Having debated the issue for a while I have determined that I'm ready to go back to grad school and finish what I started. However, I'm curious about some people's perceptions on my situation.
When I got my M.Ed. things had gone sour near the end of the situation and I was actually released from my teaching program that I was in. It was mostly my fault, combined with a difference in philosophy with the program. That ended in the end of 2004, after 4 years of coursework.
I'm now planning on returning here in the Northwest, far away from the school I got my other degree in. When it comes time for me to write my personal statement and perhaps go through the interview process, is it best for me to just suck it up and address my previous shortcoming head-on or should I make every effort to shed as much of a positive light on my prior education as possible? Seeing as how I may need a letter of recommendation or two (which may or may not even be an option), the troubles will surely surface to some degree.
I'm not sure if honesty about my prior difficulties would shed a positive or negative light on my candidacy. Any input?
__________________ I am scared of the things a comin', and I want for the things I don't have, Cannot stand to be one of many, I'm not what they are... Guster
I think you should be honest but I would put a positive spin on it. Why would you talk about the negatives? Have confidence and a clear achievable direction you'd like to go in.
Yeah, I'm wanting to get my D.Ed. in curriculum development. Obviously I would emphasize why I am better prepared now than I was in the past but I just debate how much to admit to about the past, you know? I guess just paint it in the light of not being fully prepared at that time as opposed to now?
You probably do need to address why you crashed and burned back then. It's usually better to bring these things up yourself rather than have them discover it and think you're trying to pull one over on them.
Everyone loves a comeback story, so I'd suggest approaching it as "here's how I've overcome the challenges I experienced in my last program, and why I expect to be successful now" or "what I learned about myself during that time and through that experience which will make me a better student/teacher".
You could try talking to the dean of admissions at schools your not applying to, and maybe they’d be glad to give you some no nonsense insight on how to proceed with this delicate situation.
It doesn't have to be a negative. Unless you use the wrong words to describe it. Maybe you should practice putting how things went wrong before in a more positive light. When I hear "difference in philosophy" I hear "problem with authority" or "difficult to get along with".
Look, can't you just say that your previous advisor "touched your psyche in inappropriate places?" Sure, people often do that to me, but it's because they're desperately searching for that grain of sense in a desert of digression. Despite having the best of intentions, they soon give up.
Anyway, some fantastic advice on this thread, and I am therefore confident that I can be irrelevant without feeling guilty.
Look, can't you just say that your previous advisor "touched your psyche in inappropriate places?" Sure, people often do that to me, but it's because they're desperately searching for that grain of sense in a desert of digression. Despite having the best of intentions, they soon give up.
Anyway, some fantastic advice on this thread, and I am therefore confident that I can be irrelevant without feeling guilty.
NEMO!! Your ambiguity is always welcome!
__________________ The only way to have a friend, is to be one. - Ralph Waldo Emerson
You probably do need to address why you crashed and burned back then. It's usually better to bring these things up yourself rather than have them discover it and think you're trying to pull one over on them.
Don't you even think about putting that in your personal statement!
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