Have I mentioned on this blog that I recently got the Rosetta Stone to help me learn German? I have only done 2 lessons so far, but I think it's great. It is based on the idea that complete immersion is the most effective way to learn language, therefore, the instruction starting with lesson one is entirely in German. The lessons are extremely visual and help the learner acquire language through visual input that is paired with audio words and phrases.
My husband and I have also been working with a German teacher who comes once a week (typically) to our home to work with us for about an hour and a half. I have to say that this learning situation has been tough. My husband and I are completely different kinds of learners. My husband is very verbal. He can listen and then talk about something and be an expert. I, on the other hand am very visual. If I hear a word, especially a word in German, I cannot repeat it unless I have seen it and written it myself. Surely it is hard to teach 2 people when they don't learn the same way, right? Well, how about teaching 25 when they have several different styles of learning and learning strengths! A teacher needs to be able to meet the needs of different learners in the same room/group. I feel like our teacher is doing an okay job, but going back to my point, I really like the Rosetta Stone because of of the high level of visual input that I am getting. It works better for me than the discussion of language and words that comes with our at home class.
Another experience that has got me thinking about visual learning is a knife class that we took yesterday which was conducted in German. At first I thought we would not learn anything if we couldn't understand what the instructor was saying, but the techniques for cutting vegetables and other foods were all carefully demonstrated, so we learned a lot. No, we didn't get every single word he said, so surely we missed some good information, but we came away with a lot more because we got to see what he was teaching.
When I apply this to teaching students who are learning English as a second (or at my current school possibly a third or fourth) language, I realize the extreme significance of visual learning. I have always tried to learn a lot about appropriate teaching strategies for my students who are acquiring English and I have always known that visuals are important. It wasn't, however until I started having experiences in a language in which I know only a handful of words, that I realized the true importance of visual learning.
I feel like I can now put myself in the shoes of a student who is not getting anything from the words coming from the teacher's mouth. It doesn't matter how slowly and clearly you speak if the student is not familiar with the words you are saying right? Using visuals to compliment the lesson/idea/theme/instruction is a great way to enhance understanding for all students, but especially for students who are not getting as much from the auditory part of the lesson. I can see why it is so important to have words written in addition to being spoken and why images or even sketches to accompany words are helpful to increase understanding and comprehension. Just because students don't speak English as well as other grade level peers, does not mean that they lack knowledge as well. Visual learning can be a great way to bridge their native language content knowledge with new information that they are learning in English.
I think all of this is coming to mind as a result of being really excited at the thought of getting back into the classroom in a different role next year. Right now, I work with what the teacher has prepared because I am supporting his or her classroom. Sometimes, I will make support materials or modify materials the students are working with, but I don't get the opportunity to teach the lesson in the first place. I think the staff at my school is extremely competent and they do a fantastic job. I am not saying they don't teach in an appropriate way. I am just saying I am jealous it's not me. Yeah, this is the green-eyed-monster talking. I am starting to have this longing to get back in the classroom and have my own class. I have mentioned it before and I am mentioning it again because it's on my mind. There are so many things I am itching to try out as a result of my experience at an international school and I just can't wait to put some ideas and thoughts into action!
I often see fantastic ideas from other teacher bloggers and most often, I take note, but think that I can't try it until I have my own class again. Next year, I will be "borrowing" ideas from a lot of fantastic educators that I have "met" as a result of blogging. I'm excited for that chance!
Awards & Apologies
I would like to thank Karin and Mary Anne for the bloggy awards that they have passed to me!
Humane and Happy...two great compliments!
The Happy 101 Award is meant to be passed to 10 bloggers who post at least once a week
(and make me happy?!...I added that part!)
My 10:
Also, based on a comment from my previous post about ADHD, I realized that what I wrote may have not have been as clear as I had hoped. I tried to be lighthearted about my "soapbox moment" speaking about person first language and I guess I came off a lot more preachy than I intended. I would like to take a moment to try and clarify my intent.
If I teach a student that has ADD or ADHD, I think it is very important that I help the student learn strategies to manage their behavior which is why I am trying to research and learn more about the conditions and symptoms.
Recognizing that some students do have ADD/ADHD is very important as they have particular needs in a classroom setting that need to be addressed. Calling students ADD just because they are inattentive on a particular day and caused the teacher frustration, to me, is not okay.
If a student has a disability, I prefer to use person first language when I refer to the student because that type of langauge is indicative of my belief that students with disabilities should not just be known by their labels. I agree that this type of language can get a bit picky, however I agree with the intent of not only seeing students with disabilities in terms of what is "wrong" with them. They deserve more than that.
There are some teachers who use langauge when speaking about students that makes me uncomfortable. I feel very strongly about advocating for students with special needs and it makes me sad when they are not seen as individuals as much as they are simply identified by their disability category or label or referred to in negative ways due to a disability. Perhaps this is not intentional, but I like to share information about person first language to increase awareness. If this came off as know-it-all/preachy/confrontational, that was not my intent. I am simply a teacher who likes sharing information and discussing my particular interests regarding the teaching profession.
I always appreciate feedback that makes me consider other perspectives and stretch my own thinking. Please also keep in mind that I am simply expressing my own thoughts and ideas and you do not have to agree with what I say. If you disagree, please do so in a respectful manner.
Thanks!
ADHD
If you are a teacher, then you know that the letters ADD can be thrown around a lot such as "Oh my gosh, he is so ADD!" Although Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) are both conditions for which a diagnosis should actually come from a doctor, I find that teachers often use these letters to describe students whether or not is has been established by a doctor that a child actually has one of these conditions. As a person who is very much a proponent of person first language and seeing people rather than disabilities, I encourage people, especially teachers, not to throw out labels without due cause. It is very important to be careful about the words/descriptions we choose to use with regards to our students and it is always important to err on the side of caution. If a child has not been formally diagnosed with ADD or ADHD it is not okay, in my opinion, to declare that he or she is "so ADHD today." Even if a student has been diagnosed with ADD or ADHD, using person first language requires that when discussing the student it is said that the student has ADD/ADHD rather than referring to him or her as the ADD student or saying he/she is so ADD. I hope that does not come across as critical, I just feel strongly about not making disability labels part of daily language when are used in a way that connects the label with negative connotations about a student. A student should not be defined by what causes them to struggle rather by who they are and what causes them to shine. Yes, it is very significant and important if a student has learning problems, however, that child should not only be viewed with regards to the disability or problem as every child has both strengths and areas of weakness.
::sneaker teacher now descends from soapbox:: :0)
I am working with a student right now who is presenting with a lot of symptoms correlated with ADHD and I am in the process of trying to learn more about it. Our team is looking for ways to support this student and empower him with regards to certain aspects of his school day and his school work that are not successful right now. I know I may have sounded a little preachy before speaking of how we refer to students who exhibit learning problems or disabilities, but my purpose in talking about ADD/ADHD is simply to share what I am learning. I am not an expert and I like to share what I learn and ask for help from others.
The following information comes from www.add.org
I also found interesting information at http://www.chadd.org/
which separated symptoms into three different types of attention difficulties.
::sneaker teacher now descends from soapbox:: :0)
I am working with a student right now who is presenting with a lot of symptoms correlated with ADHD and I am in the process of trying to learn more about it. Our team is looking for ways to support this student and empower him with regards to certain aspects of his school day and his school work that are not successful right now. I know I may have sounded a little preachy before speaking of how we refer to students who exhibit learning problems or disabilities, but my purpose in talking about ADD/ADHD is simply to share what I am learning. I am not an expert and I like to share what I learn and ask for help from others.
The following information comes from www.add.org
According to the DSM-IV (the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition) some common symptoms of ADHD include: often fails to give close attention to details or makes careless mistakes; often has difficulty sustaining attention to tasks; often does not seem to listen when spoken to directly; often fails to follow instructions carefully and completely; losing or forgetting important things; feeling restless, often fidgeting with hands or feet, or squirming; running or climbing excessively; often talks excessively; often blurts out answers before hearing the whole question; often has difficulty awaiting turn.
I also found interesting information at http://www.chadd.org/
which separated symptoms into three different types of attention difficulties.
AD/HD - Primarily Inattentive Type:
• Fails to give close attention to details or makes careless mistakes.
• Has difficulty sustaining attention.
• Does not appear to listen.
• Struggles to follow through on instructions.
• Has difficulty with organization.
• Avoids or dislikes tasks requiring sustained mental effort.
• Is easily distracted.
• Is forgetful in daily activities.
AD/HD - Primarily Hyperactive/Impulsive Type:
• Fidgets with hands or feet or squirms in chair.
• Has difficulty remaining seated.
• Runs around or climbs excessively.
• Has difficulty engaging in activities quietly.
• Acts as if driven by a motor.
• Talks excessively.
• Blurts out answers before questions have been completed.
• Has difficulty waiting or taking turns.
• Interrupts or intrudes upon others.
AD/HD - Combined Type:
• Meets both inattentive and hyperactive/impulsive criteria.
Because everyone shows signs of these behaviors at one time or another, the guidelines for determining whether a person has AD/HD are very specific. In children, the symptoms must be more frequent or severe than in other children of the same age. In adults, the symptoms must be present since childhood and affect one’s ability to function in daily life. These behaviors must create significant difficulty in at least two areas of life, such as home, social settings, school, or work.
Does anyone have any suggestions or ideas about what has been successful when working with students that have ADHD? Would love to hear some thoughts from other teachers and/or parents who have dealt with meeting the needs of children with ADHD.
The Wheels are Spinning...
Now that it is official that I am returning to Portland next school year, the wheels have started spinning and I am thinking a lot about what I can take away from my experience here in Germany and bring with me to apply to my teaching situation next year.
Based on my license and endorsements I could be a classroom teacher, ELL teacher, or SPED teacher. I most want to have my own classroom back, but I am happy that I will get a job period. Since there are more classroom positions, I feel like it is most likely that my assignment will be as a grade level classroom teacher and I am happy with those odds.
I made a list this morning of some of the small things I have been mulling around. In some regards I feel as though I am coming back as a whole new teacher so many aspects of my instruction will be different, but these are more minor things. Little ideas I have picked up along the way....My ideologies about teaching are a whole different post...
Based on my license and endorsements I could be a classroom teacher, ELL teacher, or SPED teacher. I most want to have my own classroom back, but I am happy that I will get a job period. Since there are more classroom positions, I feel like it is most likely that my assignment will be as a grade level classroom teacher and I am happy with those odds.
I made a list this morning of some of the small things I have been mulling around. In some regards I feel as though I am coming back as a whole new teacher so many aspects of my instruction will be different, but these are more minor things. Little ideas I have picked up along the way....My ideologies about teaching are a whole different post...
- classroom blog
- student of the week celebration where one student is selected each week and can do a short presentation by showing/telling more about him or herself on Friday.
- weekly instead of daily job assignments including an assigned substitute who fills on for absent helpers. I used to have jobs change daily and I think that is too much. Not only would I frequently forget to rotate them, but if a student is absent on their assigned day as the line leader they just missed out and that is really sad...Jobs are about teaching responsibility and I think it is more meaningful to repeat the same task a few times to demonstrate improvement in job skills and reliability.
