Are my bones cracking? Well, not particularly - at least, no more than they were. No, I have decided that I have become the grumpy old English lady, with my increasing annoyance at fellow students cracking their knuckles......boy oh boy, do I hate it; and they ALL do it! Great kids, amazing minds, wonderful personalities, but they keep on popping and cracking those bones. The yawning without covering the gaping mouth is pretty annoying too.....but since that makes me REALLY sound old and grumpier than ever, we won't go there!
We could have quite a discourse on how much additional work I apparently give myself with my pages of notes taken during our reading homework, or how I just seem to worry far too much about everything; but that is my problem and I am working on it! Just as I need to face the fact that I will continue to overestimate my ability for what I can accomplish in any one single day....but that's ok, I am happy to be an optimist :)
To end this mini tirade, I will leave with my favorite quote of the week, from Jawanza Kunjufu:
"The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires."
Words to live by indeed.
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Sunday, January 15, 2012
First Week Over!
An interesting first week back at UNI.....so much easier knowing how to 'fit right in' starting the second semester than it was my first!
I love the cohort. Working with a small group, all motivated to be there, each with a distinct goal in mind, is so much more fun than sitting with a bunch of kids with attitude! The kids in my 4th grade home base class are a joy, and Katey, my partner is just wonderful - she, like me, is just happy to be in the classroom & is completely focused on working with the kids.
There is a negative though....one class, one professor.....if anyone might hurt my 4.0, it might be her. Not because the work should be hard, but because she has no apparent ability to explain, no interest in finding interesting ways to share information, and is so disorganized that her syllabus wasn't ready & the version that she finally emailed out was incomplete. She seems to be all about self-study, memorization & tests.......& what is sad is that this is our Level 2 Instruction class which includes our Teacher's Work Sample.......thank goodness I am in the cohort and will have some expert assistance that my fellow classmates will not have the advantage of having.
While I am busy complaining about her, she also made some quite offensive comments & showed considerable ignorance. I will do my best not to whine about her too much, but watch out for some documentation! Sadly, it might take the 45-year old complaining for 'them' to listen to; apparently many complaints have been made, but she still has tenure......I don't know, but I can tell you, I was appalled. What a shame, because every other class is one that I look forward to, and I love Lincoln elementary school!
I love the cohort. Working with a small group, all motivated to be there, each with a distinct goal in mind, is so much more fun than sitting with a bunch of kids with attitude! The kids in my 4th grade home base class are a joy, and Katey, my partner is just wonderful - she, like me, is just happy to be in the classroom & is completely focused on working with the kids.
There is a negative though....one class, one professor.....if anyone might hurt my 4.0, it might be her. Not because the work should be hard, but because she has no apparent ability to explain, no interest in finding interesting ways to share information, and is so disorganized that her syllabus wasn't ready & the version that she finally emailed out was incomplete. She seems to be all about self-study, memorization & tests.......& what is sad is that this is our Level 2 Instruction class which includes our Teacher's Work Sample.......thank goodness I am in the cohort and will have some expert assistance that my fellow classmates will not have the advantage of having.
While I am busy complaining about her, she also made some quite offensive comments & showed considerable ignorance. I will do my best not to whine about her too much, but watch out for some documentation! Sadly, it might take the 45-year old complaining for 'them' to listen to; apparently many complaints have been made, but she still has tenure......I don't know, but I can tell you, I was appalled. What a shame, because every other class is one that I look forward to, and I love Lincoln elementary school!
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Back to School!
Day two of the semester! On the one hand, it is so great to be back.....on the other hand, I am already tired as the juggling act begins once again. Hopefully I will get that pattern back quickly and be able to get everything on my schedule as I did last semester. Now that I have my new iPad I have no excuses for lack of organization; there is even a homework app!
Today was my first day with the cohort - fun to be in such a small group and to be able to sit in a classroom in a real school - hearing the sounds and seeing the sights of an elementary school. I met my homebase teacher quickly today; real introductions happen tomorrow.
