Why I Decided to Keep My Teaching Certificate Current

My teaching certificate expires in June of 2017. While I’m no longer teaching in a classroom, my husband and I made the decision that I should jump through the hoops to keep this certificate current.

Renewing my certificate meant taking 15 quarter college credits. I’m currently enrolled in three courses through Spokane Falls Community College.

Yes, adding college coursework to my already crazy schedule is a bit hectic. But, we felt it’d be worth it.

Why?

Student Loan Debt

The biggest reason I want to keep my certificate current is because we owe money on my education still.

Our journey to become debt free has been long, but we’ve paid off an incredible amount. All that’s left now is my student loan payment. The money we borrowed so I could take courses to get my master’s degree.

Since we still owe money, it makes sense to keep it active. That way if I have to go back to work, I can. If I let my certificate lapse and then we realize we need me to go to work, the process would be much harder.

So as long as we carry debt related to my education, I’ll keep it current.

I’m Homeschooling

Debt isn’t the only reason I’m working on renewing my teaching certificate. Another reason is that I’m a homeschooling mom.

While I know you don’t have to be a certified teacher to homeschool (there are plenty of parents doing a great job without!), I never know how the laws are going to change regarding homeschooling.

There have been other states that tried to implement “have to be certified” to homeschool legislation, and while those rulings might not have held up, it’s still on the back of my mind.

Since I’m already certified, it seems wise to take a few classes every five years to keep it current.

My Teaching Certificate Is Helpful in My Writing Career

When I launched my freelance business in 2015, I didn’t realize how often I’d pull the “certified teacher” card. It’s been extremely useful in landing gigs in the parenting and educational spaces.

While not all of my clients care, I have a few who do. And, I imagine this could be even more useful as I grow my business next year.

What Classes Am I Taking?
Since I needed classes to keep my teaching certificate current, here are the ones I’m taking. I decided to do them all at once because I hate paying fees. This way I only have to pay a pool fee and all those other fees one time.

So this quarter I’m taking Social Media Marketing, Business Communication, and American Sign Language. It’s an interesting mix of classes, but ones that’ll be helpful. They’re also all online.

How I’m Fitting Class Work Into My Schedule

I’m thankful that one of my courses is work at your own pace. I’ve been knocking out about a week’s worth of material every night, and I’ll be done with this class by the time I’m a couple weeks into the quarter.

That’ll give me more time to tackle the other two courses. Since I picked courses that I either had interest or some experience in, they aren’t as complicated. I just tackle each course one assignment at a time.

I keep reminding myself it’s only for 10 weeks. So I’m working on coursework in the evenings, and during the kids’ free time.

I made the decision to not work on growing my business much during this time. I still have some regular clients, but I’m not as actively pursuing new work. That frees me up a bit.

How My Courses Will Affect My Blogging

I’m hoping to continue posting here on Maggie’s Milk once a week while I’m in school. But if I miss a week, I’ll be back!

Do you have any grand plans this fall? I’d love for you to share them in the comments.