- global & multicultural stories during story time (I want to be much more deliberate in stories I select for read alouds and I want them to be more meaningful)
- groups during math time so that some kids are working on a task they can do completely independently so I have a smaller group to work with while supporting struggling students, re-teaching, and correcting work based on new concepts. I would ideally like to start math with a short review question, teach the new concept, have one group immediately work on some related problems while the other works independently on something else, then swap the groups, then end the period with an exit question to check for understanding. I am not sure what the schedule is looking like these days back home, so I have no idea if that will work, but I want to differentiate better, so that kids are challenged more and kids who need help have more access to it.
- a book club for kids-maybe to take place during lunch? I am not really sure how this could work, but some type of activity to share meaningful reading experiences with kids who might not have as many opportunities to read at home.
- mailboxes in the classroom-previously my students had cubbies and there was an upper slot where I returned work and put papers, but the end of the day packup session was always jammed and crowded. I would like to have mailboxes/trays in a separate area so kids can get their backpacks and coats in one place and then retrieve their papers from another.
- Friday folders- Are you familiar with Mrs. Mimi? She has posted about Friday folders and I love her idea. Basically as the week progresses, any work that is not completed goes into the "Friday folder." When kids have extra time, they can work on assignments in their Friday folder. Any work that is still remaining unfinished in the folder on Friday goes home over the weekend and needs to be completed. I am not sure exactly how I want to make this work, but I like the idea and I need to make myself and my students more accountable for completing and turning in work.
Cocktail Anyone?!
Today was a rough day.
Remember when I shared that I was in the process of making a tough decision and have been under a lot of stress recently? Well today, that all came to a head.
As you may know, I have been working on my doctorate here in Germany. I have a wonderful advisor/professor who has been helping me to stay afloat in my program by means of skyping and completing the coursework as independent study. The program basically has three phases which consist of core work, electives/specialty courses, and the dissertation. I have been working somewhat out of order because I am supposed to be doing core courses this year, but I have been fulfilling the requirements for electives and my curriculum & instruction courses instead due to the fact that I am in Germany. I was really hopeful that based on the success of my remote work during my first year, that I would be able to complete the core courses from Germany as well. I was wrong.
There are 5 courses that I need to be in Portland to take and those courses need to be completed before I can move forward in the program. Do you see where this is going?
I am going back to Portland for a bit.
Not right away, but I will return in August to complete these courses beginning in the fall term of 2010. My husband is staying in Germany. Can you see why I have been so stressed out?! My husband is probably the most supportive person I will ever meet. He was the one who encouraged me to even apply for the program because I thought I would never get accepted. He is amazingly supportive of all the time I spend reading and writing papers and he continues to be supportive of this decision. We made it together and he is happy that I am going after what I want. Of course I will miss him, but we both know that this period of being away from one another is not forever and that we have many many more years to grow old together once I am Dr. T. :0)
The lucky part of this is that I am on a leave of absence from my job in Portland right now. If I return for next school year, I am guaranteed a full time teaching position, which is hard to come by these days in that area. I will not get to return to my same first grade position or at my same school necessarily, but I will be sure to have a position in the district. Knowing that I will have a job makes it a lot easier and makes it more pertinent that this hiatus from Germany takes place starting next year or else I would not have a job to go back to.
The hardest part about this was that I had to tell people here...administrators, co-workers, and the toughest--my friends. I love Germany. I am having a wonderful time living here and I am enjoying my job a lot. I feel like I just started and I had to share the news today that I will be leaving and won't be back next school year. Not only did I have to tell the director, but also the principal, my department head, and my closest friends. Not fun. And I had to do this in rapid succession because news travels fast in our school community and I couldn't bear the thought that people would get wind of it before I shared in person. I have only ever been on the receiving end of a breakup, but I feel like today I was the "dumper" over and over. This decision came completely out of the blue--for them and for me. It is not something I planned on AT ALL. I could tell that each person I told was really surprised and also upset that I will be leaving. Even though I feel in my heart that this is the right thing to do for me, I feel a lot of guilt about leaving. My HOD was especially upset and it was not at all easy to see the emotions that came out at the thought of not having me around. She was very supportive and completely understood my desire to see this program through, but at the same time, she is not at all happy to see me go. It is a big relief that the news is out there now and I am glad to be sharing it with you all because I know my bloggy friends are always chock full of kind words and support.
I am excited at the idea of returning to Portland and seeing my co-workers and friends that I am missing a lot right now. It will be an exciting adventure and it will get me that much closer to my goal of obtaining my doctorate. I am also excited at the thought of having my own class again! It would be great to teach first grade again, yet my experience here in Germany has given me the confidence to teach any grade level and I would love to be placed with any age group at this point. I see the benefits of each grade level and now have experience with grades 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, & 8.
I am also excited for the point at which I come back to Germany and rejoin my friends here and hopefully rejoin the staff at my current school. I am happy to feel the stress slip away because this big secret is out in the open and is no longer something completely eating away at me.
I am really surprised that no one has told me I am crazy so far. Everyone in my family and John's family has been really really supportive and excited for me. I guess I am really embracing this whole life is an adventure mentality. I feel like I have grown up a lot since John first mentioned the prospect of moving here because I know I am strong enough to handle the hard work and the difficulty of being apart from my husband that are headed my way. Instead of balking at this challenge, I am heading straight for it.
So, to conclude my day of stress, I had some chocolate and bought myself new markers.
Office supplies can always soothe my soul....
And I may need a cocktail!
Remember when I shared that I was in the process of making a tough decision and have been under a lot of stress recently? Well today, that all came to a head.
As you may know, I have been working on my doctorate here in Germany. I have a wonderful advisor/professor who has been helping me to stay afloat in my program by means of skyping and completing the coursework as independent study. The program basically has three phases which consist of core work, electives/specialty courses, and the dissertation. I have been working somewhat out of order because I am supposed to be doing core courses this year, but I have been fulfilling the requirements for electives and my curriculum & instruction courses instead due to the fact that I am in Germany. I was really hopeful that based on the success of my remote work during my first year, that I would be able to complete the core courses from Germany as well. I was wrong.
There are 5 courses that I need to be in Portland to take and those courses need to be completed before I can move forward in the program. Do you see where this is going?
I am going back to Portland for a bit.
Not right away, but I will return in August to complete these courses beginning in the fall term of 2010. My husband is staying in Germany. Can you see why I have been so stressed out?! My husband is probably the most supportive person I will ever meet. He was the one who encouraged me to even apply for the program because I thought I would never get accepted. He is amazingly supportive of all the time I spend reading and writing papers and he continues to be supportive of this decision. We made it together and he is happy that I am going after what I want. Of course I will miss him, but we both know that this period of being away from one another is not forever and that we have many many more years to grow old together once I am Dr. T. :0)
The lucky part of this is that I am on a leave of absence from my job in Portland right now. If I return for next school year, I am guaranteed a full time teaching position, which is hard to come by these days in that area. I will not get to return to my same first grade position or at my same school necessarily, but I will be sure to have a position in the district. Knowing that I will have a job makes it a lot easier and makes it more pertinent that this hiatus from Germany takes place starting next year or else I would not have a job to go back to.
The hardest part about this was that I had to tell people here...administrators, co-workers, and the toughest--my friends. I love Germany. I am having a wonderful time living here and I am enjoying my job a lot. I feel like I just started and I had to share the news today that I will be leaving and won't be back next school year. Not only did I have to tell the director, but also the principal, my department head, and my closest friends. Not fun. And I had to do this in rapid succession because news travels fast in our school community and I couldn't bear the thought that people would get wind of it before I shared in person. I have only ever been on the receiving end of a breakup, but I feel like today I was the "dumper" over and over. This decision came completely out of the blue--for them and for me. It is not something I planned on AT ALL. I could tell that each person I told was really surprised and also upset that I will be leaving. Even though I feel in my heart that this is the right thing to do for me, I feel a lot of guilt about leaving. My HOD was especially upset and it was not at all easy to see the emotions that came out at the thought of not having me around. She was very supportive and completely understood my desire to see this program through, but at the same time, she is not at all happy to see me go. It is a big relief that the news is out there now and I am glad to be sharing it with you all because I know my bloggy friends are always chock full of kind words and support.
I am excited at the idea of returning to Portland and seeing my co-workers and friends that I am missing a lot right now. It will be an exciting adventure and it will get me that much closer to my goal of obtaining my doctorate. I am also excited at the thought of having my own class again! It would be great to teach first grade again, yet my experience here in Germany has given me the confidence to teach any grade level and I would love to be placed with any age group at this point. I see the benefits of each grade level and now have experience with grades 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, & 8.
I am also excited for the point at which I come back to Germany and rejoin my friends here and hopefully rejoin the staff at my current school. I am happy to feel the stress slip away because this big secret is out in the open and is no longer something completely eating away at me.
I am really surprised that no one has told me I am crazy so far. Everyone in my family and John's family has been really really supportive and excited for me. I guess I am really embracing this whole life is an adventure mentality. I feel like I have grown up a lot since John first mentioned the prospect of moving here because I know I am strong enough to handle the hard work and the difficulty of being apart from my husband that are headed my way. Instead of balking at this challenge, I am heading straight for it.
So, to conclude my day of stress, I had some chocolate and bought myself new markers.
Office supplies can always soothe my soul....
And I may need a cocktail!
Stress and Eating
Do you ever notice how being under stress affects your eating habits? I have two teacher friends that have been furiously working on their 8 page elementary school report cards for the past few weeks.
Yes, you read that right....eight pages. (Can I take this moment to mention that I am very relieved I do not have to do report cards as part of my position)
One friend said that she has been eating sweets all week and the other said she has barely been eating at all. Complete opposites, but neither one is good, especially at a time when the body and mind are under extra stress.
I am definitely a stress snacker. If I am stressed out, it is my excuse to eat chocolate, drink more soda, and allow myself treats that I would not normally have. I rationalize that if I am working extra hard, I should get a reward and that reward is usually something good to eat. Couldn't I just go shopping? This also happens because when I'm extra busy/stressed (oh right, there is no time for shopping), I might not have as much time to plan or prepare healthy food. I often don't consciously realize that I am stressed. Last year, when my dentist asked me about being stressed, I replied that I wasn't, yet he gave me a mouth guard to wear at night because the extent of my teeth grinding was so bad, I need to prevent myself from damaging my teeth. So was I stressed, yes! Did I know it? Not really. The only time it really clicks that I am stressed is when the stress eating habits kick in.
I feel like this is one of those weeks.
When I can count on one hand the number of servings of veges and fruits I have eaten all week.
When I run out of fingers when counting the servings of carbs and bread I have eaten in the last day.
When I start to feel crappy both mentally and phsyically.
When my minds starts wandering to the land of chocolate and I dream about coffee, chocolate, and other sugary yummies.
