After the emotional high of yesterday’s graduation, we got bad news this morning. Really sucky, energy-draining kind of news. Marcel didn’t get accepted into the Education program for the fall. That’s always been his plan – get a 3 year History degree, and then a 2 year Education degree so he could teach High School History. Now the plan has hit the rails.
I’m flabbergasted. I never even let myself CONSIDER the possibility that he wouldn’t get in. I was sure he had EVERYTHING in his favour. He’s mature, he’s male (they always say they want more male teachers), he’s got good marks, he’s dedicated, he’s got lots of experience with kids, he’s French, he had amazing reference letters from highly respected people… I just assumed that would put him leaps and bounds ahead of the average “fresh out of high school” university student.
But apparently I was wrong. Turns out they only let in 5 history students, with a GPA of 3.7 and higher. Did they not READ his portfolio? Doesn’t a 3.2 GPA, after 22 years out of school count for a whole lot more than a 3.7 right out of high school?
Not only that, but it turns out that the integrated students – those who start off at the beginning of their university education taking both their BA and B.ED simultaneously – are a shoe-in regardless of their marks. In other words, if he’d started that way, he would have been fine and wouldn’t have had to compete with the 3.7 and above crowd. But no one told him that when they gave him the option of doing it separately or simultaneously. (And I was there during his initial interview, so I KNOW they didn’t tell him.) He chose the separate option because he was also a stay-at-home dad and couldn’t afford the extra classroom time the integrated program would require. So he gets dinged for his dedication to his kids.
I’m just getting more and more mad as I write this. I think I’ll write a nasty letter to the university. Anyone want to join me? We’ll start a “get Marcel into Education” campaign. He’d make a GREAT teacher. It’s hard to believe he won’t get a shot at it.