How This Journey Began
Way back in 1992, I graduated with a teaching degree in Early Childhood Education. I taught school for three years, then came home to be with my then two-year-old daughter, Augusta. She’s wearing the plaid skirt in the picture above. One thing led to another, and I ended up staying at home for good and having five kids that I’ve homeschooled through high school. My youngest is 15, so she is in the 10th grade this year.
For the past few years, I’ve been thinking about what I want to do after the kids are married or in college. The two things I love the most (as far as work goes) are teaching and art. I belong to a local art gallery, but sometimes fine art income is sporadic. I would love to supplement the art money with a part-time job teaching painting and ceramics classes. Earning a master’s degree in teaching art would give me more desirable opportunities.
I Had to Earn a Minor in Art Before I Could Apply for a Masters in Teaching Art
First I applied to the University of Florida in Gainsville. I was looking for something I could do online. They said I needed to earn at least a minor in Art before I could be accepted. I applied for a scholarship for non-traditional students from the Coastal Community Foundation. They awarded me up to $5000 per year to any technical college in South Carolina. I’ve taken 10 art classes over the past several years from two different technical colleges and have learned so much. Finally, it’s time to move on to the master’s degree!
Applying to Columbia Teacher’s College and The University of Florida
I’ve narrowed it down to two schools: The University of Florida and Columbia Teacher’s College in NYC. Both programs are online with an in-person studio component. The University of Florida has intensive, one-week studio art sessions, but they are not mandatory. The college in Florida is probably around five hours south of my home and is 1/3 of the cost compared to Columbia Teacher’s College.
Columbia Teacher’s College has two mandatory six-week art studio sessions (you attend for two consecutive summers) that must be taken on campus. They have Summer Residence Housing for students and the tuition includes free admission to all the museums in New York City. On the downside, I would be far from home and would probably get homesick and the travel would be expensive.
Does the Prestige of Columbia Teacher’s College Matter?
Columbia Teacher’s College is an Ivy League School, has gorgeous architecture, offers a world-class education, and is considered by many to be the number one teacher’s college in America. I would love to earn my master’s degree there, but I am concerned about the price tag. Does the quality of the education outweigh the price?
What We Did in New York City
I love the theater, so of course we went to Wicked on Broadway. It was the best show we have ever seen. The singing, the set, and the story were beyond compare. It was our favorite thing about the whole trip.
My Husband’s Bucket List for New York
My husband loves the Today Show and woke up early to try and get on television. You can see him (in the blue sweatshirt) behind Hoda on the far left and behind a family in the middle picture. He also wanted to see the skating at the Rockefeller Center. I stayed at the hotel while he visited the Today Show. I did enjoy seeing the ice rink at Rockefeller Center, but it did not look like I thought it would.
My New York Bucket List
Starry Night
Frida
This looks modern.
I am most interested in visiting all of the art museums. We were only in NYC for a few days, so we chose to visit the Museum of Modern Art. I wanted to go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, but it is BIG, so maybe it would be best to save that for a longer trip. It was surreal to see Van Gogh’s Starry Night up close.
Things We Both Enjoyed
We both enjoyed seeing all the gorgeous buildings, visiting Times Square, and riding the subway. It was a great experience.
What We Ate
I didn’t get a lot of pictures of the food we ate. We were so hungry when we arrived, we bought three donuts from Krispy Kreme. I wanted the “Big Apple” donut pictured on the left, but it was $12.99, so I just took a picture of it. We ordered a huge square pizza before we went to see Wicked. It was amazing!
The Travel Obstacles We Faced
We encountered a few obstacles on the trip. We missed our flight on the way there and on the way back. I know that is hard to believe, but it is true. I had a duffel bag that was too fat to be considered a personal item, so we had to reshuffle our stuff. Then, I was in the wrong line at the security check. The door to the plane closed five minutes before we arrived. We had to fly out four hours later.
To make matters worse, we missed the group tour at Columbia Teacher’s College. Luckily, they gave us an even better personal tour!
Finally, we missed the flight on the way home because we thought we booked the flight for the pm, but it was booked for the am. Oh well, that just gave us more time to tour The Museum of Modern Art. I told my dad about missing the flights. He said, “Women always mess everything up at the airport.” He was right, it was all my fault.
When I Have to Decide if I’m going to Columbia Teacher’s College
I have until April 15th to decide. I am praying and hoping the Lord will show me what I need to do. Let me know what you think in the comments.
Blessings,
Kristie
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Read What I Learned from My First Art Show
Maria Bonacci says
CONGRATULATIONS!!! Both schools sound amazing. It’s a huge decision but it will be amazing either way.
Kristie Schubert says
Thanks for the encouragement, Maria. I wish some scholarships would come my way.
Julie says
First, congratulations on both the place offers, that’s quite an achievement.
Normally if I can’t decide something I toss a coin. I don’t go by what the coin toss actually says but how I feel about the result. So if I’m disappointed I know that’s not the right thing. Does that make sense? Imagine you could only go to the Florida school, would you be secretly disappointed or relieved? That’ll give you your answer.
Whatever you decide it all sounds very exciting.
Also I am very jealous to see you by Starry night, that is one of my favourite paintings of all time. How amazing to see it for real.
Kristie Schubert says
Thanks, Julie. I’m going to go for it. I paid my deposit two days ago. I appreciate the advise and encouragement!