Posted on October 27th, 2020
By VANESSA W. SNYDER
I did not set out to get a doctorate. I really
was just trying to get credentials to become a school administrator. As a
teacher, I loved the impact I had in my classroom, but slowly and steadily over
the years I found my reach growing beyond those four walls.
By the time I discovered my desire to move into
administration, I tried to find the quickest way to make it happen. Within
about a year or so, I was credentialed through an Educational Specialist degree
program (that included credits that could count toward a doctorate). I figured, ‘why not?’, and started working on
a doctorate. (Not sure what I was thinking).
Again, how did I get here?
You may have a similar story. Most of us likely
start out with a plan, but then end up somewhere else. Often, the somewhere
else is where we are supposed to be.
I was a
journalist, a teacher, and then an administrator.
As I
continue to become intimately acquainted with APA style, peer-reviewed
articles, educational leadership theories, academic writing, research design,
and the like, I still ask myself, how did I get here?
But then I realize I got here because this is
where I was always going. Somewhere along the way, I surrendered to the plan
that was already set before me. The plan I couldn’t have designed if I tried.
Only God could’ve thought this up.
No matter how you got to where you are,
recognize you are where you are supposed to be. Because this is where you were
always going.
I would love to hear how you got where you’re supposed to be. I hope you will share.
Peace and blessings.
— A former journalist currently working on her
doctorate in Social Emotional Learning, Vanessa is a dedicated and passionate
educator in the DC Public Schools system. She loves learning, innovation, team building,
collaboration, and discovering new ways to drive student gains and support
staff members.
Posted on October 19th, 2020
By VANESSA W. SNYDER
Let me preface this by saying I don’t have time to write a blog. I am working on a doctorate degree and I have a fulltime job, so there really is no time for this kind of indulgence or distraction.
However, it occurs to me that I should capture this doctoral
experience (which I pray will be over soon), because I’m learning so much about
myself and I miss writing – non-academic writing that is. I am fully aware this
is probably a work avoidance technique, i.e. procrastination from doing the
writing I should be doing.
That said, there’s so much I can say about this doctoral
experience. But for my first post, I will share these:
EGO. One must have an ego to pursue a doctorate. There it is; I said it. Why else would I be doing this? Sure, I will make more money (possibly). But ultimately, underneath it all, there must be a raging egomaniac.
YOU WILL FEEL DUMBER BEFORE YOU FEEL SMARTER. Do you have any idea how unsmart I feel at various points when I’m reading, writing and researching? So again, you better have an ego because your ego will get bruised, stomped on and twisted.
IT’S A PROCESS. The thing about getting a doctorate is that it’s all process. Cliché I know. But there are no shortcuts or workarounds. I’ve tried to find them. They don’t exist. You just have to go through the process: research, write, submit, feedback, and repeat. The order might vary a bit and there are other steps in between, but you’re basically in that insane loop.
YOU ARE LEARNING. Only over the past few years have I accepted my nerdism. I don’t think I look like a nerd and I never identified myself as one, but I fully embrace it now. I like this kind of learning. The kind that gets into theories and concepts and why people behave the way they do. You actually are learning as you go through the doctoral research process. With each article, abstract, essay, study or book that’s read, you learn a little bit more. And for me that’s what’s exciting. Even though I want to be done, I am learning so much. And it’s weirdly fun.
Next time we can talk about how I fell into this doctoral
journey. It wasn’t planned.
For now, let me find another distraction.
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