So, after yet another day of eating poorly yesterday, I woke up this morning with a renewed inspiration to kick those poor choices to the curb and start eating healthier. This morning I purchased the book In Defense of Food from amazon and I will get it tomorrow. (I heart amazon prime!) I read a post the other day (written by Kasey at All That is Good ) that got me thinking about my guilt over my poor eating habits that have popped up in recent days. Kasey mentioned Food, Inc., In Defense of Food, Fast Food Nation, The Omnivores Dilemma, and Fresh as good books/movies for inspiring good, healthy eating. Normally, I feel like I eat pretty well, but like I mentioned those habits change during times of stress.
I am really excited to read In Defense of Food (and add it to my list of books read for pleasure for the month of January to keep up with my New Year's goal of reading at least one book for pleasure each month).
Kasey was really on point when she talked about the benefits of eating well. The body feels better when it's fed nutritious food which logically would make it easier to combat stress, right? Although I could never give up my penchant for baking, I do think that I would like to incorporate lots more fresh, untouched foods in my diet and remove the processed items that don't fill me up and don't do much for my body either.
So far, I have been pretty good at juggling the whole working, taking 12 credits of doctoral courses, taking care of home and husband routine, but suddenly this week it feels like too much. I have stuff weighing on my mind including taking a third crack at the driving test tomorrow, the 22-30 page paper that I have to write this term about education in Germany, working on a project with a partner who is in Oregon & trying to get assignments accomplished on a shared time schedule rather than just my own, in addition to making a very significant choice about my life (which I will share more about later, I promise and no it's not about having babies...).
I can handle it, I know that, but I also know that I need to treat myself and my body in the right way which means getting enough sleep (thanks to a bloggy friend for that reminder), exercising, and eating right.
Hopefully some of the stress will be alleviated tomorrow by passing the driving exam. If I don't mention anything after, you might want to just assume that I have crawled into a hole and died of embarrassment and we'll leave it at that.
I am off to have a healthy snack and get in a good workout before the studying with hubs commences this evening.
Yes, you read that right....eight pages. (Can I take this moment to mention that I am very relieved I do not have to do report cards as part of my position)
One friend said that she has been eating sweets all week and the other said she has barely been eating at all. Complete opposites, but neither one is good, especially at a time when the body and mind are under extra stress.
I am definitely a stress snacker. If I am stressed out, it is my excuse to eat chocolate, drink more soda, and allow myself treats that I would not normally have. I rationalize that if I am working extra hard, I should get a reward and that reward is usually something good to eat. Couldn't I just go shopping? This also happens because when I'm extra busy/stressed (oh right, there is no time for shopping), I might not have as much time to plan or prepare healthy food. I often don't consciously realize that I am stressed. Last year, when my dentist asked me about being stressed, I replied that I wasn't, yet he gave me a mouth guard to wear at night because the extent of my teeth grinding was so bad, I need to prevent myself from damaging my teeth. So was I stressed, yes! Did I know it? Not really. The only time it really clicks that I am stressed is when the stress eating habits kick in.
I feel like this is one of those weeks.
When I can count on one hand the number of servings of veges and fruits I have eaten all week.
When I run out of fingers when counting the servings of carbs and bread I have eaten in the last day.
When I start to feel crappy both mentally and phsyically.
When my minds starts wandering to the land of chocolate and I dream about coffee, chocolate, and other sugary yummies.
So, after yet another day of eating poorly yesterday, I woke up this morning with a renewed inspiration to kick those poor choices to the curb and start eating healthier. This morning I purchased the book In Defense of Food from amazon and I will get it tomorrow. (I heart amazon prime!) I read a post the other day (written by Kasey at All That is Good ) that got me thinking about my guilt over my poor eating habits that have popped up in recent days. Kasey mentioned Food, Inc., In Defense of Food, Fast Food Nation, The Omnivores Dilemma, and Fresh as good books/movies for inspiring good, healthy eating. Normally, I feel like I eat pretty well, but like I mentioned those habits change during times of stress.
I am really excited to read In Defense of Food (and add it to my list of books read for pleasure for the month of January to keep up with my New Year's goal of reading at least one book for pleasure each month).
Kasey was really on point when she talked about the benefits of eating well. The body feels better when it's fed nutritious food which logically would make it easier to combat stress, right? Although I could never give up my penchant for baking, I do think that I would like to incorporate lots more fresh, untouched foods in my diet and remove the processed items that don't fill me up and don't do much for my body either.
So far, I have been pretty good at juggling the whole working, taking 12 credits of doctoral courses, taking care of home and husband routine, but suddenly this week it feels like too much. I have stuff weighing on my mind including taking a third crack at the driving test tomorrow, the 22-30 page paper that I have to write this term about education in Germany, working on a project with a partner who is in Oregon & trying to get assignments accomplished on a shared time schedule rather than just my own, in addition to making a very significant choice about my life (which I will share more about later, I promise and no it's not about having babies...).
I can handle it, I know that, but I also know that I need to treat myself and my body in the right way which means getting enough sleep (thanks to a bloggy friend for that reminder), exercising, and eating right.
Hopefully some of the stress will be alleviated tomorrow by passing the driving exam. If I don't mention anything after, you might want to just assume that I have crawled into a hole and died of embarrassment and we'll leave it at that.
I am off to have a healthy snack and get in a good workout before the studying with hubs commences this evening.
Choices
Let's just say I have something weighing on my mind.
I am not writing this to be dramatic or anything, it's just that my blog is like my diary and writing is a way that I process and think. I have a decision to make and I am pretty sure what I want to do, but I kind of have to put a few pieces of the puzzle together before I can truly decide. I am usually the type to have a tough time keeping secrets. I can keep other people's secrets, but I have a hard time not sharing what is going on with me because I am all about full disclosure. At this moment, I am not ready to share on the blog, but I will, once I truly get it figured out. I just read a post the other day about how blog readers are not super fond of cliff hangers...I am not intending to lure you in only to keep some big unexplained secret, but like I said I am still processing and thinking. When the time is right, I will share, I promise!
I find it really hard to focus on other things, when something really importance is hanging in the balance. I have to study for the driving test (again), I have to create a pre-test for one of the classes I am taking, and I have to collaborate with my partner in Portland via a phone call at 3:00pm so that I can get enough info about her student to create said pre-test. Nothing crazy, but enough things to result in my stress level rising right now. I would say I am a pretty determined person, so once something gets in my head, it's there until I make it happen. Right now, it's just there and hopefully I can get this situation figured out sooner rather than later or I might go nuts.
Anyway, I guess I just need kind words today and I know if I can count on anyone, I can count on bloggy friends for that!
I am not writing this to be dramatic or anything, it's just that my blog is like my diary and writing is a way that I process and think. I have a decision to make and I am pretty sure what I want to do, but I kind of have to put a few pieces of the puzzle together before I can truly decide. I am usually the type to have a tough time keeping secrets. I can keep other people's secrets, but I have a hard time not sharing what is going on with me because I am all about full disclosure. At this moment, I am not ready to share on the blog, but I will, once I truly get it figured out. I just read a post the other day about how blog readers are not super fond of cliff hangers...I am not intending to lure you in only to keep some big unexplained secret, but like I said I am still processing and thinking. When the time is right, I will share, I promise!
I find it really hard to focus on other things, when something really importance is hanging in the balance. I have to study for the driving test (again), I have to create a pre-test for one of the classes I am taking, and I have to collaborate with my partner in Portland via a phone call at 3:00pm so that I can get enough info about her student to create said pre-test. Nothing crazy, but enough things to result in my stress level rising right now. I would say I am a pretty determined person, so once something gets in my head, it's there until I make it happen. Right now, it's just there and hopefully I can get this situation figured out sooner rather than later or I might go nuts.
Anyway, I guess I just need kind words today and I know if I can count on anyone, I can count on bloggy friends for that!
Off to a good start!
After my excitement about having 94 followers yesterday, there was a mysterious disappearance of 1 follower leaving me with 93. I wonder why? Hope I have not bored or offended anyone!
Yesterday I had my first quilting lesson with my amazing Domestic Goddess teacher Lucinda and I finished my first block. I decided on a using three different blocks throughout the quilt, 2 different star patterns and one plain block to showcase the cute animal Noah's Arc print fabric I chose.
I think that the colors look a bit Christmasy, however the other two fabrics that are not used on this block are the ones that are really cute (with the Noah's Arc prints) and they really bring these colors together in a nice way. I don't think the final product will look like it's meant for holiday time.
Yesterday was honestly the first time I ever used a sewing machine in my entire life, but I thought it went really well. At first I was super hesitant, but as the lesson went on, I gained confidence and I was proud of the outcome. Lucinda is a fantastic teacher because her teaching style really resulted in me doing my own work. She showed me how, but then stood back and made sure that I could then do the steps independently. When I was working with her, I was really thinking about my post from yesterday and how some teachers (myself definitely included) do too much for their students which results in the students not truly having mastery over the task/material or whatever it is. Lucinda was an excellent model of what teachers should do. I feel like I could make another block with even less help next time, which is exactly my goal---to gain independence with these sewing/quilting skills.
I am having my next lesson on Friday of next week and I can't wait. The one problem I did run into was using the fabric cutting tool because it was meant for a right handed person. Luckily the blade was able to be switched to the other side, so I could use it without trouble. I rarely run into issues that prevent me from using certain tools as a left handed person and typically I don't need to use items, like scissors, specifically for lefties, but in this case I really did. Lucinda gave me a list of some of the items I need to purchase so that I can do my own cutting from now on. That way, when I am paying for her time, it is just for sewing and not for the part that I could prepare before my arrival.
Tonight a few of my teacher girlfriends are coming over to watch The Bachelor with me. My husband invested in a lot of fancy electronic toys that allow us to record shows from his parent's house in Cali and then watch them in Germany either on our computers or on our TV. My husband is awesome. What would I do in Germany without my trashy American TV show??
I heart Tivo, Slingbox, and Slingcatcher big time!!
A nice pitcher of Sangria is chilling as I type this. I love having the girls over and we are already hooked on the show despite our huge disappointment in some of Jake's selections. I really thought that overall it was a pretty lame bunch considering what a nice guy he seems to be. But as I mentioned to one of my friends...in this economy, surely not as many people are willing to give up their jobs to go on a reality show when it's likely that they won't find love and they will be back home and jobless within a few weeks....That sounds so cynical, but I remember a few seasons back, there was a teacher who left her job and then got sent home after two weeks or so...
Hope everyone has a great Friday.
***
Here's the finished block that I worked on yesterday.
Yesterday was honestly the first time I ever used a sewing machine in my entire life, but I thought it went really well. At first I was super hesitant, but as the lesson went on, I gained confidence and I was proud of the outcome. Lucinda is a fantastic teacher because her teaching style really resulted in me doing my own work. She showed me how, but then stood back and made sure that I could then do the steps independently. When I was working with her, I was really thinking about my post from yesterday and how some teachers (myself definitely included) do too much for their students which results in the students not truly having mastery over the task/material or whatever it is. Lucinda was an excellent model of what teachers should do. I feel like I could make another block with even less help next time, which is exactly my goal---to gain independence with these sewing/quilting skills.
