I did nothing but work on my presentation today until I was well past the point of exhaustion.  The result is that I have a 70 slide presentation that I could teach from tomorrow if need be.  I’ll go to Mission College tomorrow to see how the slides look in the room.

I actually started my presentation today, though I started late; I had about two hours of (paying) chip work to do first.  As per usual, until I’m right up at the deadline, I really have no motivation to get this thing done.  Yes, I’m definitely prone to procrastination, but I also perform better under pressure and right now, the pressure is off.  Instead of blazing through the presentation, I spent the afternoon watching video lectures on Northern Renaissance, looking for additional ideas and insights.  Alas, the lecturer was both boring and also didn’t tell me anything I didn’t already know.  I guess I’ll make due with what I’ve amassed so far.

I guess I should do more in the way of preparation, but instead, I spent much of my morning searching for the historical accuracy of a popular presenter.  The guy comes off as a genuine historian, but he’s actually more like a cult leader.

Good thing I waited on creating that new slide show: the professor asked me not to talk about a particular painting (Arnolfini Wedding Portrait), because she was going to spend an entire period talking about the symbols in it.  That painting was going to be the cornerstone of my presentation!  Since we were meeting today, I decided to make a list of all the art I was going to use and see if there were any other paintings to avoid.

It was great to see her again.  The school and the classroom looked the same.  On the way up the stairs, I did some mental calculations about how long it had been since I was a student here.  I had to check my math twice because it didn’t seem right – I was a student here 18 years ago!  Man, it seems like yesterday, yet, my son was born after I had attended Mission College, and he’s 17.

The one thing that had changed in the classroom was the advent of computer technology (Yeah!).  She had a video projector and a computer, yet also still kept her slide trays in the back.  I was unfamiliar with her way of presenting the slides (she used some sort of media library), so I asked if I could do mine in powerpoint.  She said that powerpoint would be fine.

It was a good thing I had my list of paintings with me, about half of them were off limits for one reason or another.  Still, I definitely have enough to work with so I can start creating presentation #2 tomorrow.

Good news, I will, in all likelihood, also teach in her ancient to medieval class sometime in November, so I can use the slideshow I created yesterday.  My day wasn’t wasted!

For now though, I must create an engaging slideshow on Northern Renaissance symbols which will be 30-45 minutes in length.  It’s a little longer than I had hoped for, but she said that I have no actual constraints – when I’m done, I’m done.

Though not expecting this, I also get a small honorarium for guest speaking.  $50.  And here I was happy just to get a free parking pass and an opportunity to speak!

OK, so the news is telling me that allergens are super high this week.  That explains my tiredness.

I worked for most of the day on a slide show for Christian Symbols in Art.  Unfortunately, as I was wrapping things up, I got an email from the college professor who is allowing me to teach in her classroom.  I had spent my time recreating my early Christian symbols class, and she decided to place me in the Renaissance to Modern class.  Those Christian symbols are much more advanced, and increasingly hard to find (since one of the byproducts of the Renaissance period is a moving away from church art).  I will now need to create an entirely different presentation based on Renaissance symbols.  I’ll start tomorrow, or maybe after I’ve had a chance to talk to her some more.

I had every intention of starting a new series of “jobs” today: updating the analysis of my stock portfolio, preparing for a guest lecture spot, reading up on school requirements for my teaching program, contacting my local school district about possible teaching jobs and beginning a video lecture series on art appreciation (since I might be in the running for a teaching position in this area).  Alas, I only got to the last one.  For some reason, I was tired all day.  Maybe I was still drained from this weekend’s CSET test, but I suspect it has more to do with allergies and a possible cold (my wife now has a cold, which I hope was the one I had last week).  I simply couldn’t stay awake!  In the afternoon, I solved this problem by playing tennis with my family.  It woke me up, but now I’m getting stiff thanks to too much recent inactivity.

Here’s the thing: I start a solid year of school in two weeks.  That’s non-negotiable.  I may want to take one day off somewhere in the next two weeks to relax before I restart college, but really, I’ve got a lot to do, and only a short window to complete it all.  I’ll need to really get going tomorrow.

First off, happy 50^th birthday to my friend Jeff; he starts off a year of people turning 50 all around me.

There’s no other way to put it: the CSET test was brutal.  The rules alone were enough to put one off (no electronics of any kind that have an on/off button, no mechanical pencils, no pens, only water in a label-less, clear container and an apple or banana can be brought into the classroom, but it won’t be near you and you can only access them once.  Once the door closes, you are allowed one bathroom break until you leave).  Well, since I did my usual trick of drinking lots of coffee just prior to coming in, I had to go several times just before the door closed.  The “reading of the rules” part after the door had closed took 45 minutes.  Only then did the five hour clock begin.  By that time, I had to go to the bathroom again, but I held it through test 1 of 3.

Armed with 12 sharpened wooden pencils (which I despise), I started test #1 on World History.  The multiple choice was tricky, but I found the three essay questions to be pretty straight forward.  As my new buddy John had mentioned, there would be an essay question on China, and there was.  I felt confident in my answer until I looked up the information after the test… I had (confidently) put down the wrong dynasty name in the first sentence!  I had put down the name of an old friend of mine instead.  His name is Zhang… but there is no Zhang dynasty.  Oops.

The World History test took me almost two hours to complete, largely because my hand was cramping so bad on the three essay questions that I couldn’t quickly finish them.  Wow, this only gave me three hours to complete the other two tests.  This, I suppose, is why they don’t recommend that you take three tests in a single setting.  I would have to go faster.

