Thursday was a stressful day.
Taking a child to college is emotionally draining.
If you are the kind of person who has my luck, then the stress on such days seems to get compounded by other happenings.
Because our drive to Southeastern would take us through most of the state, I figured I would schedule myself for a very important appointment…an appointment I couldn’t make in Podunk, USA.
What was the appointment for, inquiring minds might be asking?
Does the next picture provide you with any clues?
Yeah. It was time for me to take my last certification exam…the Professional Ed Test.
Every single person who wants to obtain a license to teach in Florida must pass this exam (one of several).
This was the final hurdle I needed to jump over.
I had studied…sporadically…over the previous weeks. I had even taken the first of two practice tests in the book.
I figured that it was time to bite the bullet, and so I scheduled the test…in one of the cities that Chicky and I would be passing through.
Then, it was time to buckle down and finish my studying.
My study guide was great! It provided the correct answers to the practice questions as well as explanations why various answers were wrong and why the other ones were right. It also grouped the questions together according to the competencies they covered, which helped me identify problem areas.
I also found this free study guide online, which provided more practice questions.
In case you don’t know, the FEAPS (Florida Educator Accomplished Practices) are the principles under which all teachers in Florida are called to act. All of the education classes can be tied to these principles and, hence, the tests questions do as well.
There’s only so much studying a person can do to prepare for this test. A lot of it is practical application…common sense stuff, if you will.
And so I found myself entering the testing center while Chicky ate lunch with her grandparents.
Test takers are allowed two and a half hours to complete the exam. I had taken my practice tests in an hour. My hope was that I would finish the test early so we could get back on the road.
Was I nervous?
Yes.
The test costs $150, and the thought of taking it again did not make me happy.
I am also anal. I like to pass things the first time. In fact, I expect this out of myself.
But, I’d had a very stressful morning due to unexpected “surprises” inserting themselves into my morning prior to departure.
Fortunately, the ladies in the testing center were kind and empathetic.
After a quick trip to the potty…where I did not cry this time, unlike during my General Ed test…I entered the computer room and began my test.
It took me a short while to settle my thoughts on that test.
But, focus is just what I did, and I methodically worked my way through all 120 questions, marking the ones I wasn’t sure about and returning to them later to reconsider my answers.
I nervously clicked “Finish” when I thought I was done.
Unofficial test results print out immediately, and I nervously waited.
It took only a moment, and I was handed this…
I PASSED!!!!
All glory goes to the Lord, but it was with His help that I passed this test.
As I said, I had been under a lot of pressure (for reasons that I cannot share) prior to walking into this test.
I am incredibly relieved and grateful.
I have jumped through almost every hoop required to obtain my license. I have to wait for the Department of Education and my EPI program to receive my test results. Once my EPI director has the results, she will send a required form to the DOE. Then, I will be able to request a fingerprint card, get my fingerprints done, and send them in for a background check. Once that has cleared, I will receive my license, which I will proudly display in a fancy frame.
It was with an evil sort of joy that I put my study guide in Chicky’s car when we got to the hotel on Thursday night.
She’s going to take the exam during her Spring semester of school.
I’m sure she’ll do just fine as she, too, makes her way through the journey that will lead to her own professional certificate.
Filed under: Teaching | Tagged: certification, Professional Ed Test, teaching | 3 Comments »
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