND, if I didn't slide down the slippery slope fast enough, I decided to apply to grad school. I have at least 8 years that I need to be home full time, but after that I can return to industry- so, this is quite an adventure actually! I'll be trying to get into the Penn State Master Ed (Adult Education) program (requires GRE over over 1100) so if that doesn't happen, my back up is the U of Wisconsin MS Leadership Admin (Adult Ed/Workforce Development). My hubby and I (he is still a chef) are both taking a cert program at Cornell in the spring- his is free through his employer. So, seem like I fell back into my education full force- but I am having a great great time. It is hard to study in my limited amount of time, and I did fail one exam (Civil War) but i'll say what I have heard others say here- "I should have done this years ago!"

I am so excited to have IC as a resource for me and probably my kids too! While they won't be doing online degrees, they will take CLEPs and DSSTs. I am thrilled to finally join in!

[yutzyj]

Welcome Jennifer, we're glad to have you. It sounds like you've jumped out of the frying pan and into the fire! You'll be rising fast in the credit department and it will all be icing on the cake. Sorry, I couldn't help myself (or think of anymore culinary sayings). I'm sure Snazzlefrag could post a much better welcome than me, he's a master mixer of words.

[wfb0l2c]

Originally Posted by cookderosa

Hello, I didn't get a chance last week, so I wanted to just give an intro and say Hi! I plan to be here until at least next year. I just joined IC, but I have lurked the forums for months (unable to post as a lurker) which has been so helpful. I am thrilled to finally join in!

Welcome to the forum and best of luck.

[Kiwi Lover]

Hi Jennifer,

It's GREAT to have you with us, and it sounds like you are well-organized for your educational pursuits! I really enjoyed reading your story, so thanks for taking the time to share it with all of us. As you have probably seen by now, this is a very friendly & helpful group, so never hesitate if you have any questions or concerns.

Welcome aboard and best of luck with your studies!

Take care,
JoAnne

[Papa Georgia]

What a great story! In case you haven't figured it out already. testing is addictive.
I have not had any personal experience with this school,NSU College of Education.
but you might want to put it on your backup list. They have a Master's in Adult Education. Online students do not pay out of state fees and the tuition is fairly reasonable.

[Old Rusty Pipe]

Welcome. I find your story inspiring. Its always great when someone decides to pursue that degree (for whatever reason). As was already stated, this forum is extremely helpful and friendly. I never would have made it through all of my tests without the support I got it. Good luck.

And since you are going to Thomas Edison, you may want to look and see if you could possibly benefit from the free FEMA Independent Study courses.

[cookderosa]

Thanks everyone for the warm welcome! I am glad a few of you were inspired, I certainly have taken my share of inspiration from here already!

I'll check out the other program mentioned. Oh, I did get a FEMA credit a while back, but the Credit For Courses Taught ended up wiping out my need for any free electives. Thanks for the suggestions!

[Basket Weaver]

Just wanted to chime in and welcome you to the forum. You have quite an interesting background and I'm sure you'll add a bit of flavor to the forum (yes, that was a bit pathetic ) I look forward to reading more of your posts! Lee