The US History test seemed harder than the World History test, but yet again, the essay questions seemed very doable.  My hand still cramped, but not as bad this time.  I also wasn’t as verbose.  I finished this test in an hour.

I was absolutely stunned by the difficulty of the last “catch-all” test of California History, Civics and Economics.  I had aced all the practice tests, so I didn’t feel I needed to study as hard on this one.  I was very, very wrong.  Most of the time, I must have had a blank look on my face as I puzzled through each question.  Also, I was getting very “brain tired” and I was about at my limit.  It didn’t help that a lot of the questions seemed to be of the “choose the best of these” type questions.  With all the answers more or less correct, and one being more correct than the rest, I had a hard time deciding.  At least the essays were easy (though with severe hand cramps, I began alternating hands out of desperation).  Sort of funny, but I was just warming up on the first essay when I hit the bottom of the page and realized that unlike the other two first essays, this was meant to be a one page answer, not two.  I had to erase and simplify my answer (all the while stressing out because I was already on pencil #8, and it was sort of impractical to sharpen your pencils in this room – let’s just say that sharpening pencils was highly discouraged.).  In other words, my first essay was weak, being all intro and no body.  The other two were better.  I also finished this test in an hour.  Four hours total to take these three tests; my brain was mush.  I was also one of four people left in the room.  We had started with around 25 (each taking a different test to discourage peeking/cheating).  I got to the car, looked up my Chinese dynasties (shoot; missed that one!) and then went home.  I my brain felt completely shredded for the remainder of the day.

I do not know if I passed any of the three tests, though I suspect that I probably passed two of them… maybe three… maybe zero – I don’t know!  The results won’t come out for a month.  Until then, I sort of have to wait and hope I passed them all, and also hope that I didn’t lose too much data if I did not.

As one might imagine, I spent all day today doing practice tests, then reviewing the answers I missed.

The morning didn’t start off well.  I took the last in the series of AP US History tests and got the same score as yesterday – not good.  What was good: the CSET practice tests were way easier!  I have to believe that the difference comes down to time: AP tests assume that you have just studied for a year.  CSET tests assume that you have some vague recollection about all you learned over the last four to ten years, and that you might have lost some details along the way.  Even so, I did not do as well on the two (six really) CSET tests as I would have liked.  If there is any bright side, I totally aced both versions of the Civics/Economics/CA History test.  I got 65 – 70% on the rest.  From what I understand, you have to pass the tests by 60%, but that they grade each question based on difficulty.  In other words, you don’t get equal credit for answering the easy questions.  Bottom line, if the actual test is anything like these two practice tests, I should pass.

I studied both India and China before completing my video lecture series on turning points in US History.  By the time I finished the video series, my family was home.  My daughter was especially chatty this afternoon.  Still, I decided to take one of the AP US History practice tests that I have just to see how I have retained my US History knowledge (now that I’m back to studying World History again).  The house was noisy and distracting – not ideal conditions – and I wound up with my lowest score to date, a 56%.  This is not a real confidence booster just two days before the big test.  Tomorrow will be nothing but review and practice test taking; I guess I’ll need to spend at least a little time on US History (though at the expense of World History).  I’m still hopeful that I can pass all sections of the CSET test on Saturday, but I am now less sure that I will.

That humidifier really worked.  I felt fine.

I got through four chapters in two different world history books before it was time to go to NHU to meet my academic adviser and pick out my classes.

John was late in getting back to the office (25 minutes late!), but once he got there, we had a really good time.  We talked for almost an hour and a half.  And here I thought I’d simply show up, pick my classes and leave.  Not so fast – John had a checklist that he had to go through to make sure I didn’t miss anything.  I didn’t.  I’m actually well ahead of where most incoming folks are.  By the end, John told me that in his two years of advising, he has discovered that only 5% or so are ready and organized and passionate, maybe 30% have an idea of what they want to do, and the rest need constant hand-holding.  I fit into the first category.

We also hit it off because two years ago, he and two buddies completed their single subject credential in Social Studies… and then couldn’t find jobs.  His friends eventually did after a year, but he landed this academic advising job instead.  He told me that Multiple Subject credential people (Elementary Teachers) and Social Studies teachers are the hardest to place because once a teacher joins a district, they stay for 20-30 years.  Hey, just like college professors! (Math is the easiest to fill because math teachers only last a few years before moving on to something else.  No Math for me!)  John practically begged me to choose a different emphasis to avoid unemployment.  I made it clear that history was my passion, though I’d also be willing to pick up another single subject if need be.  He told me that English would be best with Social Studies because more and more, the two are being combined.  To avoid a basic computer class requirement, I could also get my single subject in Technology Education.  I might do one or both of these in addition to Social Studies if it will indeed make me more marketable (Technology for sure because it’s cheaper and faster than going to the basic computer class at NHU.  Imagine – I can get a second single subject credential AND get out of a boring remedial computer class at the same time!).

More good advice – he said that if I could find my own master teacher (a trainer) or better yet, get employed as an intern at a district, then I could speed up my educational process and perhaps get things done in a year.  Without doing this, it is basically impossible to get through the program in under a year (it takes three months after passing the CSET to arrange for a master teacher through NHU).  I guess I’ll have to get on that – I must pass my CSET first.  John also warned me not to dally on my five assessments (called TPAs/TPEs).  They are not classes, so they are up to the student and teacher to coordinate.  He missed doing his until the end of all his classes, and it took him an additional four months to complete.  I’ll certainly get these done early and often!  His final word of advice: There WILL be one essay question on China on the CSET – make sure you know your Chinese history!  I’ll study that tomorrow.