Tuesday, May 1, 2007
"21st-century school represents 'the will to change'"
When I briefly read through this article I was simply amazed at what the kids are doing. They are making actual movies in their school. The are taking a green back drop, then filming a scene from the movie they are doing, then they are digitally adding in the scenery through computer digitization. Absolutely incredible, alot more than we are doing!
CVCV
Venturing through this website I was blown away. What a great thing that is going on up in the Buffalo are. Buffalo Urban schools and the University at Buffalo are teaming up together to help students with their use of technology. While clicking on various headings I was taken to the part of the website where the students videos are posted that they made themselves. The first one that I checked our was from a fifth grade ESL students and his video was called "Ernesto BioPoem." This was the cutest thing I have ever seen and out of the videos I watch probably one of the best and he is in fifth grade. He took each letter of his name then used an adjective that started with that letter to describe him, then he acted it out. It was really cute. Next was "Mother to Son." The poem was visually done by an 8th grader in social studies class. The images used were great and this video was really really good as well. The next two weren't as good as the other previous two. The third one I watched was the poem "We Rel Cool" acted out by a 9th grade English class. The editing and recording was not as good as the other two. And the last one "Senior Tribute" done by the 12th grade English class was a great idea to capture the senior class one last time, but again the editing and recording could have been better. Nonetheless its amazing what schools are doing now.
Monday, April 30, 2007
Soo I was at the dentist....
and while I was sitting in the chair at 7am last Thursday I had on one of the news channels because nothing else was on at 7am and they had a segment that the new application to jobs is by video. I found this interesting because it is still new and they were not only talking about the good, they were talking about the bad. I'm going to try and see if I can find the clip somewhere.
Hobbs Chapter 2
Well these last few days of classes are going to be nothing but crazy and already starting off with hours in the library today is what my week will be like....so now onto Hobbs and slowly catching up with mt blogs.
The mission statement at Concord High School is as follows:
"Our community of learners will challenge and expect its members to realize their highest potential. Our community will create a positive learning environment through mutual respect and effective communication" (20).
Well, shouldn't that be the mission statement of every school? I feel like in school our teachers have lost their passion for what they are there for and just do their job to get paid, not to push their students to their highest potential to achieve all they can to go on to college, further their education and obtain a good job.
The block scheduling at Concord seems to be a great idea too. After being in high school going to the same classes everyday acting like a robot became boring very quickly. Changing things up and placing certain classes every other day give the kids to do homework and not worry about being bored for five days in a row, variation in my opinion is a good thing and I like the way they do their schedule.
The Media/Communication for English 11 classes is a great idea. It gives kids an idea of how English can relate to more than books and essays. This allows them to use their imagination and actually enjoy school because they are talking about things they like and they can easily relate to the technology because I am sure they use some sort of technology everyday some way some how.
The mission statement at Concord High School is as follows:
"Our community of learners will challenge and expect its members to realize their highest potential. Our community will create a positive learning environment through mutual respect and effective communication" (20).
Well, shouldn't that be the mission statement of every school? I feel like in school our teachers have lost their passion for what they are there for and just do their job to get paid, not to push their students to their highest potential to achieve all they can to go on to college, further their education and obtain a good job.
The block scheduling at Concord seems to be a great idea too. After being in high school going to the same classes everyday acting like a robot became boring very quickly. Changing things up and placing certain classes every other day give the kids to do homework and not worry about being bored for five days in a row, variation in my opinion is a good thing and I like the way they do their schedule.
The Media/Communication for English 11 classes is a great idea. It gives kids an idea of how English can relate to more than books and essays. This allows them to use their imagination and actually enjoy school because they are talking about things they like and they can easily relate to the technology because I am sure they use some sort of technology everyday some way some how.
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
My Shape-Shifting Portfolio
At first I had no idea what a shape shifting portfolio was, then I read the article a little bit and I was told what it is. A shape-shifting portfolio is, "a collection of skill - for example, educational, social, service, and sports experiences and achievements that can be arranged and rearranged in order to define and redefine oneself as a certain kind of competent person" (114). If i had a shape-shifting portfolio from high school it would be jammed packed with various things from starting the dance team from my high school, to being an Honor Roll Student and being in the National Honor Society, to being in Student Government, to being a dance teacher 5 days a week.
College however is much different from that. Both freshman and sophomore year my mom and my grandmother were diagnosed with cancer, so I was never at school longer than I had to be. If I could be home I would be, so therefore I have never really been involved in many activities except the Cortland Dance Company which I just joined this semester. However, a big chunk of my portfolio would be from this 307 class. I would be able to show that I work well with technology and I can do alot when it comes to technology. I can show that I can blog, podcast, make an iweb and other various things. Today in the real world, technology seems to becoming more and more crucial so I feel as if having that in my portfolio would be a great thing,
College however is much different from that. Both freshman and sophomore year my mom and my grandmother were diagnosed with cancer, so I was never at school longer than I had to be. If I could be home I would be, so therefore I have never really been involved in many activities except the Cortland Dance Company which I just joined this semester. However, a big chunk of my portfolio would be from this 307 class. I would be able to show that I work well with technology and I can do alot when it comes to technology. I can show that I can blog, podcast, make an iweb and other various things. Today in the real world, technology seems to becoming more and more crucial so I feel as if having that in my portfolio would be a great thing,
Project
So for this block's project Theresa and I are doing media literacy and how women are portrayed in media. I feel like it should be interesting and that we will have plenty to use for that. What sparked this idea was our discussion in class last week on how women are portrayed in variations of music.