I am having my next lesson on Friday of next week and I can't wait. The one problem I did run into was using the fabric cutting tool because it was meant for a right handed person. Luckily the blade was able to be switched to the other side, so I could use it without trouble. I rarely run into issues that prevent me from using certain tools as a left handed person and typically I don't need to use items, like scissors, specifically for lefties, but in this case I really did. Lucinda gave me a list of some of the items I need to purchase so that I can do my own cutting from now on. That way, when I am paying for her time, it is just for sewing and not for the part that I could prepare before my arrival.
***
I heart Tivo, Slingbox, and Slingcatcher big time!!
A nice pitcher of Sangria is chilling as I type this. I love having the girls over and we are already hooked on the show despite our huge disappointment in some of Jake's selections. I really thought that overall it was a pretty lame bunch considering what a nice guy he seems to be. But as I mentioned to one of my friends...in this economy, surely not as many people are willing to give up their jobs to go on a reality show when it's likely that they won't find love and they will be back home and jobless within a few weeks....That sounds so cynical, but I remember a few seasons back, there was a teacher who left her job and then got sent home after two weeks or so...
Hope everyone has a great Friday.
Whoa, Yay, and Boo
The whoa: I just realized that I have done over 300 posts on this blog! Yesterday's was the 301st and this is the 302nd. I wish I had realized when it was the 300th because that seems like a milestone.
The yay!: I have 94 followers. woot! woot! Welcome to my newest followers and thanks to everyone for stopping by and checking out what is going on with Sneaker Teacher. I am So excited to be creeping closer and closer to 100 followers. That will definitely not slip by without notice and will be cause for celebration.
The (long) boo: I am having a bit of regret today with regards to the subject of learned helplessness. I think in the field of special education, there are many students who rely too much on their teachers and assistants because too much is done for them. Essentially they learn to be/act helpless because they are pretty sure that if they don't act someone else will act for them.
I am completely guilty of this sometimes and I was today. I was in a classroom where the teacher asked me to help a student get his writing binder organized. She had passed out sheets for each section that outlined which papers they were supposed to have and in which order. We had begun this organization process earlier in the week, but this particular student did not finish and still did not have his papers organized in his binder. My Thursday schedule only allows me 25 minutes in this classroom, so rather than doing the right thing and putting my friend in charge while I supported, I did way too much of his organizing for him. Now don't get me wrong, I didn't just let him sit back and take a snooze while I worked on his binder, but there was definitely a lot more effort on my part than his.
Now what lesson did I teach him? Basically that if he can't keep his things organized, his teacher will do it for him.
Whoops!
Yeah, that was me in my stellar teacher moment of the day.
At least I admit to it, right?
I think that often (too often) students learn how to get others to do things for them. This especially occurs in the world of special education and I have to say that I think time is a signifcant contributor to why it happens. Often, students with special needs, whether physical, behavioral, or mental, take a longer time to complete tasks. They might need directions explained more than once, they might not be able to physically move as fast as other kids, or they might simply be avoiders, but whatever the reason, tasks can take longer. Often, we don't have as much time as we need. We are victims to the clock, the bells, and the school schedule which prevents us from being able to see some tasks through to completion, especially if they take a long time.
Yes, I could have put my friend in charge of his own book, however I would have had to leave before it was completed and then I would not be able to monitor whether or not it was up to his teacher's standards (which is what happened the last time and which is why his binder was still not organized).
Despite my behavior in taking the reigns and managing this organization project, I really truly believe that both parents and teachers should encourage their children and their students to do as much as they can independently. The more that the adults do for the children, the less children do for themselves. They learn to rely on others too much and don't gain important skills that lead to increased independence.
When I organized my friend's binderI kind of robbed him of a learning opportunity. From this point forward are his things going to always be in the right place? Probably not....because I did not truly make him accountable for his own organization and responsibility. I did it for him.
I feel bad, but at the same time, I am glad that I was able to reflect on this and decide what I would do differently next time. Sometimes the students are not the only ones learning....
The yay!: I have 94 followers. woot! woot! Welcome to my newest followers and thanks to everyone for stopping by and checking out what is going on with Sneaker Teacher. I am So excited to be creeping closer and closer to 100 followers. That will definitely not slip by without notice and will be cause for celebration.
The (long) boo: I am having a bit of regret today with regards to the subject of learned helplessness. I think in the field of special education, there are many students who rely too much on their teachers and assistants because too much is done for them. Essentially they learn to be/act helpless because they are pretty sure that if they don't act someone else will act for them.
I am completely guilty of this sometimes and I was today. I was in a classroom where the teacher asked me to help a student get his writing binder organized. She had passed out sheets for each section that outlined which papers they were supposed to have and in which order. We had begun this organization process earlier in the week, but this particular student did not finish and still did not have his papers organized in his binder. My Thursday schedule only allows me 25 minutes in this classroom, so rather than doing the right thing and putting my friend in charge while I supported, I did way too much of his organizing for him. Now don't get me wrong, I didn't just let him sit back and take a snooze while I worked on his binder, but there was definitely a lot more effort on my part than his.
Now what lesson did I teach him? Basically that if he can't keep his things organized, his teacher will do it for him.
Whoops!
Yeah, that was me in my stellar teacher moment of the day.
At least I admit to it, right?
I think that often (too often) students learn how to get others to do things for them. This especially occurs in the world of special education and I have to say that I think time is a signifcant contributor to why it happens. Often, students with special needs, whether physical, behavioral, or mental, take a longer time to complete tasks. They might need directions explained more than once, they might not be able to physically move as fast as other kids, or they might simply be avoiders, but whatever the reason, tasks can take longer. Often, we don't have as much time as we need. We are victims to the clock, the bells, and the school schedule which prevents us from being able to see some tasks through to completion, especially if they take a long time.
Yes, I could have put my friend in charge of his own book, however I would have had to leave before it was completed and then I would not be able to monitor whether or not it was up to his teacher's standards (which is what happened the last time and which is why his binder was still not organized).
Despite my behavior in taking the reigns and managing this organization project, I really truly believe that both parents and teachers should encourage their children and their students to do as much as they can independently. The more that the adults do for the children, the less children do for themselves. They learn to rely on others too much and don't gain important skills that lead to increased independence.
When I organized my friend's binder
I feel bad, but at the same time, I am glad that I was able to reflect on this and decide what I would do differently next time. Sometimes the students are not the only ones learning....
Classroom Blogs
Today I was thinking about different ways blogs could be used as a teaching tool in the classroom. I can only imagine the possibilities with older students, but I am mostly thinking in terms of the little guys. Even though I am working with older students now, my mind is always processing teaching information in terms of first grade. Since I taught at that level for three years, it's pretty ingrained.
I was thinking about the process of teaching young learners how to write and how to think about writing and the process of writing. Often times teachers conduct sessions of shared writing where a piece is brainstormed by a group effort. The teacher does the writing, but the whole group is pooling together ideas, giving input, and responding the secretly planned out questions being innocently posed by the teacher who is very consciously carrying out a specific lesson about writing while attempting to simply come up with a spontaneous piece.
With the use of certain technology elements, such as an interactive whiteboard or a document camera/projector combo (if they are available), this practice could be modernized a bit by introducing the wonderful world of blogging!
Some of the ideas I was mulling over:
Imagine the excitement if comments appeared from parents, other teachers, or even the principal in response to student writing!? Oh, I can just imagine the fun!
Again, this is one of those moments where I wish I had my own class. I would definitely try out a class blog and see how it could be used to enhance instruction in writing and editing. At a school like the one where I currently teach, where each student has his or her own school email address and older students are expected to utilize an online server to access homework assignments posted by their teachers, I think that a classroom blog would be well received by parents. At my other school, I am not sure if all of the families would have access to computers for viewing a class blog, but it would still be a great tool for use in the classroom for instruction during the school day. Also, students could try out posting comments during a whole group computer class if they don't have computers at home.
Just thinking...
I was thinking about the process of teaching young learners how to write and how to think about writing and the process of writing. Often times teachers conduct sessions of shared writing where a piece is brainstormed by a group effort. The teacher does the writing, but the whole group is pooling together ideas, giving input, and responding the secretly planned out questions being innocently posed by the teacher who is very consciously carrying out a specific lesson about writing while attempting to simply come up with a spontaneous piece.
With the use of certain technology elements, such as an interactive whiteboard or a document camera/projector combo (if they are available), this practice could be modernized a bit by introducing the wonderful world of blogging!
Some of the ideas I was mulling over:
- Writing a daily class post to reflect on the events of the day and what was learned. (Great time for a bit of review!)
- Inviting students to comment for homework sharing something they learned or liked about that day.
- Using a blog post (conveniently infused with errors) to teach about conventions or writing strategies. Students could help to edit the piece to make it ready for publishing.
- Using a class blog as a great place to publish students' writing for their families to see.
- Having a Student of the Week create a post about him or herself. (Student could hand write it and teacher could type it up or student could type it him or herself depending on age and classroom time allowance).
- Using a blog as a way to communicate with and update parents (which only works if parents own computers or have access to one).
- Having a great place to showcase class pictures.
Imagine the excitement if comments appeared from parents, other teachers, or even the principal in response to student writing!? Oh, I can just imagine the fun!
Again, this is one of those moments where I wish I had my own class. I would definitely try out a class blog and see how it could be used to enhance instruction in writing and editing. At a school like the one where I currently teach, where each student has his or her own school email address and older students are expected to utilize an online server to access homework assignments posted by their teachers, I think that a classroom blog would be well received by parents. At my other school, I am not sure if all of the families would have access to computers for viewing a class blog, but it would still be a great tool for use in the classroom for instruction during the school day. Also, students could try out posting comments during a whole group computer class if they don't have computers at home.
Just thinking...
What do you think about classroom blogs?
Drumroll Please....
It's bloggy makeover day for Sneaker Teacher!!!
I finally had the guts to change my blog design and put my own creation out there for everyone to see.
It was a big step because I LOVED the design that Leslie made for me. She rocks.
But I kind of think I rock too. (sorry, horn tooting...shameless!)
What do you think?
I think I am in love.
Mostly because this is my design and it's all me.....bold colors, teacher stuff, cute fonts.
I found tutorials online and figured it out. So fun. So rewarding. So time consuming!
Just like you need to change up your wardrobe or your style every once in awhile, I think the same goes for your blog design.
Now that changing my blog has eaten up tons of my time, I need to go do something productive!!
I finally had the guts to change my blog design and put my own creation out there for everyone to see.
It was a big step because I LOVED the design that Leslie made for me. She rocks.
But I kind of think I rock too. (sorry, horn tooting...shameless!)
What do you think?
I think I am in love.
Mostly because this is my design and it's all me.....bold colors, teacher stuff, cute fonts.
I found tutorials online and figured it out. So fun. So rewarding. So time consuming!
Just like you need to change up your wardrobe or your style every once in awhile, I think the same goes for your blog design.
Now that changing my blog has eaten up tons of my time, I need to go do something productive!!
