My first task

For my new LANG 7802 Class at Hamline is to find a book that I have a text-to-self or text-to-world connection with. Do you think I'm being treated like a child? Input welcome. I mean, as much as I love diving into the world of children's literature again, part of me wants to scream "QUIT TREATING ME LIKE A THIRD GRADER!" I'll let you know what I come up with in terms of a "connection book" or whatever they want me to call it.

A Blast from the Past, take IV

In a recent conversation with a housemate at a Halloween Party, I came to the realization that I am quite a bit older than the majority of my housemates.

Me: Clever costume, I love foxes!
PumpkinMaster Housemate: Thanks! It's all vintage and completely under $3.
Me: Great. You know, the more I look at it, the more it reminds me of the fox from Zoobilee Zoo. What's his name? Oh...Bravo! That's it! Bravo the Fox!
PumpkinMaster Housemate: (stares blankly) Uh...who's that? What's Zoobilee Zoo?

This is when I realized that yes, I must be older than dirt. This girl was a mere junior at Augsburg College, putting her birth year at roughly 1988 or 1989. Yikes! Of course she wouldn't remember such a gem of a show. How silly of me to remember and bring it up in casual convsersation at such a Halloween Party. So, to educate the masses of youngsters out there, I have included a clip. Enjoy.



Who was your favorite character? I was always a fan of the journalistic, scholarly cockateil (though she was rather annoying at second glance) and the leopard at the anchor desk.

Why am I posting again? Oh yeah, because I don't want to work on my NOVEL. Damn it. Back to work. Help.

The future. A scary thought, no?

I think I will be scoring for Pearson again, up here in the Twin Cities. I start my PCA gig on Thursday, and I take on the role of the other gravedigger in Shakespeare's Hamlet tomorrow. I really am going crazy, aren't I?

I have signed on to work three jobs starting next week. I'm going to go insane! It will be good for me. The discipline of having to be somewhere and do something again. When am I going to work out though? This leaves the EARLY MORNINGS only, and I hate exercising in the EARLY MORNINGS. Now that it's getting nice out, I might just go ahead and cancel my YWCA membership. Then again, it's only $20 a month. (I get the scholarship rate.) If I'm not using it though, how much further can that $20 a month go? Only time will tell. I'll give myself another week to decide.

Can you tell that I'm trying to be more financially responsible? I've always considered myself financially responsible. I do write down every purchase I make big or small, and a have only a little credit card debt to pay off. I worked my way through undergrad and let my scholarship pay my tuition, so I don't have any student loan debt to pay either. Somehow I'm getting the feeling though that I can let myself get real behind if I let it slide any more. I'm starting to STRESS!!!

I'm trying to figure out my next year's plan of action as well. It's looking like either become a full-time nanny here in the Twin Cities or move back home to Atlanta. I don't want to move back home. The financial security is nice (and alluring), yes, but the more I think about living under parental smotherage, the more I want to smother myself.

Maybe I'll take a teaching position somewhere. Like this school. I can do it! Maybe not. I'm so indecisive lately, and that scares me too. Every time I go apply to graduate school I want to smother myself as well. I get to the "Statement of Purpose" section on programs such as the University of Minnesota's Special Education Learning Disabilities program and I absolutely FREEZE. That's probably some kind of sign that says I should be applying to grad school right yet, right? Probably.

I've looked at all kinds of grad programs as well. Non-profit management, education, creative writing, public health, public service, even NURSING (my first major in college!) I can't justify the cost of going back to school just yet. I keep telling myself I just need to get more life experience. More years in the work force! Only time will tell. However, my education awards will expire soon enough! I'm so indecisive. Enough about my indecisiveness though.

This weekend was spent at the fifth grade Math Masters competition with some of my favorite Nellie Stone students, and researching some Life After AmeriCorps opportunities. Things will work out. I have faith. They will!

Let's see, I suppose it is update time!

This morning I hauled my rear end out of bed before 7am (on a Saturday no less) to make it to work a few shifts at the 19th Annual National Service Learning Conference hosted by the National Youth Leadership Conference at the Minneapolis Convention Center. I was a workshop hosts for two very similar workshops that talked about the importance of service learning and how to defend it to suspicious and unwilling administrators. I was the girl in the back with a bright yellow shirt that forced evaluations on people. I don't even like filling out evaluations myself, but whatever. It did leave me somewhat inspired to keep going with service learning and possibly pursue a career as a service-learning facilitator in a school or museum. I didn't make it to the key note address either, but I've seen Desmond Tutu speak and know his general message.

