Alright, I have to come clean. I caved in after 4 1/2 years and started watching Lost a few weeks ago. I remember when EVERYONE was watching it during its first 2 seasons, but I guess I'm always behind the times because I didn't start watching back then. College life always kept me very busy and one thing I did know was this was the type of show you had to commit to. If you miss one episode you'll be "lost." haha Now, the show has lived up to all the hype because I am hooked. I watched the first 3 seasons in about 3 weeks, and trust me: I don't sit at home every night watching it. I am fairly busy with other things. However, I always watch a few when I come home from school before going out at night and Saturday morning reads got cut in half and shared with watching Lost.
If you're not familiar with the show then, in just a few words, it revolves around survivors from a plane crash: Oceananic Flight 815. There are about 45 people who crash on what appears to be a deserted island in the Pacific. However, soon they run into all sorts of problems while attempting to be rescued like a smoke monster, "the others", betrayal, treachery amongst one another, etc. Sure, that sounds like it might be very corny, but it's really not. The thing I like the most about it is that I can't predict what's going to happen and often I'm surprised.
I haven't enjoyed a tv show this much in a long time. That is all...
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Saturday, January 31, 2009
goodbye January
January 31, 2009
I can't believe was fast this month was gone by and how many things have happened. I guess I will devote this blog to the past 31 days.
Subbing is going well. It's not my dream job, but being around high school students every day is at least a step closer than any other jobs I have had. I keep wondering if I should get a second job a few nights a week or maybe on the weekends. So far I have not been that motivated.
I worked at Rochester High School for the second time yesterday. As much as I love the schools down that way I usually don't work there. It makes little sense since it is a longer drive and less money than the districts this way pay. Something I will say about RHS is that it's the kind of school I would love to work at. They have so much school spirit and tradition. In high school I was one of those students who did everything and loved every minute of it...okay, well 95% of it. haha I think the 5 years between now and my high school days have taken the shape of rose colored glasses in regards to some of the negatives of my high school career. However, I really did enjoy high school while I was there, not that I want to go back and relive it at all. I do have some great memories though.
I started reading Harry Potter for the second time. I read all the books during May of 2007, waiting until July for book 7 of course. Book 7 is the only one that I have read twice, and that is simply because I got it at 2a.m. then read it so quickly I missed parts. I had to go back the next two days and slow down to get the whole effect of the book. When I'm subbing I always take a book with me, so it's nice to have my HP and really take my time.
I also love that I'm getting ever closer to my cousin Katie. She is one of my favorite people because she is so real. She has a great sense of humor and heart. I can't wait to see what great things lie in her future. It's weird to think she'll be off at college next year. I'm so excited for her!
A lot of other things happened in January, but I don't want to put every detail of my life up here. I'm so excited for the future: February, March, and so on. It's funny because I have no idea what it holds and that would usually scare me. I guess someone is rubbing off on my a lot lately and I'm learning to roll with the punches...and cancel sub jobs in order to get better ones. :) haha Kind of an inside joke...that is all.
I can't believe was fast this month was gone by and how many things have happened. I guess I will devote this blog to the past 31 days.
Subbing is going well. It's not my dream job, but being around high school students every day is at least a step closer than any other jobs I have had. I keep wondering if I should get a second job a few nights a week or maybe on the weekends. So far I have not been that motivated.
I worked at Rochester High School for the second time yesterday. As much as I love the schools down that way I usually don't work there. It makes little sense since it is a longer drive and less money than the districts this way pay. Something I will say about RHS is that it's the kind of school I would love to work at. They have so much school spirit and tradition. In high school I was one of those students who did everything and loved every minute of it...okay, well 95% of it. haha I think the 5 years between now and my high school days have taken the shape of rose colored glasses in regards to some of the negatives of my high school career. However, I really did enjoy high school while I was there, not that I want to go back and relive it at all. I do have some great memories though.
