A few weeks back I was asked the question nearly every writer (be they an author, a journalist, a blogger, or something else) gets asked at some point: "Why do you write?" To me, this question is not so different from the question of "What do you write about?" My blog is both a hobby and a release for me, serving as a cure for boredom as well as a way to get my emotions out in a manner that I sometimes have trouble expressing with spoken word.

The beauty of blogging, or writing in general, is that if you're doing it for your own enjoyment, it doesn't have to be topical. I've had a blog in some capacity for nearly five years now, with the current incarnation nearing the age of 18 months. While the topics I address have changed throughout time, my purpose as a writer has always been to provide (normally) objective insight on topics ranging from music to politics, from sports to education. When it comes down to it, most of my posts are highly opinionated and candid, though I feel that's part of the beauty of what I write. Without passion, words on a page are merely that: just words. But with passion, with feeling, with emotion...words become stories and stories become legends.

Back to school....back to school...

I've decided that one of these days I'll be going back to school to get my doctoral degree in something education related. While I enjoy the thought of becoming the world's most giant doctor, I feel my skills and talents are better suited for teaching others or education management and structure. My major debate stems from what field I'd like to get my doctoral degree in.

At this point in time, I have my decision down to three primary concentrations: curriculum design/educational technologies, educational law, or educational psychology. The problem with my three areas of interest is that most doctoral programs that focus on these concentrations do so at the secondary school level rather than higher education. This is especially apparent within the curriculum design field, where the concentration is readily available, though nearly all school offer it for secondary school curriculum development.

The second issue I run into is that of the GRE/GMAT. As someone who does my own independent research into the field of curriculum design, I become more and more convinced that standardized testing actually holds students back more than it helps them. This phenomenon is particularly noticeable in high schools across the nation, which are often funded at the state and/or federal level based on the scores their students receive on standardized tests. Ethically speaking, I find this to be wrong, and it is one of the reasons why I have no intention of taking the GRE/GMAT prior to entering a doctoral program.

The problem with my distaste for the GRE/GMAT is that most institutions of higher education find these tests to be irreplaceable parts of their admissions process (read: crutches for lazy admissions committees who don't want to interview potentially qualified students). Nearly every PhD/doctoral program in the United States requires one of these two tests to be submitted prior to admission (save for schools like Walden University), further limiting the pool of potential applicants into a program by eliminating those students who don't have money to pay for the test, as well as full-time workers who simply are unable to schedule the test around their work schedule.

Ideally, whatever doctoral route I decide to go, I would prefer to complete the program online. Unfortunately, this choice of modality would eliminate education law as an option, as the American Bar Association refuses to recognize degrees completed online (which is a shame really considering the world we live in). Again though, most doctoral programs are tied to assistantships within the degree granting university, requiring students to attend the physical campus, even if in person learning is not the most conducive to the student's learning style. Perhaps in 3-5 years this phenomenon will have changed, though somehow I doubt it.

Ultimately, for all of the reasons I listed above, this may well lead me to deciding to obtain a second bachelor's degree rather than my doctoral degree. It's really a shame though if that becomes the case. The U.S. education system could do so much better for itself by catering to its students better at all levels.

While I'm not sure if it's really a social media faux pas, but few things bother me more than when someone takes to social media to talk about their problems with their family/significant other/spouse. Though the airing of grievances is a perfectly acceptable part of the Festivus tradition, using your Facebook to complain about your most recent fight with your boyfriend might not be the most ideal way to solve your relationship problems.

I can't say I've been totally innocent of this in the past (as I'm sure most people aren't), but I have made a concerted effort to try to avoid this sort of behavior. Having grown up in a small town, I can attest to the adage that a place where everyone knows your name and your business is all too real of a concept. For all that social media has done (and continues to do) to connect us with those around the world, by expressing your relationship problems over social media, you're making your circle of acquaintances into a small town where everyone knows everything about you.

My rant today isn't so much to complain about the social media actions that I despise as much as it is to remind people to be intelligent about their social media usage. Posting pictures of your vacation or birthday party to share with your friends is a wonderful idea, but think before you put up pictures of your plastered hysteria.

*The More You Know*