In other news, I'm going to be in Atlanta May 8-13 for the brother's graduation and Mother's Day, and possibly make it up to a camp friend's graduation party as well! Hermz that's you, if you are reading this!

We took the kiddos to Augsburg College yesterday, (it was endearing to see 10-year-olds roam a college campus with big eyes!) and this week start the beginning of a three week testing stretch that will probably continue well into May and last throughout the year. I hate testing. I secured the PCA gig and haven't started yet because I can't find my passport as a means of proof for the payroll dept. What a pain in the butt! I will find it later when I decide to clean my room, hopefully!

In other news, I really want to pursue a career in writing, and I'm working on compiling my writing resume as a separate document to my regular resume. If anyone reading this has any tips for that, I would appreciate them. I've never done this before and I'm taking tips from the web, but I don't know how accurate they are. We'll see how it goes.

I think that is all the update I have for now. I might be going to a roller derby for the first time tonight. Should be interesting, as I've never done anything like this before either. I'll keep you posted, of course!

I make a GD difference, now what about you?

This guy says it so brilliantly, I couldn't have said it better! Teaching, oh how I loathe thee, let me count thy ways. But I love thee, and this video sums up my thoughts of the week. Thanks MOM!

Spellebound by, well, spelling?

After seeing the buzz and conversation generated by students at the school spelling bee a few weeks ago, and having a co-worker recommend this movie to me, I'm curious. Why is spelling so exciting? Is it more of the competition element than the actual spelling? I enjoyed the diverse backgrounds that each of the contestants they chose to highlight came from. I found myself rooting for each of them, if not some a little more than others. I think April was my favorite because she reminds me a little of myself and a little of my 9th grade best friends. Finally, someone that admits to her pessimism at a young age has a head full of realistic expectations on her shoulders. Above all, I believe that this film put a really good spin on the National Spelling Bee and humanity in general. Competitions like this one always get a bad rap for pushing children past their limit, but these children chose to be here and went along with the processes. The parents seemed level-headed, and wanted nothing but the best for their children. When each was eliminated from the competition, no one parent was overly irrational. Disappointed maybe, but always supportive. Life is about learning lessons of hard work, and each of these kids worked extra hard to get where they are today. Life is also about learning that there can only be one winner. If you have to loose to show that, you have to be willing to admit defeat. I think I enjoyed this film because I laughed, cried, and empathized with the characters a little too much. And yes, you need to Netflix this film now.

Flashback

I'm looking through my stuff from college and the last half of it, and I came across my notebooks from writing class. Wow, what a treat! It's really hard believing I was this idealistic back then in my "college days." It's actually good I came across them because it's a good reminder of why I started doing what I'm doing, and they have a whole new meaning now that I've been through the ideal that I've been through with teaching and everything. I was less angry, if you can believe that. I was more excited about it too. Still, the idea comes up that I was only excited about the IDEA of teaching and having my own class. In reality, I enjoy doing what I'm doing now I whole lot more than I enjoyed teaching, so maybe that's just where I am and where I need to be right now. I will bring these notebooks back to Minneapolis with me and try to use some of these ideas in my new teaching situation. Like hte following, from my Writing Workshop book. I must have written this quote down for a reason? Right?

"If you teach kids nothing about writing all year, teach them how to re-read their writing." --the Writer's Workshop Book

And a thought I wrote down after leading a couple of WWs.

"I have not been telling my students to re-read their writing, but that's only because of time constraints. It seems like by the time they get their ideas down, its time to move on with the day." --Me

All reasons I wanted my own classroom so badly. But when I got my own classroom, I fell completely to peices. Now I enjoy NOT having my own classroom and just doing pull-out writing/reading mini-lessons.

All of these thoughts do lead to the main question that this post was leading up to...ready for it?

WHERE DO I BELONG in the teaching world?

If you can answer that, you will earn my eternal love and devotion. Because I have no money to give right now.

Spelling Bee!!!

Nellie Stone Johnson

If you go to my school's web site now, you will see a bunch of the kids that I work with. That group of red-shirts? That's them. I love those kids.

This is a really neat MATH TEACHING website.

Math magicians!!!

Check it out!!!