I started reading Harry Potter for the second time. I read all the books during May of 2007, waiting until July for book 7 of course. Book 7 is the only one that I have read twice, and that is simply because I got it at 2a.m. then read it so quickly I missed parts. I had to go back the next two days and slow down to get the whole effect of the book. When I'm subbing I always take a book with me, so it's nice to have my HP and really take my time.
I also love that I'm getting ever closer to my cousin Katie. She is one of my favorite people because she is so real. She has a great sense of humor and heart. I can't wait to see what great things lie in her future. It's weird to think she'll be off at college next year. I'm so excited for her!
A lot of other things happened in January, but I don't want to put every detail of my life up here. I'm so excited for the future: February, March, and so on. It's funny because I have no idea what it holds and that would usually scare me. I guess someone is rubbing off on my a lot lately and I'm learning to roll with the punches...and cancel sub jobs in order to get better ones. :) haha Kind of an inside joke...that is all.
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Substitute Teaching
So, can I just start by saying substitute teaching is...interesting? Yes, I think that might be a good adjective for now. In the past month I have been in 8 different schools, and I've taught over one-thousand students ranging in age from 12-19. Most days I try to teach some sort of English class, but that is not always the case. I have also subbed in business, psychology, physical education, architecture, special education, social studies, civics, etc. classes. There are just so many it's hard to think back and remember them all. Things I have learned: I love working with students. I hate having to be strict, but a great deal of the time students want to challenge the substitute, which is often the case when the students see how young I am. (Not that they know my actual age! I've had students guess any where from 18 to 35. Like I look 35! That's a laugh.) I've also noticed that office secretaries are the glue of a school. I think I already knew that to some extent, but any doubts I might have had are gone, and I am certain they are calling all the shots. Boys are more immature that girls as a general rule in 7th-12th grade. I'm not trying to be sexist by any means because there are always exceptions, but I'm sorry guys, at that age I don't think you can really help it anyways. It's funny how much high school hasn't changed since I was there. I know I've only been out for 4 1/2 years, but I don't think HS will ever really change that much. Some can argue how we live in a different world now than 5 or 10 years ago. I would have to agree, but I'm sorry, schools are still the same. yes, teachers might have to struggle more to keep the attention of a class, but, really, at the core...kids are the same. They think teachers give too much work and most of them hate their job and enjoy torturing the students. They think the world revolves around them and many have no idea how small they are. That's a lesson learned in college....I know this is more a jumble of random thoughts rather than an organized blog entry, but I'm sure I'll be talking about my journey this semester more in the near future....that is all, for now at least.
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Cliche
January 1, 2009
It's hard to believe I started this blog a year ago. I somehow feel obligated to write something about the new year today. I mean it's 2009. I bet I mess up and write 2008 for a week or so before I get it through my head that it's a new year. A fresh beginning as some might say. It is cliche perhaps and traditional to think of a resolution to go along with the new year. I've never been that great at thinking of these things. It's funny to think how the people who spend a great deal of time thinking about something to strive for in the new year actually seem to be the least likely to stick with it. If someone decides to lose weight they will probably fix their diet for a few weeks at best and hit the gym, but then slowly but surely they will have those late night snacks and hide in their houses during a snow storm to avoid traveling out to the gym. Often saying something along the lines of, "I'll just take this one day off. I did have a rough day at work."
So, what should I strive for? As silly as it may sound I prefer to think of something a little broad to focus on. This year I want to work on my fears. I do not want to be afraid of taking chances..big risks even. Since I am now a college graduate in the state of Michigan, which has just been dubbed as the state with the worst economy I want to get out of my bubble. My bubble includes the majority of my family, the house I grew up in, the college I just graduated from, and my circle of friends. However, I want to be open to whatever the Lord has in store for me...even if that means moving somewhere and starting over in a sense. I just pray that I won't let fear play a factor in my future..that is all.
