A Day in the (non-teaching) Life

Summer Time and the Living's Easy Easier

This is the first summer I have "taken off" since I was in high school, now for those of you doing the math, yes, that was 10 years ago! Every other summer since then I have either worked or taken classes.  The first week of vacation it didn't feel much different than a weekend or maybe an April vacation.  But then the "Saturdays" just kept coming! Everyday is a Saturday.  This is what the life of the rich and jobless feels like.  I could get used to this life of sleeping in, lazily drinking my morning coffee, checking on my garden, and deciding whether today will be a hiking or a running day.

But, reality is I have been putting off what I really need to do, study for the Physics Praxis.  Ugh. As part of the requirements to get my teaching certification in Physics I have to pass this standardized test.  Personally, I think they should just give me my certification. I mean the pool of applicants for any Physics teaching position is pretty limited so you would think they would just bypass all the requirements for someone who is willing and wants to teach Physics, at least someone that already holds a teaching certification.  Well no, they will not do that. I asked.  So here I am, typing away about the studying I should be doing instead.

Why am I procrastinating you ask? Well, I will be honest with you, the content is boring. Yup, I said it.  Granted, when teaching it you can make it a little more exciting with real world applications, labs, and projects, but just reading and trying to learn the content (i.e. the equations) it is boring.  Also, I am worried that I am not going to pass, which you would think this fear would induce the opposite reaction to what has been occurring.  This is a true fear because it is going to be hard and every time I think about studying I get overwhelmed.  I have a little over a week until dooms--I mean test day.  I am also procrastinating because I don't know what to expect and so I don't know where to start.  I know that I can't use a calculator (booo) and I have a list of the content I "should know." Other than that I am unsure where to even begin.  I have been reading a book I have called Physics Made Simple and I am hoping for the best. I have also started to generate a list of equations.

Any suggestions people have for me regarding this particular test would be much appreciated! I have passed all the other Praxis exams I have taken (Praxis I, Praxis II Biology Content, and Praxis II Biology Content Writing), but this one is literally giving me nightmares! Good news is, I have until the end of next school (June 2014) to earn a passing grade on it!