Good Readers
As I was sitting in the office of one of my team members today working with my fourth grade friend, I noticed a really great poster on the wall. It was pretty small and not too flashy, but I really thought it was an excellent resource and reminder for students. It listed some good reading skills/strategies that should be employed before, during, and after reading with a little image next to each one.
After my friend left, I copied down the info on the poster so I could make my own (travel size) for myself and students who might find it useful. I used my Boardmaker software to add the images and I will laminate it tomorrow at school so it stays in good shape.
Take a look!
Good Readers
It is so important that young readers realize that there is a lot more to the act of reading than just saying aloud or silently passing their eyes over the words. Being an active reader means constantly thinking, connecting, and working hard while reading in order to really understand the text, story, or reading selection. This chart will hopefully be a good visual reminder for some students and help them to remember that it's okay (and important) to go back and reread if they miss something or to get clarification for words/parts of the text they don't understand. I also like how it encourages students to create a picture in their head as a way to better recall what is happening in the story.
Even the older students (5th graders) that I work with need a bit of help remembering how to be "good" readers. They get intimidated by more difficult texts, yet some of these skills can help them break down some of those challenging texts by using strategies that help them experience success in understanding and remembering.
Please feel free to print and use this "Good Readers" chart. I only ask that you leave me a comment and let me know that you liked it! :0)
After my friend left, I copied down the info on the poster so I could make my own (travel size) for myself and students who might find it useful. I used my Boardmaker software to add the images and I will laminate it tomorrow at school so it stays in good shape.
Take a look!
Good Readers
It is so important that young readers realize that there is a lot more to the act of reading than just saying aloud or silently passing their eyes over the words. Being an active reader means constantly thinking, connecting, and working hard while reading in order to really understand the text, story, or reading selection. This chart will hopefully be a good visual reminder for some students and help them to remember that it's okay (and important) to go back and reread if they miss something or to get clarification for words/parts of the text they don't understand. I also like how it encourages students to create a picture in their head as a way to better recall what is happening in the story.
Even the older students (5th graders) that I work with need a bit of help remembering how to be "good" readers. They get intimidated by more difficult texts, yet some of these skills can help them break down some of those challenging texts by using strategies that help them experience success in understanding and remembering.
Please feel free to print and use this "Good Readers" chart. I only ask that you leave me a comment and let me know that you liked it! :0)
Obsessed!
I have a new obsession.
Well, let's call it a hobby so it doesn't sound creepy.
I recently tried making homemade bagels and I am hooked!
Despite the abundance of bakeries here in Germany that offer a variety of fresh breads and baked good...the bagels are MIA. I have a good friend that works at my school who mentioned how she really misses having good bagels for breakfast, so I told her that I would figure out how to make them for her. After looking up some recipes, I realized that I would need yeast, which I was not able to find here. I am sure it's here, but I just can't find it, which is common for some baking products I am used to from the states. When I was home for Christmas, I got a jar of instant yeast, so I was really excited to try out the recipe.
I used the recipe and video from this link to learn how.
Surprisingly, it was really easy and fun!
I decided that I want to make a little tradition of making homemade bagels every Sunday. I have experimented with several different kinds so far and they have all come out pretty good. I double the recipe to get a total of 16 bagels, so I put a few in a bag for three of my friends at school and bring them to work on Monday morning.
So far I have made:
I just keep adding different yummy ingredients to the dough to see how they come out.
For some reason the act of making homemade bagels seems somewhat oldschool to me, yet it's the perfect activity for our quiet Sundays because nothing is open here on Sundays. I love the process and I love sharing them with friends. My husband even asks to have some to bring to work for his buddies.
Well, let's call it a hobby so it doesn't sound creepy.
I recently tried making homemade bagels and I am hooked!
Despite the abundance of bakeries here in Germany that offer a variety of fresh breads and baked good...the bagels are MIA. I have a good friend that works at my school who mentioned how she really misses having good bagels for breakfast, so I told her that I would figure out how to make them for her. After looking up some recipes, I realized that I would need yeast, which I was not able to find here. I am sure it's here, but I just can't find it, which is common for some baking products I am used to from the states. When I was home for Christmas, I got a jar of instant yeast, so I was really excited to try out the recipe.
I used the recipe and video from this link to learn how.
Surprisingly, it was really easy and fun!
I decided that I want to make a little tradition of making homemade bagels every Sunday. I have experimented with several different kinds so far and they have all come out pretty good. I double the recipe to get a total of 16 bagels, so I put a few in a bag for three of my friends at school and bring them to work on Monday morning.
So far I have made:
plain
everything (with onion, sesame seeds, and caraway seeds...couldn't find poppy seeds)
chocolate chip (the chips also had to be brought in from the U.S)cinnamon raisin with cranberry
German gingerbread with chocolate
cranberry
cinnamon sugar
pumpkin spice with raisins
I just keep adding different yummy ingredients to the dough to see how they come out.
For some reason the act of making homemade bagels seems somewhat oldschool to me, yet it's the perfect activity for our quiet Sundays because nothing is open here on Sundays. I love the process and I love sharing them with friends. My husband even asks to have some to bring to work for his buddies.
Here are some pics of how it's done...
German gingerbread with chocolate
cranberry
pumpkin spice with raisins
before baking
***
after baking
and what goes great with warm bagels fresh from the oven?
Nutella.
mmmmmm.....
What is your favorite kind of bagel? I need some ideas for what to try next week!
The Power of the List
I have a secret.
I have this amazing ability to be aimlessly, utterly unproductive. I'm talking still wearing pajamas and haven't brushed my hair at 5:00 unproductive. Usually that occurs on Fridays because I don't work on Fridays. I can sleep in and do what I want because I don't have anywhere to be. Despite the fact that it seems near impossible to not get in a workout and get lots of stuff accomplished on a day when I don't work....it happens.
I started to get really bothered by my lack of motivation and the increasing number of Fridays that passed without getting anything accomplished. I felt like I was wasting precious days of having the apartment to myself, yet not doing anything remotely useful.
I decided I need an intervention.
Enter: the list.
Making a list has this incredible power over me because I crave the satisfaction of passing my permanent black sharpie over an item that I have completed. I go so far as to write "extra" things on the list, like make the bed & shower, just so I can have more to cross off. Those kinds of things should be a given, yet it feels so good to cross them off when they're done.
Yesterday I made a list of all things I wanted to get accomplished which included grocery shopping, returning bottles and getting more water from the beverage store, reading aan incredibly long and boring chapter in my text for homework, working out, taking out the trash, cleaning the bathrooms, and doing laundry. Whew! Lots of things to get done, but I crossed off each and every one! It felt so good to have a productive day and I give all the credit to my little list.
It sucks to feel disorganized and unroductive.
It feels great to look at a list with every item crossed off, knowing that the laundry is clean folded and put away, that the fridge is full of groceries, the apartment is clean, the toilets have been scrubbed, the homework is done, my body has worked hard, and I can look back at my day and know that it was not a waste.
I love the power of the list.
I have this amazing ability to be aimlessly, utterly unproductive. I'm talking still wearing pajamas and haven't brushed my hair at 5:00 unproductive. Usually that occurs on Fridays because I don't work on Fridays. I can sleep in and do what I want because I don't have anywhere to be. Despite the fact that it seems near impossible to not get in a workout and get lots of stuff accomplished on a day when I don't work....it happens.
I started to get really bothered by my lack of motivation and the increasing number of Fridays that passed without getting anything accomplished. I felt like I was wasting precious days of having the apartment to myself, yet not doing anything remotely useful.
I decided I need an intervention.
Enter: the list.
Making a list has this incredible power over me because I crave the satisfaction of passing my permanent black sharpie over an item that I have completed. I go so far as to write "extra" things on the list, like make the bed & shower, just so I can have more to cross off. Those kinds of things should be a given, yet it feels so good to cross them off when they're done.
Yesterday I made a list of all things I wanted to get accomplished which included grocery shopping, returning bottles and getting more water from the beverage store, reading a
It sucks to feel disorganized and unroductive.
It feels great to look at a list with every item crossed off, knowing that the laundry is clean folded and put away, that the fridge is full of groceries, the apartment is clean, the toilets have been scrubbed, the homework is done, my body has worked hard, and I can look back at my day and know that it was not a waste.
I love the power of the list.
Sad Face
I have some sad news for the day. My mom's kitty Lucy, who was my childhood pet, was put to sleep today because she was fighting some medical problems and not doing so well. It was such a hard decision for my mom to make because she loves her pets so much, but we were starting to notice that the quality of her life was diminishing. I still remember the day my dad brought her home in his big truck, telling me that she sat on his lap the entire way home. She was the tiniest gray ball of fluff and drank from a baby bottle when she was really young. She used to sleep on my bed every night in a little wicker basket and sometimes she would have "sleepovers" in my mom's room. I would carry her basket in there and she would get to stay the night.
My husband is allergic to pet dander, so I no longer have any pets. It is sad to lose the ones that I loved growing up becauese I know I can't have more. My mom had warned me that things were not looking good for Lucy when I was home during the holidays, so I am happy that I at least got to say goodbye and give her some last pets and kisses. Although I have not lived at home for quite some time, she was my pet for 19 years, so it's a sad day...
My husband is allergic to pet dander, so I no longer have any pets. It is sad to lose the ones that I loved growing up becauese I know I can't have more. My mom had warned me that things were not looking good for Lucy when I was home during the holidays, so I am happy that I at least got to say goodbye and give her some last pets and kisses. Although I have not lived at home for quite some time, she was my pet for 19 years, so it's a sad day...
Still in the works....
I am still trying to create a new blog design, but I have lots of reservations about actually installing it on this blog. It looks pretty good on the test blog, but when I cut and pasted the html code to this blog and just previewed it, some things were not looking right. Since I did not design what I currently have, I would have no way of reverting back to it once I start making changes., so I am not feeling ready to commit to that quite yet!
So for now....you can see my new blog design here...and hopefully someday I will get brave enough to move it over and work out all the kinks.
I really wanted to design a custom header and since I don't have any cool programs, I just used Microsoft Word and then printed the image, scanned it, and uploaded it to my computer. The image came out a little grainy, but it's a start. I think it came out cute. I really want my blog to reflect my personality so I am having a lot of fun making tweaks here and there, so you can see a little bit more of my personality in the changes.
I promise to post about something more interesting tomorrow!
So for now....you can see my new blog design here...and hopefully someday I will get brave enough to move it over and work out all the kinks.
I really wanted to design a custom header and since I don't have any cool programs, I just used Microsoft Word and then printed the image, scanned it, and uploaded it to my computer. The image came out a little grainy, but it's a start. I think it came out cute. I really want my blog to reflect my personality so I am having a lot of fun making tweaks here and there, so you can see a little bit more of my personality in the changes.
I promise to post about something more interesting tomorrow!
Hooray!
Notice anything super exciting?
I figured out how to add a super cute font for my post titles and the date!! Woot Woot! I played around a bit on my "test blog" and once I was successful, I decided to be daring and change my real blog. I tried out two different fonts and decided that I liked this one better because the first was too thin and not bold enough to give the titles the true pizzazz they deserve. I was so intimidated by the tutorial yesterday, but I actually pulled it off.
