Here's a hoop....I think I'll jump through it

A long time ago, before I had children but after I got my MAT, I thought about working towards a Ph.D. 

I am a pretty goal-oriented person, and I thought that would be something great to achieve.

At some point, I let that idea evaporate. It was probably when I was knee-deep in diapers, pacifiers, burp cloths and all-purpose nipple ointment. 

After I began working at the cottage school with high schoolers in 2013, I decided that I would like to be certified to teach high schoolers for that far off time when I might return full-time to teaching. My current certification is 5-9, and while I like this age-group a lot, I also really like choice. If I have to take classes anyway to renew my certification every five years, I might as well make them classes that count towards additional certification and the ability to move between middle and high school if I so choose. 

In 2015, I took an adolescent psychology course, and now I'm taking a course called Teaching Secondary English. 

Now, here is the blurb about this class: Application of current theories of pedagogy, instructional strategies, student assessment and evaluation tools for teaching English in the high school. Topics intentionally addressed are learning styles, special needs, diversity and technology integration. 

As a person who already has an MAT, and is the only one in the class who already has an MAT, I already know about.....90% of this stuff. 

I am jumping through the proverbial hoop, and this makes me feel a little frustrated. 

This is not to say the class has no value at all. I can always, always learn something in any new situation.

But I'm having to write the big, drawn-out "lesson plans" that no actual teacher ever does in real life. (One student asked if teachers do this for every lesson. The professor--who knows my situation--and I looked at each other, smirked a bit, and shook our heads "no.")

I'm having to prove that I know how to think about instruction in an orderly, chronological way. I'm having to teach a lesson plan to high schoolers to prove that I can write one of these big long things and then follow it. 

Sigh.

I did this 19 years ago when I got my first MAT. I do this logical, organized thinking 27 weeks a year at the cottage school for my high schoolers.

I know I should take the high road and suck it up (which I will do and AM doing).

I need to grouse a little bit, though.