Still here!

It has been so long since I posted; how easy it is to get out of the habit.....
Busy times, but with far more purpose than all the busy-work of all the gen ed classes of last semester. All core classes makes for more meaningful learning, for sure! The class I take this summer (ed tech & design) is one that I am really looking forward to, and next semester will be back at Lincoln! Even the class with the nightmare prof. this semester has good content, with a text book that contains interesting info.....shame I have to have the weekly three hours with the professor....it is PAINFUL!
My fellow students are great this time around too, with one or two standouts! I am still the nerd, but am mostly appreciated.....I hope! There is that one who claims that she doesn't need to do the readings because 'she learns nothing new', oh and the one who never does any homework (& yet maintains a 3.0.....no fair!!!), my cohort girls are the best!
I avoided the rant on the professor who gave everyone's project the same grade, regardless of work accomplished, or the complaining about the one who changed the rules AFTER I had worked ahead & followed the original criteria.......it went from an essay (which I did) to credit for attending a volunteer opportunity (which I also did)......I hate it when hard work is punished.....which circles right back to how you get a 3.0 while not working!!! See, managed to get a mini complaint in there, didn't I?!

Life carries on!

Quote of the week: "Be the girl you were too lazy to be yesterday."

I guess that I am pretty lucky to only have one class that I don't really enjoy this semester - and it is kind of a shame because it SHOULD be a good class - it is the one that goes along with Learning & Instruction....which is why I am 'here' after all! But I will make it through, and thanks to my supportive teacher friends & some really great professors, I will hopefully learn what needs to be learnt, even if the professor evidently is not too interested in making us successful! It just 'sucks' to be living the example of the cliche of the tenured professor who needs to either re-motivate herself or go ahead and retire - for everyone's sake!!

Other than that I am continuing to love life in the special cohort set up at Lincoln Elementary School in Waterloo. I am so happy that I took the plunge to apply for this program; spending 3 days in a real school is so motivating....I love my 4th grade home base class, and am spending far more than my minimum of 3 hours with them each week!!

This week I began my middle school experience. What fun working with 7th & 8th graders at DNH - and an interesting contrast with my 4th grade kids at Lincoln! Now I have a real dilemma, who do I want to teach anyway?! I love them all. I thrive on the constant change & complete experience of elementary, but I do enjoy that middle school age group :). Well, at least the double major means that I can take the job that might be available & enjoy what life hands me!!

So, maybe I will be a middle school English/Language Arts teacher, maybe I will have a kindergarten class.....who knows?!

Time moves forward..

Obviously! But seriously, I am not sure how we are already talking mid-terms & spring break; I feel as if we just started.
Having said that, I met with my advisor today & found myself conversing about classes in Fall of 2013 - yes, really! Forward thinking at its' best....
In the meantime, I taught my first whole group lesson at Lincoln last week. Simple stuff with a 'read-aloud' - preview, prediction & story time. My class was wonderful, and I am finding that I enjoy them as much as my first graders from level 1! So the good news is, there is no doubt that I have made the right decision. Teaching is just what I want to do! Bad news? I have no idea what grade I want to teach; I seriously love them all! My middle level field experience is coming though, so we shall have to see how that goes.
Highlight of the read-aloud lesson? Has to be when Jalen, our 'sometimes difficult, always a character' personality plus, praised my newly colored hair....... and on a more educational note, when the kids all commented on how much 'stuff' there was in the Magic School Bus book that they had no idea was there "Mrs Bryson, I am going to start reading the books and not just watching the TV show, that was way cool"! Success!!

Bones cracking; getting old!

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.

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!

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!!!!

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!