Will Richardson's Blog
I found his blog on the degree that the University of Michigan is offering and how he feels that there is no need for one, all one would have to do is take a year of being on the Internet interactive world and they would be ok. Well, we want more technology in the classroom, then why not make a major for Technology Education and make it a mandatory class just like your English, Science, Social Studies and Math. This way, not only can the certified teachers teach the rest of the teaching staff they can also teach the students. I feel a degree in this could be very beneficial to our students and their learning. It could be a class in which students could really like and be able to engage in greatly because the majority of kids at the high school lever are technologically savvy. Just a thought on what Will said, but I personally think it would be a great idea to offer a degree in technology that way schools know that they are fully qualified for the position and now just someone saying that know how to blog and such just because they are an online junkie.
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Post 1
It is very interesting to see what the Baltimore County School District is doing with their technology in the classroom. It's technology that the students have to do such as blog or submit papers, etc... it's being able to watch educational shows while in the classroom. The article stated,
"'The vision is to make the curriculum more 21st-century and engaging," said Della Curtis, coordinator for Baltimore County's Office of Library Information Services (LIS)."
I think our classrooms do need to be geared more towards the 21st-century anyways. I can not emphasize enough that students get bored in your traditional classroom, so why not make the kids interested and do something they can relate to more. Video on demand is awesome because it is up-to-date information on a topic you are teaching. I know sitting in a classroom and if I were to watch a video from 20-30 years ago I would be bored and uninterested, but if I were to watch a video of something more recent I would give 100% of my attention to the video. I feel like many other school districts can learn from Baltimore and maybe we can make an impact in the school districts we will be teaching in in the near future.
"'The vision is to make the curriculum more 21st-century and engaging," said Della Curtis, coordinator for Baltimore County's Office of Library Information Services (LIS)."
I think our classrooms do need to be geared more towards the 21st-century anyways. I can not emphasize enough that students get bored in your traditional classroom, so why not make the kids interested and do something they can relate to more. Video on demand is awesome because it is up-to-date information on a topic you are teaching. I know sitting in a classroom and if I were to watch a video from 20-30 years ago I would be bored and uninterested, but if I were to watch a video of something more recent I would give 100% of my attention to the video. I feel like many other school districts can learn from Baltimore and maybe we can make an impact in the school districts we will be teaching in in the near future.
Sunday, April 15, 2007
David O'Brien
The article, "'Struggling' Adolescents' Engagement in Multimediating: Countering the Institutional Construction of Incompetence" written my David O'Brien was both interesting and informative. It is very true when O'Brien states that,
"Low achievement led to low perception about abilities, which resulted in increasing disengagement from reading, which, in turn, resulted in lack of practice, low fluency..."
If kids do not achieve to their own standards or to the standards of their parents or teachers then they will start to believe that they can't achieve good grades. Kids need to be able to want to do something and look forward to do something in school in order from them to get good grades. As teachers if we give them boring stuff to do they won't want to do it and achieve good grades. When students first realize that they can not/do not achieve their best they feel as if some outside force is to blame, not themselves. Why not base our teaching around where students want to learn and want to do good and know that they can do good. Maybe students aren't motivated or interested enough because we don't motivate or interest them. The Literacy Lab seems like a great idea. Getting our "at -risk" learners motivated and wanting to learn and getting good grades should be one of our goals as teachers. I feel as future teachers we can all learn a little from the Literacy Lab and getting our students to do other various tasks other than reading a book and writing a paper.
"Low achievement led to low perception about abilities, which resulted in increasing disengagement from reading, which, in turn, resulted in lack of practice, low fluency..."
If kids do not achieve to their own standards or to the standards of their parents or teachers then they will start to believe that they can't achieve good grades. Kids need to be able to want to do something and look forward to do something in school in order from them to get good grades. As teachers if we give them boring stuff to do they won't want to do it and achieve good grades. When students first realize that they can not/do not achieve their best they feel as if some outside force is to blame, not themselves. Why not base our teaching around where students want to learn and want to do good and know that they can do good. Maybe students aren't motivated or interested enough because we don't motivate or interest them. The Literacy Lab seems like a great idea. Getting our "at -risk" learners motivated and wanting to learn and getting good grades should be one of our goals as teachers. I feel as future teachers we can all learn a little from the Literacy Lab and getting our students to do other various tasks other than reading a book and writing a paper.
Wednesday, April 4, 2007
The Zine Project??
When I first saw The Zine Project I thought..."What the heck is that?" Then I read the very first sentence and it, "helps students and teachers consider the assumptions and expectations we have about how literacy functions in school and community contexts." Jacobi also states that, "Zines are typically single-authored, handmade, do-it-yourself, creative publications centered on themes and issues that explore the personal and the political, the extraordinary and the mundane." This is a process in which college students help high school students through the writing process. This is a great thing because maybe more kids would understand it if they were able to work on it one on one with another person.