Interested in giving it a try? Here is the tutorial I used.
Now that I have mastered super cute fonts, I really want to figure out how to make a cute collage-ish header that incorporates different elements from the everything-to-do-with-teaching scrapbook kit I downloaded from Aja Abney. I am thinking that I will need one of those fancy design programs and I know that some are free, but I haven't found one yet that works with a Mac. Any ideas? I don't want to buy one yet because I want to investigate a little bit and maybe just try my hand at it before I spend money. I just want to be able to play around with the design and make the header lots more fun and exciting.
This is so addicting! Check out the custom signature I made too!
I would also like to mention my excitement at now having 90 followers! That's only 10 lovely bloggies away from the big 1-0-0! Never in a gazillion years did I imagine when I started blogging that I would have that many people interested in what I have to say. It's funny, at this point I can't even remember what life was like before blogging! I enjoy it so much and live life with posting on my mind! I always look forward to sharing something about my day and different tidbits about teaching. I also really look forward to seeing what my bloggy buddies have been up to and I don't know what I would do without this great format for connecting with so many different, amazingy wonderful and fantabulous people.
I figured out how to add a super cute font for my post titles and the date!! Woot Woot! I played around a bit on my "test blog" and once I was successful, I decided to be daring and change my real blog. I tried out two different fonts and decided that I liked this one better because the first was too thin and not bold enough to give the titles the true pizzazz they deserve. I was so intimidated by the tutorial yesterday, but I actually pulled it off.
Interested in giving it a try? Here is the tutorial I used.
Now that I have mastered super cute fonts, I really want to figure out how to make a cute collage-ish header that incorporates different elements from the everything-to-do-with-teaching scrapbook kit I downloaded from Aja Abney. I am thinking that I will need one of those fancy design programs and I know that some are free, but I haven't found one yet that works with a Mac. Any ideas? I don't want to buy one yet because I want to investigate a little bit and maybe just try my hand at it before I spend money. I just want to be able to play around with the design and make the header lots more fun and exciting.
This is so addicting! Check out the custom signature I made too!
I would also like to mention my excitement at now having 90 followers! That's only 10 lovely bloggies away from the big 1-0-0! Never in a gazillion years did I imagine when I started blogging that I would have that many people interested in what I have to say. It's funny, at this point I can't even remember what life was like before blogging! I enjoy it so much and live life with posting on my mind! I always look forward to sharing something about my day and different tidbits about teaching. I also really look forward to seeing what my bloggy buddies have been up to and I don't know what I would do without this great format for connecting with so many different, amazingy wonderful and fantabulous people.
Seriously...I'm in AWE
Today I became slightly obsessed with the notion of learning how to do my own blog design. It seems like such an amazingly cool thing to know how to do that I thought I would give it a stab. Some very nice bloggers out there actually took the time to write and post detailed descripions/instructions for how to do things like making custom signatures, inserting a custom background, and adding some graphics.
Thanks to the help of this site, this site, and this site (where I found out about those other two sites), I was able to learn some great stuff. I decided that rather than mess around with the beautiful template on this blog that was designed by Leslie (who by the way is a very cool teacher/blog designer on the side who does fantastic work that I could never in a million years live up to, but I still want to try...), I would create a new blog just for messin' around. That way, I can try some things and have a place designated just for learning until I actually get the hang of it enough to really change my design....
So, I created a new blog which you can find here. Take a look and let me know what you think of the design elements that are on there so far! I have to say, it was completely, utterly, and seriously addicing to play around with this stuff today! I can see why people get so into it! It took me such a long time to figure out the few elements that are there...hence the title of today's post....I'm in AWE of those who have the mad skills to do awesome blog designing!
Thanks to the help of this site, this site, and this site (where I found out about those other two sites), I was able to learn some great stuff. I decided that rather than mess around with the beautiful template on this blog that was designed by Leslie (who by the way is a very cool teacher/blog designer on the side who does fantastic work that I could never in a million years live up to, but I still want to try...), I would create a new blog just for messin' around. That way, I can try some things and have a place designated just for learning until I actually get the hang of it enough to really change my design....
So, I created a new blog which you can find here. Take a look and let me know what you think of the design elements that are on there so far! I have to say, it was completely, utterly, and seriously addicing to play around with this stuff today! I can see why people get so into it! It took me such a long time to figure out the few elements that are there...hence the title of today's post....I'm in AWE of those who have the mad skills to do awesome blog designing!
Why I love Mondays
One good reason to love Mondays is that I work with my animal loving, fourth grade friend. She is the only student that I am currently working with that I pull out of the classroom, which means she is the only student for whom I actually get to choose what to teach/what activities to do.
In December we worked on the story A New Coat for Anna and last week we read Koala Lou.
Since report cards are going home next week, my friend's teacher asked if I would do a running record on her so we could evaluate her progress and how she is doing in reading. My school subscribes to the Reading A to Z site, so I was able to pull off a story at her level with an accompanying running record sheet and comprehension questions sheet. The convenience of Reading A to Z is great, but I dislike the lack of authenticity of most of the stories. They are okay, but they lack the spirit of real children's books, so I only like to use them for assessments. The rest of the time, we read real literature.
My little friend read the story at level K, which is definitely below the 4th grade level where she should be. I want to say that according to the website. level K is more appropriate for a 1st or 2nd grader. She read the first few pages out loud to me while I furiously recorded her correct words with checkmarks and documented her errors on the appropriate column. This particular running record has a column to record errors and another column to record self corrections. Then there are two more columns where you are supposed to write MSV and circle what type of error was made or what skill was used to correct the error (meaning, syntax, or visual).
My friend made 19 errors. For every 8 words she read correctly, she made approximately 1 error. Not bad. Her accuracy was 88%. Again, not bad. She had a little trouble with the names of the characters and kept referring to the dog "Duffy" as "Buffy," but in the land of running records, only the first error on a proper name counts and the rest do not.
What fascinated me the most, or I should say, what made me the most proud was that despite the errors (most of which were visual meaning substituting a word like "there" for "where" or "break" for "bark"), my little friend got every single comprehension question correct.
She rocked it out.
After reading the first few pages out loud to me, she read the rest of the story silently. When she was finished, I asked her the questions on the comprehension sheet (which are accompanied by acceptable answers in case the teacher cannot determine whether or not the answer is sufficient...as if teachers do not know what they are doing...). Anywho, there are three different types of questions: text-based, inferences, and critical thinking. Not only was she was able to remember simple pieces of information from the story, but she was able to critically think about a question and provide a response with an extended answer based on her own background knowledge.
Yes, this student is not at grade level.
Yes, she makes errors when she reads and her fluency is not quite there.
Yes, she requires extra practice and assistance when it comes to reading.
and Yes, despite her disability (dyslexia), she gets meaning from text, which is fantastic.
Isn't constructing meaning the most important, overall goal of reading??
Although it is satisfying and excellent when students are at benchmark in their fluency and decoding, being champions in these areas does not necessarily indicate excellent comprehension. Have you ever come across a student that was a super speed demon that could read an incredibly large number of correct words per minute, yet couldn't remember a single detail about the passage and didn't have a clue what was just read?
I ask you, which is better?
Flawless reading without understanding...or...a rocky road marked by comprehension?
I know that typically errors lead to a decrease in comprehension because they interfere with the flow which interferes with the student's ability to make sense of the text and put it all togehter to get the whole picture. I get that. In the case of my little friend, because of her disability, and how her brain is functioning when she reads (her brain is using different areas and working harder than the typical person's brain has to work when reading), the fact that she can read a text and have high comprehension is a great, great thing.
We need to work on some strategies such a re-reading, using context clues to figure out unknown words, stopping at unknown words and asking for clarification or using a dictionary to discover the meaning so that her comprehension remains at a high level even when she moves onto harder, perhaps grade level texts. She still needs to practice and improve her fluency and decrease her errors when reading, but honestly, reading aloud is not the be-all-end-all of life.
Working with this friend brings me back to the past three years when I taught my first grade friends how to read. I cherish the moments when I can be part of that learning process for my new friend because there is nothing better than helping someone acquire the skills to be an indepdent reader, no matter what their age!
In December we worked on the story A New Coat for Anna and last week we read Koala Lou.
Since report cards are going home next week, my friend's teacher asked if I would do a running record on her so we could evaluate her progress and how she is doing in reading. My school subscribes to the Reading A to Z site, so I was able to pull off a story at her level with an accompanying running record sheet and comprehension questions sheet. The convenience of Reading A to Z is great, but I dislike the lack of authenticity of most of the stories. They are okay, but they lack the spirit of real children's books, so I only like to use them for assessments. The rest of the time, we read real literature.
My little friend read the story at level K, which is definitely below the 4th grade level where she should be. I want to say that according to the website. level K is more appropriate for a 1st or 2nd grader. She read the first few pages out loud to me while I furiously recorded her correct words with checkmarks and documented her errors on the appropriate column. This particular running record has a column to record errors and another column to record self corrections. Then there are two more columns where you are supposed to write MSV and circle what type of error was made or what skill was used to correct the error (meaning, syntax, or visual).
My friend made 19 errors. For every 8 words she read correctly, she made approximately 1 error. Not bad. Her accuracy was 88%. Again, not bad. She had a little trouble with the names of the characters and kept referring to the dog "Duffy" as "Buffy," but in the land of running records, only the first error on a proper name counts and the rest do not.
What fascinated me the most, or I should say, what made me the most proud was that despite the errors (most of which were visual meaning substituting a word like "there" for "where" or "break" for "bark"), my little friend got every single comprehension question correct.
She rocked it out.
After reading the first few pages out loud to me, she read the rest of the story silently. When she was finished, I asked her the questions on the comprehension sheet (which are accompanied by acceptable answers in case the teacher cannot determine whether or not the answer is sufficient...as if teachers do not know what they are doing...). Anywho, there are three different types of questions: text-based, inferences, and critical thinking. Not only was she was able to remember simple pieces of information from the story, but she was able to critically think about a question and provide a response with an extended answer based on her own background knowledge.
Yes, this student is not at grade level.
Yes, she makes errors when she reads and her fluency is not quite there.
Yes, she requires extra practice and assistance when it comes to reading.
and Yes, despite her disability (dyslexia), she gets meaning from text, which is fantastic.
Isn't constructing meaning the most important, overall goal of reading??
Although it is satisfying and excellent when students are at benchmark in their fluency and decoding, being champions in these areas does not necessarily indicate excellent comprehension. Have you ever come across a student that was a super speed demon that could read an incredibly large number of correct words per minute, yet couldn't remember a single detail about the passage and didn't have a clue what was just read?
I ask you, which is better?
Flawless reading without understanding...or...a rocky road marked by comprehension?
I know that typically errors lead to a decrease in comprehension because they interfere with the flow which interferes with the student's ability to make sense of the text and put it all togehter to get the whole picture. I get that. In the case of my little friend, because of her disability, and how her brain is functioning when she reads (her brain is using different areas and working harder than the typical person's brain has to work when reading), the fact that she can read a text and have high comprehension is a great, great thing.
