So this is both work and school related, as my masters will obviously help me with my future career.
I hope to be a high school art teacher in the future, and already have my bachelors in studio arts/art education. Where I live, I can become certified to teach once I pass an exam and then I can apply for a job.
At my university, you can participate in the accelerated masters program and get your masters in a year after college. However, this requires to be a full-time unpaid student teacher at a school with a co-teacher. To be an art teacher I have to be k-12 certified, so I spend half the year in a high school and half the year in an elementary school.
Here comes all the mess. My co-teacher at the elementary school was a conservative man with a big ego, racist and sexist views, and an ableist. He discriminated me for my diabetes and neuropathy and told me I was a burden for needing to sit down on occasion. He then reached out after two months to my school to have me removed. (This is a very shortened gist of what happened and I have an entire incident report I wrote out that I presented to my school administrators)
Nothing happened but that I have to do a whole new semester in the fall, with a new teacher. He’s still allowed to be a mentor.
The thing is, I will have to be working another 20 hours a week at my PAYING job in order to sustain myself. My parents are two hours away and I can’t move in with them while working with the schools my university approves of for the program. That’ll be 60 hours/7 days a week. I unfortunately can’t fall back on my family to help me pay with my bills either. I was able to do the program last year because my friends mom graciously let me live at her house an hour way from the school. The room is no longer available and I had to move and now pay rent.
I just am seriously doubting that continuing this program is worth the hardship, all while working with a university that I feel really disappointed with. Their treatment of me after what happened makes me feel like this all happened because of me being incapable because of my chronic illness -which really isn’t true. I am a great teacher and had the most wonderful experience at the high school!
What are your guys thoughts?