Jacobi and Hobbes have the concepts of gender and racial stereotypes in the media in common. These are such huge issues today and I feel like people tend to shy away from them. It is important for us as future teachers to teach and expose these issues to our students.
Jacobi and Hobbes have the concepts of gender and racial stereotypes in the media in common. These are such huge issues today and I feel like people tend to shy away from them. It is important for us as future teachers to teach and expose these issues to our students.
Tuesday, April 3, 2007
Live chat
I would have to say in this live chat that I am reading, the first answer I would have to agree with is that the biggest problem with using technology in the classroom is the generation gap. many of the older teachers have no interest in learning how to use technology then teach it to their students and actually use it. They would rather stick with what they have been using for the past who knows how many years. This is what makes kids bored and not motivated to do good in school. A topic brought up that I never thought of are the glitches. As good as technology is it isn't always reliable, so now I can see why some teachers would not want to use techology.
Technology Counts
It is very interesting to read this article. Everything they talked about in the article we are doing in our 307 class. One very interesting fact that I learned from this article is that states have technology standards for students and teachers. It's weird because very rarely did we use technology in school and very rarely did the teachers too. I didn't realize how important technology is becoming until I read that standards are out there. This article also shows how easy it would be able to use technology with our students because the majority of our students use it outside of the classroom at home, whether it's surfing the web, using an iPod, a digital camera, whatever, they use technology and they use it alot.
The other article from a students point of view I can relate to easily. When I wake up in the morning it is to a song on my iPod. I have a dock so that I can listen to my iPod as if I was listening to a CD or to the radio. I got my music off of the Internet. When I am home I wake up to my cell phone which plays a song I bought off of Verizon Ring tones. Throughout the day I am listening to my iPod, surfing the Internet, IM'ing, checking my e-mail, talking on my cell phone and even texting. I am constantly using technology from the moment I wake up until I fall asleep, no joke. Going into a classroom where you are bored because it is very traditional does not motivate a student to do well in school. I thought it was great that instead of writing a paper his teacher let him make a movie. The amount of effort and time that was put into that was probably a great deal. The only thing is he will eventually have to write a paper, you do still write them in college and you should always be improving that. But that is something to keep in mind, if someone can be creative like that, let your student do it. Expand their horizons.
The other article from a students point of view I can relate to easily. When I wake up in the morning it is to a song on my iPod. I have a dock so that I can listen to my iPod as if I was listening to a CD or to the radio. I got my music off of the Internet. When I am home I wake up to my cell phone which plays a song I bought off of Verizon Ring tones. Throughout the day I am listening to my iPod, surfing the Internet, IM'ing, checking my e-mail, talking on my cell phone and even texting. I am constantly using technology from the moment I wake up until I fall asleep, no joke. Going into a classroom where you are bored because it is very traditional does not motivate a student to do well in school. I thought it was great that instead of writing a paper his teacher let him make a movie. The amount of effort and time that was put into that was probably a great deal. The only thing is he will eventually have to write a paper, you do still write them in college and you should always be improving that. But that is something to keep in mind, if someone can be creative like that, let your student do it. Expand their horizons.
Our "Field Trip"
Our trip to Lehman Alternative School in Ithaca was very eye opening. Definitely something I have never seen before in many aspects. When Kristin and I first drove up I could not believe how small it is, but it is good to hear that everyone in the school likes intimate setting of the school, where it seems as if everyone knows everyone. Another aspect is how much of a say the kids have with the school. I feel like that can be very beneficial in a way that the school can adapt to the kids needs. Since they have a direct voice, they can hopefully see direct results. Also, it is great how teachers can adapt how they teach to meet the needs of the children. I would have never thought of using a clip of a movie to be able to school kids what characterization, plot, setting etc. are if they can not fully grasp the idea of me telling them what it is.
I feel as if alternative schools are underestimated. They have such high expectations for their students and the students live up to the expectations. Their are no number grades, it is just pretty much pass or fail due to homework and participation and their portfolios they do. I feel that takes off so much pressure off of students to have the straight A's. I don't know, I wish I could have experienced a school like that as a student and maybe some day I will experience it as a teacher.
After going to the school a handful of us went to dinner at Lost Dog Cafe in Ithaca. I know all about this place because we have one back at home and I work there every once in a while. It was nice to sit back and relax and not talk about school stuff with my peers (our conversation circled around how Theresa rear-ended me...love you Tee!!). Over all it was a great day and a great experience.
I feel as if alternative schools are underestimated. They have such high expectations for their students and the students live up to the expectations. Their are no number grades, it is just pretty much pass or fail due to homework and participation and their portfolios they do. I feel that takes off so much pressure off of students to have the straight A's. I don't know, I wish I could have experienced a school like that as a student and maybe some day I will experience it as a teacher.
After going to the school a handful of us went to dinner at Lost Dog Cafe in Ithaca. I know all about this place because we have one back at home and I work there every once in a while. It was nice to sit back and relax and not talk about school stuff with my peers (our conversation circled around how Theresa rear-ended me...love you Tee!!). Over all it was a great day and a great experience.
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Do ELA classrooms support the "new middlers?"