It's hard to believe I started this blog a year ago. I somehow feel obligated to write something about the new year today. I mean it's 2009. I bet I mess up and write 2008 for a week or so before I get it through my head that it's a new year. A fresh beginning as some might say. It is cliche perhaps and traditional to think of a resolution to go along with the new year. I've never been that great at thinking of these things. It's funny to think how the people who spend a great deal of time thinking about something to strive for in the new year actually seem to be the least likely to stick with it. If someone decides to lose weight they will probably fix their diet for a few weeks at best and hit the gym, but then slowly but surely they will have those late night snacks and hide in their houses during a snow storm to avoid traveling out to the gym. Often saying something along the lines of, "I'll just take this one day off. I did have a rough day at work."
So, what should I strive for? As silly as it may sound I prefer to think of something a little broad to focus on. This year I want to work on my fears. I do not want to be afraid of taking chances..big risks even. Since I am now a college graduate in the state of Michigan, which has just been dubbed as the state with the worst economy I want to get out of my bubble. My bubble includes the majority of my family, the house I grew up in, the college I just graduated from, and my circle of friends. However, I want to be open to whatever the Lord has in store for me...even if that means moving somewhere and starting over in a sense. I just pray that I won't let fear play a factor in my future..that is all.
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Proud to be like Naomi...my top 5 :)
My top 5 college classes:
(Yes, I like copying Naomi, and I am not ashamed to admit it.) :)
So these are the 5 classes that come to mind first when I think over my 4 1/2 years at Rochester College. Some more for academic growth, some for spiritual growth, and some for social growth. They all were rewarding on some level to my journey as a lifelong learner.
1.) I guess it's always best to start at the beginning, so it would have to be Freshman Seminar. Although it was not the most academically stimulating class of my college career, I actually did learn a lot about relationships of all kinds: romantic, friendships, parental, sibling, etc. I also also introduced to Debi Rutledge, who is one of the finest members of the RC staff. Not only did she schedule meetings with all her freshman in that class (I still remember sitting in her living room and chatting about my hope for my college career.) but it was obvious she cared about us when we showed up. She also used to joke around about Lindsay's and my chronic tardiness...we were 5 minutes late about 50% of the time for this 10a.m. class, which is funny because I was always on time for my 8a.m. class the other 3 days of the week. Debi did not care at all. She was just happy we did show up. :) While on that subject, this class is also special because it was one of the reasons Lindsay and I got so close this 1st semester. We hadn't really been friends prior to RC.
2.) The next class that seems to jump out at me would have to be Educational Psychology, which I took during the spring semester of my sophomore year with Dr. Gordin MacKinnon. The class was on Friday mornings from 8-10:40...ouch. However, Dr. MacKinnon was so fascinating to listen to and had so many good stories to share. I also grew a lot from the field experience associated with this course at Hart Middle School in the Resource Room. There were also a few interesting book sharing experiences with Lindsay. :) haha
3.) Critical Writing and Literary Analysis seems to be the next class to come to mind when remembering the best of the best. I took it in the spring semester of my junior year (actually I technically had enough credits to be considered a senior but it was my 3rd year of college) with Tom Golden. He made us all really think. It was probably the most challenging course of my college career because we had to read different, thought provoking texts and analyze them with different "lenses." We had a paper due almost every class, and I often had to read the material 2 or 3 times to understand it, especially the first 3 or 4 weeks of the class. My talents as a writer grew and expanded throughout the course of this semester so much. I am so grateful for this course, and I only wished it could have been longer.
4.) I couldn't mention my favorite classes without slipping a Greer class in the mix. You see, History is my minor, and I took more classes with Dr. David Greer than any other professor over my time at Rochester. I sometimes even rearranged my schedule, so I would have the pleasure of hearing him lecture. My favorite Greer class is hard to tact down, but since I've got this chronological theme going on I'll say The Early American Republic, which I took during the spring of my senior year. It only had about 15 students, and there were some great discussions to be had during this course. Greer is best known for two things: his greeting and the fact that he never lets you out one minute early. The greeting: "Good morning (afternoon) history fans!" It is so apparent that he loves his job and history, and he will make you love it too. Also, he is one of the smartest professors I have had the pleasure of taking a class with.
