Education

I am about halfway done with my current educational endeavor. If all goes as planned I should graduate next spring with a Specialist degree in Education for School Library Media. (Translation: I will be certified to be a media specialist in Georgia and will have slightly more education than is strictly required.)

As I have continued my education it has gotten progressively more practical. I studied Latin and English as an undergraduate -- fun! but not so much subjects that prepare you for the working world. Then I got a Masters in Library Information Studies. I did this with the aim of learning a profession and getting a job. Similarly, this Specialist degree is about the jobs I can get with it.

However, I have learned that practical degrees can still be fun. I enjoyed library school immensely and still think fondly of my Print Culture class especially. (I am fascinated by the differences between orality, literacy, print culture, 2.0 culture, etc.) And now I have started the Applied Project I have to complete for my Specialist degree. This was described by one of my professors as more than a Master's thesis but less than a Doctoral dissertation.

I am thinking about collecting jokes from my students in order to learn more about them. The first assignment I have had to complete on my Applied Project journey was an annotated bibliography. I did let it get a little down to the wire and had to put some serious last minute hours into my bibliography but -- it was fun! Have you ever read scholarly articles on jokes? Maybe not everyone's idea of a good time, but I think they are great.

I am really enjoying being in school right now and I am enjoying this project especially. It is still in the early stages, but hopefully it will continue to be a pleasant learning experience.

Thinking about jokes, I remembered that I had written up a joke experience from when I was working in Athens. I dug it out, dusted it off, and posted it here.