Just a 48-year-old mom of 2 in Northern California. My kids are Monkey Monkey(MM) and Drama Llama (DL). I am married to Monkey Hubby (MH). Crazy crazy week. But thankfully, it was all good crazy. I will break this out into three posts.
DL(20) was able to meet with an advisor in the college education deparment. Because of his work experience, he will be able to do a 1-year track for his teaching credential. The credential program is treated the same as Undergrad, with minimal fees added. DL will have to pass two tests and add a few classes to his degree. He might choose to take some summer classes so that he can keep working, but it sounds very doable.
As far as a Masters, it looks like it will be just one part-time year at his current college. While I am sure there are many other options, I don't think he will see the point. Being able to go to school close to home and his job, will be important. & the cost will also be hard to beat. I just happened to meet up with another teacher (MH's friend's wife, I only met her once before and she wasn't on my radar at all. Until MH told me we were meeting up with her the other night.) So of course I asked her about teaching and all that. She thought that his Stats major was very complimentary for teaching. & as Rob in the blogs told me, made a point how important data collection was for teachers. She felt this would look very favorable to employers.
This officially puts DL(20) on a 5-year college track. He will fit right in with the rest of the household. If he can pull it off in 5 years, he will have the distinction of earning a credential, in addition to his degree. But because of that, he is probably a little extra motivated to finish his degree in 4 years. It will likely require summer classes because he also wants to work a lot during the school year. Mostly because he likes his job, but also he has a lot to save up for. Will see how it all works out.
Note: Some topics of conversation that have come up in recent weeks: Buying a condo, marriage, supporting his future spouse, getting a Masters degree, etc. <---- These are all the things he is thinking about financially. Though I don't think he has any plans to spend much on a wedding or an engagement. He asked me the other day how much it really cost to elope. Then he saw the look on my face and said, "Not now! In a couple of years probably."
If you told me 2-3 years ago that DL(20) would be the first in our household to pursue a higher degree. What!? I lumped him in with a lot of my family who were not college people. Now in his third year of college... I think the truth was that he just wasn't a K-12 person. It was easy to presume that he would have been more well served by a community college/AA degree, like several people in my family.
This is also a kid who never wanted to take an advanced class or do a single extra-curricular activity. He was always so precious about his time and I was so grateful he was admitted into the art school. It was the only way he ever would have gotten any exposure to the arts. Because asking him to take a class after school would have been a bridge too far. Even for something he was extremely passionate about art. So... Who is this kid who wants to work and go to school and take summer classes? Clearly it has to do a lot with finding his true passion. Being older and more mature. But I also think a lot of it is just having more control over things. Having control about what he can study and how he can spend his time. I might have said already, but adulthood really suits DL.
I wanted to jot some of the college info down before I forget the new info. This means DL will probably also have a more expensive 5th college year (like his brother). I wouldn't expect any financial aid once the state grants dry up (after 4 years). But there's frequently been generous government offers for individuals to pursue teaching credentials. (MH has considered this route a few times, when they literally would have paid him a 'salary' while also paying for a credential program.) Will keep an eye out on what opportunities are available when we cross that bridge.
September 14th, 2025 at 11:01 pm 1757887265
September 16th, 2025 at 03:30 pm 1758033026
September 24th, 2025 at 03:49 pm 1758725348