The last four months provided nonstop educational action. From teaching my own classes to completing the coursework required for my degree and certificate, I’ve had hardly a moment to breathe. What a great semester. This post provides an update about my progress towards teacher certification. (Spoiler: I’m approaching the finish line.)
Situation Brief
At the beginning of this school year I had one class remaining on my palette, after which I would face the challenging gauntlet known as Student Teaching.
Remaining Coursework
Secondary Disciplinary Literacy
The one remaining class was Secondary Disciplinary Literacy.
This course provided an overview of the discipline of the English Language Arts.
The difficulty level of the course was low and I finished it sometime around September.
Alaska Multicultural Studies – UAF ED593
The state and our district helpfully offered to currently employed teachers a free university course that meets the state requirement for Alaska Multicultural Studies.
This University of Alaska – Fairbanks course is called SILKAT ED593.
I began this course in September and it runs through May, 2025.
Student Teaching
Three Months of Potentially Unpaid Work
Traveling all the way back in time to 2017, I was then in the early stages of my journey to become a secondary English teacher.
From the outset, I knew that a most difficult requirement for the teaching certificate would be to spend approximately three months as a full-time student teacher.
For these three months, I would be responsible to plan lessons and conduct classes, while simultaneously completing required coursework in the evenings. There would be no time for anything other than this task, and there was no certainty that I would be able to work in a paid capacity.
To overcome this challenge, I would need both ample income and few responsibilities in the home.
Babies Arrive in Our Home
At this same time in 2017, just as I completed all the necessary prerequisite coursework, my ex-wife and I were blessed with our first child. (In 2020, we would also be blessed with our second.)
As is so often the case when babies arrive, the needs of our home changed. Either our children’s mother or their father needed to be flexible and available whenever the unexpected would occur.
Choosing to be Flexible in My Employment
My ex-wife held a stable government job with many of the beneficial offerings that supported our family. We did not want to risk destabilizing her position.
There was no way — at least, not that I could see — to overcome the three-month challenge of student teaching, given our family’s needs.
I put my ambitions to be a teacher on hold and, fortunately, found a remote position as a technical writer for a technology startup.
This position allowed me to both continue helping our family financially, while also being available to assist with sick children, unexpected daycare closures, and many other situations where a flexible parent was required.
The Pathway Clears
Fast-forwarding to August 2023, our family circumstances changed.
Both children were now old enough to have a stable daytime experience in either school or preschool.
Furthermore, I found temporary employment with the Yukon-Koyukuk School District, which allowed me to be involved with the public-education system while completing the university coursework for my degree.
These advantages gave me the position to begin the WGU teaching program. I was, finally, reasonably certain that when the three-month student-teaching requirement arrived, I would be able to overcome it.
Finding Employment With Tok School
To my good fortune, in 2024 I was offered employment with the Alaska Gateway School District as an English Language Arts instructor.
This one-year contracted position allows me to the opportunity to be both working, and therefore earning income, while simultaneously completing the three-month student-teaching requirement.
Overcoming this obstacle has been nearly eight years in the making.
Current Status
Preclinical Experience
From September to October, I completed the first requirement of the student-teaching track. This first requirement is called Preclinical Experience.
During this course, each day I visited our high-school English teacher’s classroom and made observations about how she manages her class.
In addition, I also made observations and conducted interviews in other locations, such as during the weekly Professional Learning Community (PLC) meetings that our school holds.
Student Teaching I and Other Courses
In December, the long-awaited moment finally arrived. I began my student-teaching experience, with my location being the same English classroom where I work.
At the same time, nearly all of my remaining courses at Western Governor’s University were unlocked.
All courses should be complete around the beginning of April 2025.
This long endeavor is drawing to a close, and it is opening the door for my dream job: being an English Language Arts teacher.
My Dream Job
Before closing this post, I want to share that being an English teacher this year has been an absolute pleasure.
Every day, I have the chance to grow in so many ways.
Most importantly, my students are my teachers. I enjoy learning to see the world through their eyes.
To add to the experience, the topics that I teach are the same topics with which I fill my personal time.
My life is a slice of heaven from eight in the morning until four in the afternoon. Even the days that are challenging are a chance to become a better person.
Coursework Checklist
Here is an update on my coursework checklist.
WGU Night Courses
| Course Name | Credits | Completed |
| Orientation | 0 | ✔ |
| Foundations of Education | 2 | ✔ |
| Educational Psychology and Human Development of Children and Adolescents | 4 | ✔ |
| Schools as Communities of Care | 2 | ✔ |
| Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment | 2 | ✔ |
| Assessing Student Learning | 2 | ✔ |
| Essential Practices for Supporting Diverse Learners | 3 | ✔ |
| Creating and Managing Engaging Learning Environments | 2 | ✔ |
| Using Educational Technology for Teaching and Learning | 2 | ✔ |
| Secondary Reading Instruction and Interventions | 2 | ✔ |
| Secondary Disciplinary Literacy | 2 | ✔ |
| English Pedagogy | 3 | ✔ |
| Professional Portfolio | 1 | (In progress) |
| Cohort Seminar | 1 | (In progress) |
On-the-job Coursework
| Course Name | Credits | Completed |
| Preclinical Experiences in English | 2 | ✔ |
| Student Teaching I in Secondary Education | 4 | (In progress) |
| Student Teaching II in Secondary Education | 4 | |
| Teacher Performance Assessment in English | 1 | (In progress) |
State-Required Coursework
| Course | Credits | Completed |
| Alaska Studies Coursework | 3 | |
| Alaska Multicultural Coursework | 3 | (In progress) |
How You Can Help
If any of this is ever going to work, I will need outside support.
Here is a link to a blog post that describes how a supportive reader can help me in my quest.
In short, you can…
- Like, comment and share
- Buy a copy of my children’s novella, Westly: A Spider’s Tale
- Help me connect with part-time and contract work