The 16 of us that make up the cohort were split into small groups, each with certain responsibilities. My group (Katey, Megan, Mariah and myself) are the team responsible for setting up weekly 'shoptalks' where we invite teachers to come and talk to our whole group about the 'real experience' - to share stories, give advice and so forth. I had my daily reminder of my age as when we chose the group name 'Fab Four' (four of us.....all based with 4th grade this year)....and I commented 'and hey, I am from Liverpool, so even better'.....they all looked at me blankly. Yes, they had heard of the Beatles, but Fab Four? They had no idea that was where that came from!
Then, my second moment of ageism of the day came when I looked at my fellow students idea of professional dress. I mean, if I was that that cute, maybe I would be tempted to wear the mid-thigh, skin tight, psychedelic nylon dress.....but probably not as 'teacher wear' for elementary students! Thank goodness we aren't teaching high school.....there might have been an accident caused by stopped traffic in the hallway! Again, showing my age no doubt :)
Having said that though, I am really excited about all of the fellow students in the cohort - everyone seems really nice and as a 'handpicked' group that had to apply to be there, a very different group than I met in some of my GenEd classes last semester! This is going to be hard work, but a ton of fun!
Tomorrow I will be formally introduced to my 4th Grade class - I can't wait!!!!
Today was my first day with the cohort - fun to be in such a small group and to be able to sit in a classroom in a real school - hearing the sounds and seeing the sights of an elementary school. I met my homebase teacher quickly today; real introductions happen tomorrow.
The 16 of us that make up the cohort were split into small groups, each with certain responsibilities. My group (Katey, Megan, Mariah and myself) are the team responsible for setting up weekly 'shoptalks' where we invite teachers to come and talk to our whole group about the 'real experience' - to share stories, give advice and so forth. I had my daily reminder of my age as when we chose the group name 'Fab Four' (four of us.....all based with 4th grade this year)....and I commented 'and hey, I am from Liverpool, so even better'.....they all looked at me blankly. Yes, they had heard of the Beatles, but Fab Four? They had no idea that was where that came from!
Then, my second moment of ageism of the day came when I looked at my fellow students idea of professional dress. I mean, if I was that that cute, maybe I would be tempted to wear the mid-thigh, skin tight, psychedelic nylon dress.....but probably not as 'teacher wear' for elementary students! Thank goodness we aren't teaching high school.....there might have been an accident caused by stopped traffic in the hallway! Again, showing my age no doubt :)
Having said that though, I am really excited about all of the fellow students in the cohort - everyone seems really nice and as a 'handpicked' group that had to apply to be there, a very different group than I met in some of my GenEd classes last semester! This is going to be hard work, but a ton of fun!
Tomorrow I will be formally introduced to my 4th Grade class - I can't wait!!!!
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Semester starts tomorrow!
Well, last semester's grades no longer mean a thing (other than in my scholarship application process!!), as I start it all over again tomorrow with the start of the new semester.
I have been reading through the documents posted online & am getting pretty excited about the tasks ahead! The class assessments course looks fascinating - and from the look of the posted assignments, potentially quite all encompassing, with some stressful reports & essays ahead (here we go again), and the Lincoln cohort info sees me as having 4th grade as my primary classroom as well as being in the group that helps organize teacher advisement sessions as we students have the opportunity to learn side-by-side with 'real' teachers & students.
Here's to a great spring semester!
I have been reading through the documents posted online & am getting pretty excited about the tasks ahead! The class assessments course looks fascinating - and from the look of the posted assignments, potentially quite all encompassing, with some stressful reports & essays ahead (here we go again), and the Lincoln cohort info sees me as having 4th grade as my primary classroom as well as being in the group that helps organize teacher advisement sessions as we students have the opportunity to learn side-by-side with 'real' teachers & students.
Here's to a great spring semester!
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