So that's the question huh? In my opinion I don't feel the ELA classrooms do support the "new middlers." If we are moving into a new age then everyone I feel should be on the same page. Technology should be taught in every school at whatever grade and as future educators we know that can't happen with some of the schools that are in desperate need for upgrades in more than one way. Yes, the whole idea of the "new middlers" might take place, but I feel it will take a long time due to the fact that everyone is not at the same place. The high school I went to has great funding, but no teacher is using technology in the classroom to get the students prepared for the real world. That will be the toughest hurdle, getting the teachers to incorporate technology and changing their ways of teaching with the changing times.
Did you know?
Did you know that that YouTube video freaked me out? No lie, pure honesty. Knowing that technology is advancing so quick and that my laptop I just got for my birthday less than a year ago will be out of date within so many years? CREEPY. Another fun fact that really disappointed me was that our country is so low with number compared to other countries. We live in such an egocentric country that we honestly have little to show for it compared to Japan. I guess this was a real eye opener as to where we will be in the near future...computers that are smarter then the WHOLE human race. Unbelievable.
Friedman
So...I don't know if I am going to be blogging about the right information, but here we go. I found Chapter 5 of Friedman not as interesting as Chapter 6, so I honestly paid more attention to Chapter 6 and found some interesting facts. One quote that intrigued me was when Friedman stated,
"Let's start at the beginning. The key to thriving, as an individual, in a flat world is figuring out how to make yourself an 'untouchable'" (278).
How does one become an untouchable in today's world? Honestly, I think it should start with us as teachers. I feel by becoming en educator it is part of our responsibility to encourage our students to be what they want to be and push them in a direction that will benefit them in the long run. We need to set a spark inside of them to pursue what they want to do with their lives. For the students that don't know what they want to do or don't want to further their education we need to me their motivators to show them that they can do the unthinkable, they can become "untouchables." As teachers, we need to find different ways to stimulate their education and their learning so they want to be in school and they can find something passionate to do with their lives.
Also, with reading Chapter 6 Friedman states,
"The more we have good synthesizers, who can bring disparate things together, the more we will need managers, writers, teachers, producers, journalists, and editors who are also good explainers -- who can see the complexity but explain it with simplicity" (284).
To me that line alone goes to show that the classroom will never go away. How can we have classes online when Friendman even said that we can explain things. Granted yes you can explain things online, but how easily? How quickly can a teacher respond to a question? We hold classes to teach and to explain the hardest of topics. I don't know if this is making sense, but I have many thoughts and I don't think they are coming out right.
My favorite story in this chapter is about the lemonade man at Camden Yards that took such a simple job ("vanilla task") and made it his own and really makes a living doing it. He is doing something anyone can do and putting his own spin on it to make money. It is his own thing and that is what makes him successful. I smiled while reading this story, I don't know, it's good to know that there are people out there working hard for their money.
"Let's start at the beginning. The key to thriving, as an individual, in a flat world is figuring out how to make yourself an 'untouchable'" (278).
How does one become an untouchable in today's world? Honestly, I think it should start with us as teachers. I feel by becoming en educator it is part of our responsibility to encourage our students to be what they want to be and push them in a direction that will benefit them in the long run. We need to set a spark inside of them to pursue what they want to do with their lives. For the students that don't know what they want to do or don't want to further their education we need to me their motivators to show them that they can do the unthinkable, they can become "untouchables." As teachers, we need to find different ways to stimulate their education and their learning so they want to be in school and they can find something passionate to do with their lives.
Also, with reading Chapter 6 Friedman states,
"The more we have good synthesizers, who can bring disparate things together, the more we will need managers, writers, teachers, producers, journalists, and editors who are also good explainers -- who can see the complexity but explain it with simplicity" (284).
To me that line alone goes to show that the classroom will never go away. How can we have classes online when Friendman even said that we can explain things. Granted yes you can explain things online, but how easily? How quickly can a teacher respond to a question? We hold classes to teach and to explain the hardest of topics. I don't know if this is making sense, but I have many thoughts and I don't think they are coming out right.
My favorite story in this chapter is about the lemonade man at Camden Yards that took such a simple job ("vanilla task") and made it his own and really makes a living doing it. He is doing something anyone can do and putting his own spin on it to make money. It is his own thing and that is what makes him successful. I smiled while reading this story, I don't know, it's good to know that there are people out there working hard for their money.
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Teen Book Award Winners
Wow, I really thought I was watching a trailer to a movie, that was impressive. The quality of that video and how much time and effort they put into it had to have been great. I did not read The Book Thief last semester, but honestly after watching that, I do. If there were more of those that teachers could show their students before they are ready to read a new book, maybe it would motivate the students to actually read and become engaged in the book because they can visualize what is going on and what the scene should look like. I just got really excited watching that and I feel every book should have one. When you tell your students they are going to be reading a book they HEARD is dreadful, show them the trailer to change their minds. I feel these trailers could really make an impact on students and adults to read me and to enjoy reading more.
The D.A.T.E Conference
How exciting was it to actually see and hear Jennifer Donnelly, the author of the best book I read in 374, A Northern Light. Listening to her was amazing. Hearing about how she actually wrote the book and all the time and effort it took was incredible. She had an idea for a book and completely followed through with it. I was in awe the whole entire time. I still can't really put into words how I felt listening to her.
