back to the usual...

Well, after 3 days of working full days at The Vanguard Academy, I'm back on my normal schedule tomorrow. I'll head down to U of L to work at the Infant Cognition Lab for the morning, then grab some lunch and high-tail-it to Vanguard. I've really enjoyed being the full-time teacher (and the money's gonna be great too!). It's a little weird being an assistant and knowing that I'm gonna have to leave in August. I could do so much more in terms of planning and decorating and such, but I'm trying to let Angel decide all that since she's the lead teacher. Once I get all the degrees I'm hoping to get, I'd be able to do this no problem. But could I be an infant-toddler daycare teacher every day for the rest of my life? Hmm. If it's at a place like Vanguard, then yes. I much prefer the private sector to the more-public less-private one of which the Y is a member. Who knows.

I guess that's what senior year is for. Deciding what to do next and where to go. I've got so many options available right now. I could get a Graduate Certificate in Autism Spectrum Disorders or as an infant specialist; I could get a Master's in clinical or developmental pysch, speech language pathology, or special education; or I could go for the Ph.D in clinical or developmental psych. At this point, I'm leaning more towards the Master's and Certificates, because they would allow me to do what I want to do. I want to actually work with infants and toddlers. I'd love to earn a Ph.D, but I don't want to teach at a University. I'd really like to work in a therapy clinic at a children's hospital like Vanderbilt. I'd be a developmental specialist with expertise in autism and language, and I'd work with typically and atypically developing infants and toddlers. I'd teach infants sign language and work with young toddlers on emotional, cognitive, and social development. It's a huge wish, I know. But I'm hoping I can get at least a good chunk of it. That's where the short study time for the Certificates and Masters' comes in. I can get 2 Certificates and 3 Master's in less than 10 years if I play my cards right. I think if I go for the Ph.D, it'll be in clinical child / developmental psychopathology. I guess my research would be along the lines of language or thinking. We'll see. I've got to survive my 2-thesis senior year at DePauw first!