{"id":729,"date":"2018-07-10T12:08:21","date_gmt":"2018-07-10T19:08:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/collegeofeducation\/?p=729"},"modified":"2018-07-10T12:08:38","modified_gmt":"2018-07-10T19:08:38","slug":"729-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dev.blogs.oregonstate.edu\/collegeofeducation\/729-2\/","title":{"rendered":"When Money Is On Your Mind, School Isn\u2019t"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Mathew Oldfield says the difficulties aspiring teachers face today boil down to one thing: money. <\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>\u201cMoney is always on someone\u2019s mind,\u201d the Double-Degree student says. \u201cAnd when money is on your mind, that means school isn\u2019t.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The one-time physics major is an expert at keeping school on his mind. Inspired by his first class at Oregon State, chemistry with Professor Richard Nafshun, he changed majors and threw himself into a new field of study. \u201cProfessor Nafshun just brought so much energy and excitement. I was immediately like, \u2018OK, I\u2019m not doing physics anymore, I\u2019m doing chemistry.\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n


\n<\/span>Mathew says that changing majors didn\u2019t daunt him. \u201cI learned a long while ago that in order to pursue something you need to be interested in it, not good at it.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He was drawn to the College of Education\u2019s Double-Degree program so he could explore his new interest in chemistry and his older passion for teaching. In middle school, he helped his classmates learn grammar and spelling. In high school, he began taking over as substitute teacher in the band classroom as well. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

An open fourth period his senior year of high school revealed his love of science education. \u201cPeople would come in with problems in one of their science classes, whether it be physics, chemistry, or biology. I just got to sit there and help them.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Despite suffering from \u201csenioritus,\u201d Mathew says that knowing he could help his friends at school invigorated him. \u201cIt was the one thing I looked forward to coming to school each day.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mathew gained even more teaching experience at Oregon State. This Spring concluded his second full year TAing for the chemistry department. His time TAing has had him drafting lesson plans, managing classrooms, and performing duties in the \u201cMole Hole,\u201d the on-campus chemistry tutoring center. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mathew will begin his student teaching at Lebanon High School this fall. While he enjoyed his experience TAing, he is excited to begin working with high schoolers. \u201cI\u2019m looking forward to working with the age group I want to spend my professional life teaching,\u201d he says. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mathew is confident that he\u2019ll enjoy teaching at the high school level. \u201cI have yet to find an age group that I don\u2019t get along with,\u201d he says. \u201cI\u2019ve worked with middle schoolers, I\u2019ve worked with college students. It seems somewhere in all of this I missed out on working with high schoolers, which is what I plan to do for a living.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Before Mathew can enter the classroom, however, he must put money back on his mind. Mandatory licensure fees, exam fees, and fingerprinting fees must be paid before Mathew can receive licensure. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He says that fee waivers for students would \u201chelp alleviate, even just a little bit, that particular stress and mental burden,\u201d and allow students to focus more on their education.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThose sort of fees, although not hidden, often feel that way when you\u2019re presented them,\u201d he says. Students who are already saddled with loans, debt, tuition, and rent feel that additional fees submerge them completely. \u201cIt [feels] like, the water\u2019s already up to your neck,\u201d he says. \u201cLet\u2019s just bring that up further so maybe you can breath through your nose.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mathew Oldfield says the difficulties aspiring teachers face today boil down to one thing: money. \u201cMoney is always on someone\u2019s mind,\u201d the Double-Degree student says. \u201cAnd when money is on your mind, that means school isn\u2019t.\u201d   The one-time physics major is an expert at keeping school on his mind. Inspired by his first class… Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7073,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-729","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.blogs.oregonstate.edu\/collegeofeducation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/729","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.blogs.oregonstate.edu\/collegeofeducation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.blogs.oregonstate.edu\/collegeofeducation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.blogs.oregonstate.edu\/collegeofeducation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7073"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.blogs.oregonstate.edu\/collegeofeducation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=729"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/dev.blogs.oregonstate.edu\/collegeofeducation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/729\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":732,"href":"https:\/\/dev.blogs.oregonstate.edu\/collegeofeducation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/729\/revisions\/732"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.blogs.oregonstate.edu\/collegeofeducation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=729"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.blogs.oregonstate.edu\/collegeofeducation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=729"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.blogs.oregonstate.edu\/collegeofeducation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=729"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}