Another fun event that really interested me was going to Kjersti Vanslyke-Briggs presentation on, "Dealing in the Digital: Explorations in Literacy." This was also exicting to me to see the other face on the other side of our classroom blog last semester in 374. To see how much technology is really being used is crazy. The other woman with her teaches at Horseheads and to me that is a little school compared to where I went to high school and to see what they do that is web-based it amazing. It is such an inspiration as a future teacher that there is more than just books and paper, there is a whole other world via the internet that we can teach our students the positive from. I know I won;t ever get rid of books and paper, but to incorporate something that the students are so familiar with and so user-friendly with, maybe it is something like a blog or whatever to get the kids interesting in English class and keep them interested.
Another fun event that really interested me was going to Kjersti Vanslyke-Briggs presentation on, "Dealing in the Digital: Explorations in Literacy." This was also exicting to me to see the other face on the other side of our classroom blog last semester in 374. To see how much technology is really being used is crazy. The other woman with her teaches at Horseheads and to me that is a little school compared to where I went to high school and to see what they do that is web-based it amazing. It is such an inspiration as a future teacher that there is more than just books and paper, there is a whole other world via the internet that we can teach our students the positive from. I know I won;t ever get rid of books and paper, but to incorporate something that the students are so familiar with and so user-friendly with, maybe it is something like a blog or whatever to get the kids interesting in English class and keep them interested.
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
RSS Feeds
So, when we did our podcast I knew an RSS feed was del.icio.us and flikr and different sites like that, but I don't know if I really understood. When Savannah's group presented I kind of realized what those sites were all about and they are really interesting. It is a way to organize your blog and on-line life while letting others get to know about you in a sense. As of right now I only have one RSS feed and that is del.icio.us and I'm so confused with it. I went to put up my links and it is not working. I don't know I guess I have to tinker around with it more. I also have the map, I don't know if that is considered an RSS feed, but I find it cool especially since I see that people over seas have checked out my blog :-)
I feel that they can come in handy with our classrooms:
1- We can set up a del.icio.us account so if we give the students an assignment and they have to keep going back to a certain website they can go to the classroom blog and go from there instead of having to remember the website themselves.
2- If the students have their own blog, RSS feeds can help everyone to get to know one another. Whether it is through their interests or even pictures, we can get an idea of who everyone is.
3- They can also keep me updates with how often my students are on their account and when it is updated.
I feel that they can come in handy with our classrooms:
1- We can set up a del.icio.us account so if we give the students an assignment and they have to keep going back to a certain website they can go to the classroom blog and go from there instead of having to remember the website themselves.
2- If the students have their own blog, RSS feeds can help everyone to get to know one another. Whether it is through their interests or even pictures, we can get an idea of who everyone is.
3- They can also keep me updates with how often my students are on their account and when it is updated.
2.0 vs. 3.0
As future teachers we can offer so much to our students with the growing technology we have. Going from the 2.0 world to the 3.0 world gives our students endless possibilities. According to Carly Fiorina,
"We have gone from a vertical chain of command for value creation to a much more horizontal chain of command for value creation" (208).
From that one quote we can see the endless possibilities for our students. Instead of doing the same old discussions, blackboard and overhead copying of notes, we can incorporate so much technology into the classroom. We can bring in blogs and the Internet world so that communication can be easy for everyone and so that students can communicate with other students of other areas. We really don't have to be the sole teachers to our students anymore, their peers can also be educators to them and that can be seen through the 3.0 world.
"We have gone from a vertical chain of command for value creation to a much more horizontal chain of command for value creation" (208).
From that one quote we can see the endless possibilities for our students. Instead of doing the same old discussions, blackboard and overhead copying of notes, we can incorporate so much technology into the classroom. We can bring in blogs and the Internet world so that communication can be easy for everyone and so that students can communicate with other students of other areas. We really don't have to be the sole teachers to our students anymore, their peers can also be educators to them and that can be seen through the 3.0 world.
NY Times Article
"What does a College Education Buy...."
How about you ask a college student? I am a junior in college, and I'm not going to lie...I am paying for college myself. A college education can buy so much, and the best "item" it can "buy" is a great opportunity for a great life. A college education can also buy so many life lessons which anyone can learn from and benefit from.
The one sentences that I feel hit a nerve with me what when Caldwell wrote...
"Maybe college cannot become much more accessible."
How can it not? Coming from someone that does not come from a wealthy family and can easily put their children through school without financial aid or loans I found it very accessible to go to school. I applied for financial aid and I also take out student loans that I will pay back myself. Also, how is it not accessible for students to go to a two-year school and receive a degree in something that only takes two years to receive. Yes, college is expensive, but not impossible. That is a benefit of going to college and earning a degree, you will be able to pay back your loans and such because you will have a job that you worked hard for. Everyone wants to do what they love for the rest of their lives then why not go ahead and do all you can for an education you deserve? It's not impossible.
How about you ask a college student? I am a junior in college, and I'm not going to lie...I am paying for college myself. A college education can buy so much, and the best "item" it can "buy" is a great opportunity for a great life. A college education can also buy so many life lessons which anyone can learn from and benefit from.