5.) I am tempted to say Shakespearen Tragedies is my final favorite; HOWEVER, since Student Teaching is technically a class, I have to go with that. That 15 week semester was more challenging than any other two semesters put together. I grew more as a student, teaching, and person than any other 3 month period. I cannot begin to express how much I adore teaching. I can't wait to have my own classroom and do this the rest of my life. The students teach me something new every day. I can't get over how much I loved being even a small part of my student's lives. Working with Sarah was also a blessing, she was tough and pushed me every day. I am so grateful for this experience.
It was so difficult to list only 5 courses (in fact I cheated and mentioned 6 technically) but here are some for the honorable mention category: Old Testament with Dr. Fleer; Earth Science w/ Dr. Brackey; Grammar w/ Debbie Haskell; Advanced Composition and Senior Writing Project w/ Pam Light; Short Story Genre w/ Tom Golden; English Assessment Strategies w/ Vikki Bentley; Romans with Eric Magnusson; Comp. B and American Writers 2 w/ Zac Watson; Any Education class w/ Mr. Dawson, especially Oklahoma; and Nature Study w/ Carol Van Hoosen.
(Yes, I like copying Naomi, and I am not ashamed to admit it.) :)
So these are the 5 classes that come to mind first when I think over my 4 1/2 years at Rochester College. Some more for academic growth, some for spiritual growth, and some for social growth. They all were rewarding on some level to my journey as a lifelong learner.
1.) I guess it's always best to start at the beginning, so it would have to be Freshman Seminar. Although it was not the most academically stimulating class of my college career, I actually did learn a lot about relationships of all kinds: romantic, friendships, parental, sibling, etc. I also also introduced to Debi Rutledge, who is one of the finest members of the RC staff. Not only did she schedule meetings with all her freshman in that class (I still remember sitting in her living room and chatting about my hope for my college career.) but it was obvious she cared about us when we showed up. She also used to joke around about Lindsay's and my chronic tardiness...we were 5 minutes late about 50% of the time for this 10a.m. class, which is funny because I was always on time for my 8a.m. class the other 3 days of the week. Debi did not care at all. She was just happy we did show up. :) While on that subject, this class is also special because it was one of the reasons Lindsay and I got so close this 1st semester. We hadn't really been friends prior to RC.
2.) The next class that seems to jump out at me would have to be Educational Psychology, which I took during the spring semester of my sophomore year with Dr. Gordin MacKinnon. The class was on Friday mornings from 8-10:40...ouch. However, Dr. MacKinnon was so fascinating to listen to and had so many good stories to share. I also grew a lot from the field experience associated with this course at Hart Middle School in the Resource Room. There were also a few interesting book sharing experiences with Lindsay. :) haha
3.) Critical Writing and Literary Analysis seems to be the next class to come to mind when remembering the best of the best. I took it in the spring semester of my junior year (actually I technically had enough credits to be considered a senior but it was my 3rd year of college) with Tom Golden. He made us all really think. It was probably the most challenging course of my college career because we had to read different, thought provoking texts and analyze them with different "lenses." We had a paper due almost every class, and I often had to read the material 2 or 3 times to understand it, especially the first 3 or 4 weeks of the class. My talents as a writer grew and expanded throughout the course of this semester so much. I am so grateful for this course, and I only wished it could have been longer.
4.) I couldn't mention my favorite classes without slipping a Greer class in the mix. You see, History is my minor, and I took more classes with Dr. David Greer than any other professor over my time at Rochester. I sometimes even rearranged my schedule, so I would have the pleasure of hearing him lecture. My favorite Greer class is hard to tact down, but since I've got this chronological theme going on I'll say The Early American Republic, which I took during the spring of my senior year. It only had about 15 students, and there were some great discussions to be had during this course. Greer is best known for two things: his greeting and the fact that he never lets you out one minute early. The greeting: "Good morning (afternoon) history fans!" It is so apparent that he loves his job and history, and he will make you love it too. Also, he is one of the smartest professors I have had the pleasure of taking a class with.