We need to work on some strategies such a re-reading, using context clues to figure out unknown words, stopping at unknown words and asking for clarification or using a dictionary to discover the meaning so that her comprehension remains at a high level even when she moves onto harder, perhaps grade level texts. She still needs to practice and improve her fluency and decrease her errors when reading, but honestly, reading aloud is not the be-all-end-all of life.
Working with this friend brings me back to the past three years when I taught my first grade friends how to read. I cherish the moments when I can be part of that learning process for my new friend because there is nothing better than helping someone acquire the skills to be an indepdent reader, no matter what their age!
Sometimes I miss it...
I have posted before about my surprise and satisfaction at how great it has been working with middle school students. While I antipated eyerolls, annoyance, sarcasm and hormones, I was pleasantly surprised by polite, appreciative, accepting, very nice kids. Although I am really enjoying my work with students in this age group, I have to say that sometimes I really miss my litte ones.
I taught first grade for three years and pre-school the year before that. One of the huge differences between these older students and the younger ones of my past is the fact that little kids just need more help. Simply put. They need their teachers more. Whether it is for academics, shoe tying, problem solving, or container opening the frequent beckoning of, "teacher! teacher!" definitely always made me feel needed.
Not to mention, not a day went by when I didn't get a hug. Most likely several.
Middle schoolers need help, but not in the same way. It's just not as satisfying to point out that there is another multiplcation strategy they might want to put to use than it is to zip a jacket or punch the straw in the Capri Sun. I guess I really enjoyed the care taking part of teaching. Helping these little people get through the day, being a surrogate mom of sorts who not only teaches them, but helps them with other needs as well.
Not to mention, middle schoolers don't hug. Well, they probably hug each other, but not so much their teachers. I miss those hugs. I miss those excited faces that came to school with discombobulated stories of events that happened at home either the previous night or that morning.
Dare I say, I miss the wiggles?
My job now is different. I don't get to be with the same little group day in and day out. If you are a teacher, you know that your class becomes a team, a family of sorts, and that is a nice feeling. If you are absent, you are greatly missed! You feel like the class just might fall apart in your absence which is why you create lesson plans so detailed that you practically tell the substiute everything he/she should do including when and where to breathe. Having your own class truly is a treasure and a wonderful experience despite all those moments when you absolutely want to rip your hair out. It is in those moments when a quick hug from a student who takes you by surprise by wrapping their little arms around your bottom half, or a little drawing showing you and your little friend in crayon representations make every moment of teaching worthwhile.
I miss those things.
I miss my little ones.
I taught first grade for three years and pre-school the year before that. One of the huge differences between these older students and the younger ones of my past is the fact that little kids just need more help. Simply put. They need their teachers more. Whether it is for academics, shoe tying, problem solving, or container opening the frequent beckoning of, "teacher! teacher!" definitely always made me feel needed.
Not to mention, not a day went by when I didn't get a hug. Most likely several.
Middle schoolers need help, but not in the same way. It's just not as satisfying to point out that there is another multiplcation strategy they might want to put to use than it is to zip a jacket or punch the straw in the Capri Sun. I guess I really enjoyed the care taking part of teaching. Helping these little people get through the day, being a surrogate mom of sorts who not only teaches them, but helps them with other needs as well.
Not to mention, middle schoolers don't hug. Well, they probably hug each other, but not so much their teachers. I miss those hugs. I miss those excited faces that came to school with discombobulated stories of events that happened at home either the previous night or that morning.
Dare I say, I miss the wiggles?
My job now is different. I don't get to be with the same little group day in and day out. If you are a teacher, you know that your class becomes a team, a family of sorts, and that is a nice feeling. If you are absent, you are greatly missed! You feel like the class just might fall apart in your absence which is why you create lesson plans so detailed that you practically tell the substiute everything he/she should do including when and where to breathe. Having your own class truly is a treasure and a wonderful experience despite all those moments when you absolutely want to rip your hair out. It is in those moments when a quick hug from a student who takes you by surprise by wrapping their little arms around your bottom half, or a little drawing showing you and your little friend in crayon representations make every moment of teaching worthwhile.
I miss those things.
I miss my little ones.
motivation, tests, and memorization
Remember how I failed my German driving test? Well on Tuesday, I have to give it another try. We have 60 different practice tests sitting on the table just waiting to be completed and studied. I absolutely, under no circumstances want to have to take this test a third time, which means on Tuesday I need to pass.
Now, given the fact that I don't drive much at all here in Germany because my daily life encompasses a school, grocery store, and gym that are all within a very short distance from our apartment, I know that passing this test is just a matter of getting it done. For all intensive purposes I just need to memorize the answers to the questions and regurgitate them during the exam. Growing up, this was exactly how I learned. I am really good at memorizing and was always able to perform well on test day. The problem was...if you asked me about the information a few weeks..no, even a few days later, I would probably not remember. I went through most of my schooling with this process of learning and realized too late in life that getting good grades was not equivalent with actually learning. Recently, I was at home and I came across some work I had done in high school and some papers I had written. I had absolutely no recollection of ever completing them or the information they pertained to! Jeez! I was pretty impressed with my writing skills--even back then, yet I had no connection to what I had learned at the time.
That is not good.
You would think that I would be pumped about the opportunity to demonstrate knowledge that does not require me to analyze, rethink, apply, synthesize, and masticate knowledge in order to formulate my own ideas and perspectives, like all the assignments I have been working on for my doctoral courses, but in recent years, I have completely changed my attitude regarding what it means to truly learn.
I hate that I missed out on so much authentic learning because I was complacent with just memorizing information in order to spit it back to the teacher and get the A's I so badly coveted. Now, I am not saying I don't still enjoy getting A's, quite the contrary, it is what I expect from myself, but the A's I earn now are worth a lot more to me because they are accompanied by a deeper understanding of what I am learning about. I care about the themes, topics, and discoveries that I make. I seek out additional information, and I am constantly driven to learn more. I know that everything I learn will have an impact on the person that I am and the super teacher that I am still working on becoming.
I no longer want to learn disconnected facts.
I am no longer happy to know a piece of information without having a solid understanding of the how and why.
I feel like memorizing robs me of true awareness and conern for what goes on in the world.
Because of this, I am absolutely, 100% unmotivated to study for this stinkin' driving test.When I leave the test, I will forget the answers and it will in no way make me a better or safer driver. This exercise does not have any meaning to me, therefore I am simply uninterested!
So, rather than just complaining, which makes for a Debbie Downer blog post, I am going to take this as a learning experience that helps me to connect with students and become a better teacher. I went through 13 years of schooling, succeeding and doing exceptionally well. I got mostly A's and I was number 7 in my graduating class of about 150 students. In spite of that, sometimes I feel like in the grand scheme of things I am not that smart.
I was just good at school.
I don't want my students to only be good at school. I want them to be good at learning and good at life. I want them to be invested and invigorated by learning and all the prospects life has to offer. Some students that are not "good at school" have a lot of perspective, knowledge, and experience that makes them smarter than I will ever be, so I hope to foster that rather than letting them feel like failures for not acing every test or being at "grade level" or beyond.
Getting all the correct answers on a multiple choice test does not make you smart.
I will keep this in mind as I continue in my career as a teacher, crafting assignments and learning tasks that reflect thinking and learning rather than memorizing. If students repeat back exactly what I have said, I will consider myself a failure because I want to encourage them to do their own thinking and formulate their own convictions.
Maybe this is all just a huge pep talk for myself so that if I do fail again, I won't feel as defeated, but for me, learning has gone so far beyond memorizing that I feel like I won't beat myself up. Real life is not multiple choice and I think that is really important to keep in mind when this kind of testing is becoming more and more prevalent in the lives of students.
Now, given the fact that I don't drive much at all here in Germany because my daily life encompasses a school, grocery store, and gym that are all within a very short distance from our apartment, I know that passing this test is just a matter of getting it done. For all intensive purposes I just need to memorize the answers to the questions and regurgitate them during the exam. Growing up, this was exactly how I learned. I am really good at memorizing and was always able to perform well on test day. The problem was...if you asked me about the information a few weeks..no, even a few days later, I would probably not remember. I went through most of my schooling with this process of learning and realized too late in life that getting good grades was not equivalent with actually learning. Recently, I was at home and I came across some work I had done in high school and some papers I had written. I had absolutely no recollection of ever completing them or the information they pertained to! Jeez! I was pretty impressed with my writing skills--even back then, yet I had no connection to what I had learned at the time.
That is not good.
You would think that I would be pumped about the opportunity to demonstrate knowledge that does not require me to analyze, rethink, apply, synthesize, and masticate knowledge in order to formulate my own ideas and perspectives, like all the assignments I have been working on for my doctoral courses, but in recent years, I have completely changed my attitude regarding what it means to truly learn.
I hate that I missed out on so much authentic learning because I was complacent with just memorizing information in order to spit it back to the teacher and get the A's I so badly coveted. Now, I am not saying I don't still enjoy getting A's, quite the contrary, it is what I expect from myself, but the A's I earn now are worth a lot more to me because they are accompanied by a deeper understanding of what I am learning about. I care about the themes, topics, and discoveries that I make. I seek out additional information, and I am constantly driven to learn more. I know that everything I learn will have an impact on the person that I am and the super teacher that I am still working on becoming.
I no longer want to learn disconnected facts.
I am no longer happy to know a piece of information without having a solid understanding of the how and why.
I feel like memorizing robs me of true awareness and conern for what goes on in the world.
Because of this, I am absolutely, 100% unmotivated to study for this stinkin' driving test.When I leave the test, I will forget the answers and it will in no way make me a better or safer driver. This exercise does not have any meaning to me, therefore I am simply uninterested!
So, rather than just complaining, which makes for a Debbie Downer blog post, I am going to take this as a learning experience that helps me to connect with students and become a better teacher. I went through 13 years of schooling, succeeding and doing exceptionally well. I got mostly A's and I was number 7 in my graduating class of about 150 students. In spite of that, sometimes I feel like in the grand scheme of things I am not that smart.
I was just good at school.
I don't want my students to only be good at school. I want them to be good at learning and good at life. I want them to be invested and invigorated by learning and all the prospects life has to offer. Some students that are not "good at school" have a lot of perspective, knowledge, and experience that makes them smarter than I will ever be, so I hope to foster that rather than letting them feel like failures for not acing every test or being at "grade level" or beyond.
Getting all the correct answers on a multiple choice test does not make you smart.
I will keep this in mind as I continue in my career as a teacher, crafting assignments and learning tasks that reflect thinking and learning rather than memorizing. If students repeat back exactly what I have said, I will consider myself a failure because I want to encourage them to do their own thinking and formulate their own convictions.
Maybe this is all just a huge pep talk for myself so that if I do fail again, I won't feel as defeated, but for me, learning has gone so far beyond memorizing that I feel like I won't beat myself up. Real life is not multiple choice and I think that is really important to keep in mind when this kind of testing is becoming more and more prevalent in the lives of students.