The one sentences that I feel hit a nerve with me what when Caldwell wrote...
"Maybe college cannot become much more accessible."
How can it not? Coming from someone that does not come from a wealthy family and can easily put their children through school without financial aid or loans I found it very accessible to go to school. I applied for financial aid and I also take out student loans that I will pay back myself. Also, how is it not accessible for students to go to a two-year school and receive a degree in something that only takes two years to receive. Yes, college is expensive, but not impossible. That is a benefit of going to college and earning a degree, you will be able to pay back your loans and such because you will have a job that you worked hard for. Everyone wants to do what they love for the rest of their lives then why not go ahead and do all you can for an education you deserve? It's not impossible.
Monday, February 26, 2007
Check it out!
Check out this article...I found it very interesting that technology is being used in the classroom NOT by computers...I think you will find it interesting and get the wheels turning in your head...it did with me!
http://media.www.thevistaonline.com/media/storage/paper962/news/2007/02/22/News/Students.Click.Their.Way.Into.New.Technology.In.The.Classroom-2737494.shtml
http://media.www.thevistaonline.com/media/storage/paper962/news/2007/02/22/News/Students.Click.Their.Way.Into.New.Technology.In.The.Classroom-2737494.shtml
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
PLS, Hobbs, and ELA/NCTE
I feel like everything in common with the three readings is that technology needs to be reinforced in the classroom in some way, shape, or form....simple as that. It's crazy knowing that being an up and coming teacher I have to really try hard to get my students interested in work and wanting to do work and acheiving this would mean I need to get going on my technology skills and get them up to date as well. When you think of technology though I was thought the computer, but all three of those sources don't only reinforce the computer or internet, but watching movies and putting a spin on it or doing a writing assignment and putting a creative spin on it. If you can make assignments as creative as possible using any type of technology they want then you have your students hooked (within reach and ok'ed by the teacher, but only my opinion).
Hobbs
Your mission, whether you chose to accept it or not, is to figure out if bringing new concepts of teaching and learning into the classroom will be beneficial.
You accept? Let's see how it goes....
Well, it seems like Renee Hobbs did a great job at Concord High School with getting the English teachers to integrate new scientific technology in their classrooms and having them be effective. She knew what she wanted and she received the results she deserved. She even states that,
"Concord High School is one of the first school districts in the United States to integrate media literacy so extensively in the secondary curriculum."
I feel like she played a big part in that by motivating the teachers to cooperate with her and try out new technologies. The teachers could do what they wanted in whatever order, but they did get through to the students and it was successful. The students in these classes were given the opportunity to really analyze literature in such different ways. The read a book then watched a movie and were able to see the differences in the way scenes and characters were portrayed. They were able to try their skills at being screen writers and coming up with a screenplay to As I Lay Dying. In my personal opinion students want to have fun. If your students can have fun with what they are doing and not really realizing they are learning we are doing our jobs. School isn't supposed to be boring and dreadful, it should be fun and worth going to. Hobbs helped incorporate different aspect we would have never thought of in order for students to be intrigued, while learning about new technology at the same time. She succeeded with flying colors.
You accept? Let's see how it goes....
Well, it seems like Renee Hobbs did a great job at Concord High School with getting the English teachers to integrate new scientific technology in their classrooms and having them be effective. She knew what she wanted and she received the results she deserved. She even states that,
"Concord High School is one of the first school districts in the United States to integrate media literacy so extensively in the secondary curriculum."
I feel like she played a big part in that by motivating the teachers to cooperate with her and try out new technologies. The teachers could do what they wanted in whatever order, but they did get through to the students and it was successful. The students in these classes were given the opportunity to really analyze literature in such different ways. The read a book then watched a movie and were able to see the differences in the way scenes and characters were portrayed. They were able to try their skills at being screen writers and coming up with a screenplay to As I Lay Dying. In my personal opinion students want to have fun. If your students can have fun with what they are doing and not really realizing they are learning we are doing our jobs. School isn't supposed to be boring and dreadful, it should be fun and worth going to. Hobbs helped incorporate different aspect we would have never thought of in order for students to be intrigued, while learning about new technology at the same time. She succeeded with flying colors.
PLS and Hobbs
Renee Hobbs and the six principles of media literacy have many ideas and concepts in common which is very interesting. The one main goal that both Hobbs and the media literacy have in common is getting new technology into the English classroom. By doing this, students could be able to improve their writing and critical thinking skills, and they would be introduced to new ideas and concepts from other student around the world. This can then open their eyes and ideas to different cultures, some they would never know about without media (such as blogging). One of my favorite excerpts from Hobbs is,
"Scholes urges English educators to incorporate a wide range of texts including films, television, advertising, the Internet, music, and popular culture. With an ever-increasing range of media messages in so many forms, students need to understand the process by which authors convey meaning about socially constructed experience. The use of digital media and popular culture texts not only stimulates young people's engagement, motivation, and interest in learning, but enables them to build a richer, more nuanced understanding of how texts of all kinds work within a culture."
