47. From Claudia to Her Parents

An excerpt from a letter written in Provo, Utah, on Wednesday, 28 October 1970, from Claudia Lange to her parents, J. Marvin and Barbara Lange, in San Gabriel, California. Claudia at this time was a sophomore at Brigham Young University majoring in elementary education. The following semester she spent studying abroad in Salzburg, Austria. As intimated in this excerpt, she later interned as a second grade teacher at Grant Elementary School in Springville, Utah, during the 1972–73 school year.

i’ve figured out what i’m going to do instead of student teaching—they offer an internship program in place of student teaching. That’s where you actually teach for a full year on your own but under close supervision. i think that’s the best plan—they pay you for that time too instead of you paying tuition to student teach! And when you apply for a job you can say you’ve had one year’s teaching experience—which HELPS! And you start on a higher pay scale! That would mean i wouldn’t graduate until the summer after i’m a senior but i think the money and experience would be worth it. It also means i’ll be on this love-sick campus in the spring next year—but i’m tough! i think i can make it—besides it’s a good test. Hey, i just had another neat thought—that means i can work the summer after this one, too, to help pay off Salzburg! . . . i really think this is the best plan. i talked to one of the ladies in the ward and that’s what she did. Also, there’s the possibility i could teach in Provo.