The Conference

So despite my last minute complaining to myself the night before wondering "Why do I get myself into these things...I shouldn't have signed up" and all of my friends asking again and again "Wait WHY are you doing this, for class? For a grade?" I am so happy that I did decide to present this weekend. As always, I tend to get a little nervous before I get up in front of people and give a presentation, but I even surprised myself this weekend with how much more comfortable I felt getting up there and talking to those who came to watch and hear what we had to say. I think presenting at a conference is an awesome experience and one I hope to do again! It not only personally helps me to feel more comfortable in front of a group of people, but it also gives you an amazing chance to meet new people who already have a job in your field. Hearing some of the things they had to say at lunch just in conversation and the feedback they give after a presentation was wonderful! The only difficult part of the whole day was the fact that I had to work that evening and could not stay to see any other presentations.

I also wanted to say that everyone else from our class did such a great job with their own presentations and I couldn't be more proud to have been among them on Saturday!! =)

The teachers that give us all a bad name.

I came across this article and video on facebook tonight, and it just made me really disappointed and disgusted that there are even people in the world like this, let alone the people that you entrust with the safety and well being of young children. It's sad that people like this are out there and even more sad that after this incident, they are allowed to still be teaching young children. As a teacher and role model to children, it makes me sick that someone would take advantage of that and not try to live up to these high expectations, not only to any child in the classroom but especially in a classroom full of children who have disabilities. Becoming a teacher, to me, gives me the chance to make a difference in someone else's life, for the better not worse. It's about helping children reach their full potential, not causing them pain or humiliation, especially when they are not in the place to get help from anyone. Overall this whole thing made me so sad for this little boy. Luckily he has a father who loves him and pays attention to what is going on, but it just makes me wonder what happens to the kids who don't?

The website to the article:
http://shine.yahoo.com/team-mom/stuart-chaifetz-secretly-tapes-autistic-son-school-discovers-220500111.html

Walk a day in my shoes...

"If a doctor, lawyer, or dentist had forty people in his office at one time, all of whom didn't want to be there and were causing trouble, and the doctor, lawyer, or dentist, without assistance, had to treat them all with professional excellence for nine months, then he might have some conception of the classroom teacher's job."

-Donald Quinn

Dr. Hicks gave us this quote in class the other day and it just made me start thinking about how much people and society in general do not appreciate teachers and the work that they do. There are some out there who even believe that teachers should be paid LESS for what they do. I've never understood this train of thought because in all reality, where would these doctors, lawyers, and dentists be without the teachers they had when they were younger. While I cannot wait until the day that I actually become a teacher and finally get a class of my own (and I wouldn't trade this career path for any other), I still can't help but be somewhat discouraged by the lack of appreciation that is shown by all those who are not in the educational field. Why is it that the very people we entrust with our children and the youth of this country are so often looked down upon? What is it about these other professions that elevate them to this higher status? To all of these people that feel they are somehow above the role or profession of a teacher, I dare you to "walk a day in my shoes..."

Website for New Books

As I had just asked last week, I've been looking for something new to read. Just today one of my friends on facebook posted about a book she just read and was recommending it to others. When I asked what it was about she told me just to read it, but also told me about a website she is subscribed to called goodreads.com where you can rate books you've already read and the website recommends new books for you to read. It is also a little involved in social media because you can "friend" people to see their own ratings of various books. I don't know if any of you have already heard about it but I just though I would let you know. It's easy enough to sign up and navigate through and has all kinds of subjects including fantasy, suspense, classics, young adult lit, and many others. I just signed up this morning but I am excited about seeing what they recommend!

Here's the website! Enjoy.

http://www.goodreads.com/

I miss reading for fun!

These past couple of weeks have been so completely swamped with starting a new job and getting through my classes. If I'm not in class, I'm at work and if by some slim chance I'm not at either of these I'm TRYING to catch up on some sleep in my poor attempt at not being a zombie throughout my classes everyday. I miss when I could have time to cuddle up with a good book and just get lost for awhile. Lately nothing I have heard of has even caught my eye, and as most of us consume ourselves with books during our free time I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions? Any book any of you have read lately that you just couldn't put down and would love to refer to someone else. Anything would be welcome, I just need something new!
Thanks =)

Home Sweet (not so) Home

As some of you already know, I am not originally from anywhere near this area. I grew up most of my life in Santa Clara, California, pretty much the furthest you can get from here while still staying in the continental U.S.

When I first made this decision to move 2911 miles (yes, I know the miles...I did have to drive it...) away from home I was terrified that I was possibly making the worst decision of my life so far. I was overly content at home with my family and amazing friends I had known since elementary school surrounding me. Initially when I told people I was moving, they made bets on how soon I would be back home for good. Now, as I look back a little over two years later, I wouldn't take back a single decision I have made. There have been so many things I have learned and experienced, so many people I would never have met and know that I will remain close with them for a long time, all of which I will take with me into my own classroom. I absolutely promise you two things:
1. You will completely and utterly find out who you truly are when you leave home and those who have known you your entire life and
2. You will learn to appreciate the place you left to the fullest and I can guarantee that there is probably nothing in this world like the feeling you get when the plane is finally landing at home after you have been gone for such a long time.

I think it is so important for us, as future teachers, to go out and experience the world, or at least something completely different than what you are used to. How else are we to be able to accept those who are different from us, to understand that not everyone in the world thinks the way we do or was brought up the way we were? There are so many things in life that I still want to experience, and I think that ultimately these experiences will make me ten times the teacher I would be if I didn't have them. So if you are considering moving away but you're nervous or scared, I say do it. If you've made up your mind to stay in the same town or city you've grown up in and know like the back of your hand, I say reconsider it. Because even though it may get a little lonely and you may at times feel a little homesick (especially around the holidays), believe me it's so worth it. Besides, what's the worst that could happen...you decide you don't like it and you go home...

Birthdays

As my birthday swiftly approaches and I irrationally freak out about getting old and not wanting to grow up, I realize that I am just as excited to move on to being in the front of the classroom instead of sitting in it. Every time we talk about different activities that you can do with students or hear a funny story from someone who has already been there I just can't wait to have my own class full of students and my own stories to tell. Even though it took me a little longer than I planned, I am so thankful that I chose to be an English Education major. I truly don't think there is anything out there that I would enjoy more than teaching a classroom full of students about a subject that I have always loved. So as I dread getting older and realizing that I'm not a kid anymore, I also can't help but wish that graduation would hurry up so I can finally get out there and start teaching.

"I just have to draw"

I honestly really enjoyed reading this article because I am a firm believer that students learn in so many different ways. I think it is important to find these things out about your students and incorporate as many different ways to learn within your classroom. I especially like the graffiti board idea and could see myself using this in my own classroom later on. I think adding a simple thing like drawing to literature is extremely helpful for students to make deeper connections to the text. Just the activity that we did in class on Friday made me look at a story that I have read multiple times before and really think about what was being said and described in that passage. I think a lot of the time as I (and I'm sure many others) read something I don't always take it all in. There are times when I catch myself skimming over the filler parts of a story in order to get to the "good" parts but simply having to understand this section and draw it on paper made me focus on what was going on in the story. Overall I just thought Friday's class was fun and helpful as I think about all of the different things I want to do as a teacher.