Think of how our students would love to engage in music and television and movies! Many kids do not like English class, they find it boring and they feel they don't really learn everything. As an upcoming English teacher is discourages me because out of all the classes you take during your high school career English is the most important because for the rest of your like you will be reading and writing and need the skills you learn in high school to do both of those. My junior year English teacher taught a poetry lesson for a crazy amount of time. We all moaned and groaned and wanted nothing to do with it. She actually made it really fun for us. One part of the project we had to re-write the poem we chose in our own words any way we wanted to. Also, I feel the best part of the project was he had to find a song, any song, that directly related to our poem. Granted yes it was hard to find a song, but it was different then doing the ordinary. By making us using different media and different types of thinking it really made us enjoy what we were doing.
I feel there is a direct connection between Hobbes and PLS. As teachers this is a great way to expand our students thinking. They can learn so much through the Internet, movies, music and so on. We really can start our kids off young. In kindergarten we can get student to learn how to get onto a computer and bring up educational games. Come fourth grade, maybe get them on the Internet doing you basic research for a project. Middle school some more advanced research and possibly a blog??? High school, we can get our kids podcasting about various subjects and possibly all the kids interested in music, get then writing their own song, recording them and downloading them onto iTunes. This of the endless possibilities. It is a great feeling knowing there is only improvement for our classes here on out. Scary?? Absolutely.
"Scholes urges English educators to incorporate a wide range of texts including films, television, advertising, the Internet, music, and popular culture. With an ever-increasing range of media messages in so many forms, students need to understand the process by which authors convey meaning about socially constructed experience. The use of digital media and popular culture texts not only stimulates young people's engagement, motivation, and interest in learning, but enables them to build a richer, more nuanced understanding of how texts of all kinds work within a culture."
Think of how our students would love to engage in music and television and movies! Many kids do not like English class, they find it boring and they feel they don't really learn everything. As an upcoming English teacher is discourages me because out of all the classes you take during your high school career English is the most important because for the rest of your like you will be reading and writing and need the skills you learn in high school to do both of those. My junior year English teacher taught a poetry lesson for a crazy amount of time. We all moaned and groaned and wanted nothing to do with it. She actually made it really fun for us. One part of the project we had to re-write the poem we chose in our own words any way we wanted to. Also, I feel the best part of the project was he had to find a song, any song, that directly related to our poem. Granted yes it was hard to find a song, but it was different then doing the ordinary. By making us using different media and different types of thinking it really made us enjoy what we were doing.
I feel there is a direct connection between Hobbes and PLS. As teachers this is a great way to expand our students thinking. They can learn so much through the Internet, movies, music and so on. We really can start our kids off young. In kindergarten we can get student to learn how to get onto a computer and bring up educational games. Come fourth grade, maybe get them on the Internet doing you basic research for a project. Middle school some more advanced research and possibly a blog??? High school, we can get our kids podcasting about various subjects and possibly all the kids interested in music, get then writing their own song, recording them and downloading them onto iTunes. This of the endless possibilities. It is a great feeling knowing there is only improvement for our classes here on out. Scary?? Absolutely.
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Web 2.0
Watching that You Tube video sort of put everything into perspective for me. Everything is changing very quickly. One quote that I noticed was that a blog is posted every half a second. That's crazy. I guess we can only get better from here. It really blows my mind that everything no matter what can really be done online or found online. It's like an epidemic, but a good one. Teachers can really benefit from using computers and the Internet in their classrooms. The only problem would be keeping the students on task and in the boundaries of the websites you want them, not off on myspace, facebook, or checking e-mail. It's kinda of scary to see where technology can go from here.
We have to unlearn??
As teachers we need to unlearn, kind of seems like a difficult task, but how Will breaks it down it does not seem that bad. As up and coming teachers we need to realize that the classroom does not revolve around us anymore. Will stated it the best in his blog,
"For instance, in a world where literally any place can be a classroom, we have to unlearn the comforts of four walls that we’ve become accustomed to."
We need to realize that the Internet and technology could teach our students more than we could ever teach them, which is kind of scary. As teachers we need to open our eyes and our classrooms so that our students can excel in ways we never did. Maybe, if we included doing various activities on the Internet including blogging, our students would be more interested in doing their work and more interested in doing good since they aren't doing the traditional reading and writing in the classroom.
One of the 10 things we need to unlearn that Will mentioned that was my favorite is,
" We need to unlearn the premise that we know more than our kids, because in many cases, they can now be our teachers as well."
Just because we have the college degree and the Master's doesn't mean anything. Since there are endless possibilities with learning we can ALWAYS learn something new from anyone or anything because of technology. Maybe, we should really listen to our students to that we can meet their needs to succeed.
"For instance, in a world where literally any place can be a classroom, we have to unlearn the comforts of four walls that we’ve become accustomed to."
We need to realize that the Internet and technology could teach our students more than we could ever teach them, which is kind of scary. As teachers we need to open our eyes and our classrooms so that our students can excel in ways we never did. Maybe, if we included doing various activities on the Internet including blogging, our students would be more interested in doing their work and more interested in doing good since they aren't doing the traditional reading and writing in the classroom.
One of the 10 things we need to unlearn that Will mentioned that was my favorite is,
" We need to unlearn the premise that we know more than our kids, because in many cases, they can now be our teachers as well."