5.) I am tempted to say Shakespearen Tragedies is my final favorite; HOWEVER, since Student Teaching is technically a class, I have to go with that. That 15 week semester was more challenging than any other two semesters put together. I grew more as a student, teaching, and person than any other 3 month period. I cannot begin to express how much I adore teaching. I can't wait to have my own classroom and do this the rest of my life. The students teach me something new every day. I can't get over how much I loved being even a small part of my student's lives. Working with Sarah was also a blessing, she was tough and pushed me every day. I am so grateful for this experience.
It was so difficult to list only 5 courses (in fact I cheated and mentioned 6 technically) but here are some for the honorable mention category: Old Testament with Dr. Fleer; Earth Science w/ Dr. Brackey; Grammar w/ Debbie Haskell; Advanced Composition and Senior Writing Project w/ Pam Light; Short Story Genre w/ Tom Golden; English Assessment Strategies w/ Vikki Bentley; Romans with Eric Magnusson; Comp. B and American Writers 2 w/ Zac Watson; Any Education class w/ Mr. Dawson, especially Oklahoma; and Nature Study w/ Carol Van Hoosen.
Friday, December 19, 2008
funny clothes
It's interesting how funny people dress up for graduation. I mean long gowns, that are far too baggy in many cases, which are made of thin, shiny material. The sleeves long and loose, and then there are the hats. Square and pointy edges in most cases; however, many of the professors who have a PhD get a round, cushion like hat and all adorned with tassels. I'm sure that if someone from another part of the world popped in for a graduation ceromony I wonder what observations they might make. I just look at pictures from graduation last weekend and tend to giggle...that is all.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
the end or rather the beginning...
Life has a funny way of changing constantly. Here I sit, practically a college graduate. I completed all of my college courses last May and, as of last Friday, I completed student teaching including all of my seminar requirements. What's next? Well, I've subbed in Rochester the past three days, which has been great. I love teaching, and it's nice to know I will be happy doing it for the next thirty years. However, since I do love it so much, there is a drawback....the job market in Michigan. It's crazy to think even ten years ago how I would be interviewing at multiple schools right now, but today, well...that's obviously not the case.
I worked in a middle school Monday, and I was in a special education classroom with 5 students and 2 parapros to assist as well. What a crazy day that turned out to be! I have never felt so needed by students before! These 6th and 7th graders can not even form sentences to communicate what they wanted from from me. They needed hand on hand instruction, literally. I had to put the pencil in my student's hand and place my hand over top in order to help him write. I was exhausted by 2:30, but it was so rewarding to help them all so much.
Yesterday, I subbed in a CADs classroom. Basically, all the students work independently on computers designing things for engineering and architecture courses. It felt like I was a glorified babysitter, but it was great to be back at Stoney working with some of my old students and meeting some new students too.
Today, I worked as a P.E. teacher at Stoney. I know some of you are snickering. However, 4 out of my 5 classes just listened to a guest speaker who was introducing sex education. It was again great to be at Stoney. The school is so amazing. I just hope one day I end up in a school that nice!
So, I don't know where I'm going to end up. I have no idea if I'll find a job any time soon; however, I'll be praying about it, and I know God has some plan for me..that is all.
I worked in a middle school Monday, and I was in a special education classroom with 5 students and 2 parapros to assist as well. What a crazy day that turned out to be! I have never felt so needed by students before! These 6th and 7th graders can not even form sentences to communicate what they wanted from from me. They needed hand on hand instruction, literally. I had to put the pencil in my student's hand and place my hand over top in order to help him write. I was exhausted by 2:30, but it was so rewarding to help them all so much.
Yesterday, I subbed in a CADs classroom. Basically, all the students work independently on computers designing things for engineering and architecture courses. It felt like I was a glorified babysitter, but it was great to be back at Stoney working with some of my old students and meeting some new students too.
Today, I worked as a P.E. teacher at Stoney. I know some of you are snickering. However, 4 out of my 5 classes just listened to a guest speaker who was introducing sex education. It was again great to be at Stoney. The school is so amazing. I just hope one day I end up in a school that nice!
So, I don't know where I'm going to end up. I have no idea if I'll find a job any time soon; however, I'll be praying about it, and I know God has some plan for me..that is all.
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