Something to talk about...
"We cant' teach what we don't know,
and
we can't lead where we wont go"
-Malcolm X
Desperate Housewives Anyone?
Does anyone else watch Desperate Housewives? I love it, but the last episode was far from awesome. I actually thought it was quite weird/bad. All the daydreams about what might have been...I just wasn't really feeling it.
Anyway, for those of you who watch, the scene with Lynette and her son with disabilities completely irked me. It was somewhat uncomfortable for me to watch. Yet, when she pushed her son to make his own sandwich rather than relying on her to do everything for him, the smile that ensued on his face absolutely melted my heart. Then, when it skipped to his high school graduation, and he was the valedictorian...I completely lost it. I was hit with such a wave of emotion that I was literally shielding my face from my husband because I didn't want him to see my crying so hard.
I kept thinking in my head...yes...YES...this is what I do...this is why I go to work everyday...I want to make a difference in the lives of kids who have disabilities, that sometimes get written off becaue they are different, that sometimes don't have the same high expectations placed on them because of those differences. I was so moved by the idea of a child with challenges overcoming them to shine in the spotlight. In that moment, with tears on my face, my heart was swelling with pride for all the students that I have taught that have struggled, who have achieved goals, made progress, and experienced success. Tammy and Kelly whose faces lit up when they realized they won the gold medal in the bocce competition, Henry who no longer needs a completely different curriculum because he gets algebra now, Miss Maria who learned to be part of the class instead of wandering to the back table to engage her own class of invisible pupils in a Maria led mini-lesson, Sean who rocked out his sight words, and many more. Whether it's improving fine motor skills enough to tie a shoe or improving their reading level, any victory is special. These victories, big or small, touch my heart at the deepest possible level.
So, for as bad as I thought the episode was, it absolutely reinvigerated my love for special education and my passion for teaching students with disabilities.
Anyway, for those of you who watch, the scene with Lynette and her son with disabilities completely irked me. It was somewhat uncomfortable for me to watch. Yet, when she pushed her son to make his own sandwich rather than relying on her to do everything for him, the smile that ensued on his face absolutely melted my heart. Then, when it skipped to his high school graduation, and he was the valedictorian...I completely lost it. I was hit with such a wave of emotion that I was literally shielding my face from my husband because I didn't want him to see my crying so hard.
I kept thinking in my head...yes...YES...this is what I do...this is why I go to work everyday...I want to make a difference in the lives of kids who have disabilities, that sometimes get written off becaue they are different, that sometimes don't have the same high expectations placed on them because of those differences. I was so moved by the idea of a child with challenges overcoming them to shine in the spotlight. In that moment, with tears on my face, my heart was swelling with pride for all the students that I have taught that have struggled, who have achieved goals, made progress, and experienced success. Tammy and Kelly whose faces lit up when they realized they won the gold medal in the bocce competition, Henry who no longer needs a completely different curriculum because he gets algebra now, Miss Maria who learned to be part of the class instead of wandering to the back table to engage her own class of invisible pupils in a Maria led mini-lesson, Sean who rocked out his sight words, and many more. Whether it's improving fine motor skills enough to tie a shoe or improving their reading level, any victory is special. These victories, big or small, touch my heart at the deepest possible level.
So, for as bad as I thought the episode was, it absolutely reinvigerated my love for special education and my passion for teaching students with disabilities.
My first quilt!
My grandmother makes beautiful quilts. She made me one when I was in high school and then she made another one for my husband and me when we got married. She enters her quilts in competitions and her work is beautiful.
I regret never asking her to teach me when she lived close to me. I was so young then, it never occurred to me. She moved to Florida when I was in second grade, so although I got to appreciate the things she made for me, I never got to chance to learn from her.
Now, I see the meaning in her work and I want to learn.
Luckily, I have Lucinda.
She is one of the women I met in the International Women's Group here in Germany and she is also an extremely talented quilter. Each of the beds in her apartment is covered with a unique quilt and her creations decorate her walls as well. I am in awe! I was thrilled when she told me that she gives lessons--even to super beginners who know nothing about quilting (or sewing for that matter!)
Before I went home to the US, Lucinda taught me a little bit about selecting quilting fabric and showed me some different designs/patterns. The fabric in Germany is quite expensive, so she recommended buying it while I was in the states.
My mom and I went to JoAnn fabrics, but for an amateur, it was really overwhelming because there is so much stuff. I looked at a lot of fabrics, but did not find anything that really jumped out. I am going to make a baby quilt, but I don't actually have a baby, or even a baby on the way, so I didn't really have any particular inspiration or theme in mind. I was on the lookout for a print with zoo or farm animals because I figured that was gender neutral enough while still being really cute.
JoAnn's turned out to be a flop.
I recalled the recommendation of a family friend, who said that smaller quilt shops are far superior. My mom and I looked up the ones she recommended and set out to find the perfect fabric. Since it takes a long time to make a quilt, Lucinda said it is very important to be in love with your chosen fabric because you end up looking at it a lot!
We found a little quilt shop tucked away in Bethel, CT and the owner was really helpful. Aren't small businesses great? The fabric was a little more expensive than at JoAnn's, but I knew the quality and selection would be better.
With Lucinda's coaching in mind, I searched through rows and rows, bolt after bolt to find my fabric.
I am so happy with what I found and I think that despite my newbie status as a quilter, that I did a pretty good job selecting coordinating prints. Lucinda said to pick one "main" fabric that I really love and then choose 4 or 5 other fabrics that coordinate. The other fabrics should have very small prints.
I am really excited to get started and I wonder how long it will take to finish?! I think the most exciting part about making this is that I feel like I am doing it for my grandma and I can't wait to show her my handiwork!
I regret never asking her to teach me when she lived close to me. I was so young then, it never occurred to me. She moved to Florida when I was in second grade, so although I got to appreciate the things she made for me, I never got to chance to learn from her.
Now, I see the meaning in her work and I want to learn.
Luckily, I have Lucinda.
She is one of the women I met in the International Women's Group here in Germany and she is also an extremely talented quilter. Each of the beds in her apartment is covered with a unique quilt and her creations decorate her walls as well. I am in awe! I was thrilled when she told me that she gives lessons--even to super beginners who know nothing about quilting (or sewing for that matter!)
Before I went home to the US, Lucinda taught me a little bit about selecting quilting fabric and showed me some different designs/patterns. The fabric in Germany is quite expensive, so she recommended buying it while I was in the states.
My mom and I went to JoAnn fabrics, but for an amateur, it was really overwhelming because there is so much stuff. I looked at a lot of fabrics, but did not find anything that really jumped out. I am going to make a baby quilt, but I don't actually have a baby, or even a baby on the way, so I didn't really have any particular inspiration or theme in mind. I was on the lookout for a print with zoo or farm animals because I figured that was gender neutral enough while still being really cute.
JoAnn's turned out to be a flop.
I recalled the recommendation of a family friend, who said that smaller quilt shops are far superior. My mom and I looked up the ones she recommended and set out to find the perfect fabric. Since it takes a long time to make a quilt, Lucinda said it is very important to be in love with your chosen fabric because you end up looking at it a lot!
We found a little quilt shop tucked away in Bethel, CT and the owner was really helpful. Aren't small businesses great? The fabric was a little more expensive than at JoAnn's, but I knew the quality and selection would be better.
With Lucinda's coaching in mind, I searched through rows and rows, bolt after bolt to find my fabric.
I am so happy with what I found and I think that despite my newbie status as a quilter, that I did a pretty good job selecting coordinating prints. Lucinda said to pick one "main" fabric that I really love and then choose 4 or 5 other fabrics that coordinate. The other fabrics should have very small prints.
This is what I came up with.
Even though this color scheme is not super girly, per se, I think the a Noah's Arc theme is really cute for either a girl or a boy. I love this one as the main fabric.
The coordinating prints:
smaller "coordinating" version of the main print. I love that it goes, but that it is smaller which follows the rules :0)
doesn't this one look like waves? Perfect match for the Noah's Arc theme...this one will be for the back of the quilt.
close up of some of the cute animals
**those came out pretty dark, but the flash was making big bright spots so no flash was the better option**
I am really excited to get started and I wonder how long it will take to finish?! I think the most exciting part about making this is that I feel like I am doing it for my grandma and I can't wait to show her my handiwork!
Are you crafty?
Do you sew?
What is your favorite crafty project or something that you are dying to learn how to do?
Bummer!
Yesterday was my first day of my 2010 exercise plan in action. I went to the gym and did 40 minutes of weight lifting and then did some mat pilates while I watched TV with my husband. Normally, I would do the actual buns/thighs video, but it got late and I figured I could kill two birds...
There is a lovely soreness in my arms and legs today that makes me super duper proud of my get fit efforts yesterday.
I am so disappointed though, because despite my motivation to get this new workout plan going, I am feeling awful today! I had trouble sleeping last night and felt a cold coming on this morning. Today was one of those days when I was really glad to not be a classroom teacher because I had a big break in my schedule during which I went home and took a little snooze on the couch. Before I went back to school for my afternoon schedule, I took a day time Sudafed. During my 2:00 class I started to feel extremely sick/nauteous and literally thought, oh no, I am going to throw up in the classroom! (If you read one of my recent posts, you may remember my extreme displeasure for vomiting...did you know that there is actually a name for the fear of vomiting??? emetephobia. too funny!)
Anyway, I breathed my way through and left school right after my last class. I went home, ate some bread, sipped some water, and rested up. I am feeling better, but not in any way up for the biking/running on my exercise schedule.
Bummer!
Isn't that always the way...
Well, tomorrow is a national holiday in Germany, so both my husband and I have the day off. Good timing because I would hate to take a sick day two days in after a two week break. Hopefully, I am not sick and getting some rest will help.
On the bright side, my feeling icky results in hubby getting his own dinner and me not having to prepare something.
There is a lovely soreness in my arms and legs today that makes me super duper proud of my get fit efforts yesterday.
I am so disappointed though, because despite my motivation to get this new workout plan going, I am feeling awful today! I had trouble sleeping last night and felt a cold coming on this morning. Today was one of those days when I was really glad to not be a classroom teacher because I had a big break in my schedule during which I went home and took a little snooze on the couch. Before I went back to school for my afternoon schedule, I took a day time Sudafed. During my 2:00 class I started to feel extremely sick/nauteous and literally thought, oh no, I am going to throw up in the classroom! (If you read one of my recent posts, you may remember my extreme displeasure for vomiting...did you know that there is actually a name for the fear of vomiting??? emetephobia. too funny!)
Anyway, I breathed my way through and left school right after my last class. I went home, ate some bread, sipped some water, and rested up. I am feeling better, but not in any way up for the biking/running on my exercise schedule.
Bummer!
Isn't that always the way...
Well, tomorrow is a national holiday in Germany, so both my husband and I have the day off. Good timing because I would hate to take a sick day two days in after a two week break. Hopefully, I am not sick and getting some rest will help.
On the bright side, my feeling icky results in hubby getting his own dinner and me not having to prepare something.
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