Just because we have the college degree and the Master's doesn't mean anything. Since there are endless possibilities with learning we can ALWAYS learn something new from anyone or anything because of technology. Maybe, we should really listen to our students to that we can meet their needs to succeed.
Wednesday, February 7, 2007
Curriki? Why not?
How amazing would it be as a teacher to communicate with another teacher across the US or how about the world!? Well it is now possible with Curriki. As a future teacher this would be something great to get associated with. On my Monday night class...Foundations of Modern Education, there was a discussion about how other countries surpass us, the US, when it to grades and such and not understanding why. This might be the key to finally being up with the standards of Japanese education or any other education system. I don't know just something to think about, but I would definitely recommend reading even just a little bit of the article because it is very interesting... http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/showStory.cfm?ArticleID=6821
Tuesday, February 6, 2007
Part Three
Well then, some interesting things I heard on the podcast. Not going to lie right now, I would have followed it better if I could have watched it. I am easily distracted to just sit and listen. Anyways....
I would just like to say that my jaw dropped when they said that a student from UCLA was kicked out of the library there then tazered because he wouldn't leave by the police and it was on YouTube!! That is nuts! Someone took the video on their cell phone and just uploaded it. Think of the different situations that could happen such as a car accident or something random like that, that can be recorded and then used to show what really happened.
Another very interesting idea that I heard was that John Edwards has his own blog. Could you imagine if more politicians had blogs where people could post ideas and other such ideas to their mayor/senator/governor etc... Having constant feedback, one would think it would be positive to the politicians. Even with professional athletes being able to blog with them with encouragement and different ideas on how to improve. How about teachers? Maybe students see us as intimidating and can not say something to our face on how to improve our classroom, why not have them blog to get their ideas out on the table?
Now, more online "stuff." Come to find out some politicians made their running for office public on YouTube. It is amazing that YouTube is Billy Fuccillo "HUGE" and candidates running for office are announcing it on there. Who would have thought that just five years ago!? Amazing. Also, the GM car dealership has their own blog. Why? To state what is true and false about their cars they sell. Great idea! It then lets the buyers feel more comfortable and are able to blog about their concerns and hoorays about the cars they buy. They are real people, not actors doing commercials.
Another interesting part of the podcast was where Will and Rob talked about a new school opening in September and how a class was online blogging and such getting to know one another. Then when school started they had a bond with each other. Who would have thought!? How great would it be as teachers having our students blog a few weeks before school starts so that they can get to know each other and form a bond as a class. I don't know? Just an idea.
Last but not least, I found it very interesting that Will stated that he learned more from blogging then all his years of schooling...WOW. Great point to bring up though. From blogging, he could learn what he wanted and what really interested him rather than the textbook stuff he HAD to learn and was forced upon him. I never thought of technology that way, but what a great way to think of it.
Very interesting pod-cast...hats off to Will and Rob!
I would just like to say that my jaw dropped when they said that a student from UCLA was kicked out of the library there then tazered because he wouldn't leave by the police and it was on YouTube!! That is nuts! Someone took the video on their cell phone and just uploaded it. Think of the different situations that could happen such as a car accident or something random like that, that can be recorded and then used to show what really happened.
Another very interesting idea that I heard was that John Edwards has his own blog. Could you imagine if more politicians had blogs where people could post ideas and other such ideas to their mayor/senator/governor etc... Having constant feedback, one would think it would be positive to the politicians. Even with professional athletes being able to blog with them with encouragement and different ideas on how to improve. How about teachers? Maybe students see us as intimidating and can not say something to our face on how to improve our classroom, why not have them blog to get their ideas out on the table?
Now, more online "stuff." Come to find out some politicians made their running for office public on YouTube. It is amazing that YouTube is Billy Fuccillo "HUGE" and candidates running for office are announcing it on there. Who would have thought that just five years ago!? Amazing. Also, the GM car dealership has their own blog. Why? To state what is true and false about their cars they sell. Great idea! It then lets the buyers feel more comfortable and are able to blog about their concerns and hoorays about the cars they buy. They are real people, not actors doing commercials.
Another interesting part of the podcast was where Will and Rob talked about a new school opening in September and how a class was online blogging and such getting to know one another. Then when school started they had a bond with each other. Who would have thought!? How great would it be as teachers having our students blog a few weeks before school starts so that they can get to know each other and form a bond as a class. I don't know? Just an idea.
Last but not least, I found it very interesting that Will stated that he learned more from blogging then all his years of schooling...WOW. Great point to bring up though. From blogging, he could learn what he wanted and what really interested him rather than the textbook stuff he HAD to learn and was forced upon him. I never thought of technology that way, but what a great way to think of it.
Very interesting pod-cast...hats off to Will and Rob!
Part Two
"It is spreading because the flat-world platform that makes it possible is spreading and because uploading responds to a very deep human longing for individuals to participate and make their voices heard" (Friedman 124).
So the question is, "What should our students be learning?" Maybe our students should be learning how to have their voices heard. Many students don't like or enjoy school because they are bored and they are not doing what they like to do or are interested in, what if us as teachers had them give us an input on what they are interested in or gives us ideas on how to make our lessons interesting and fun for them or learn? What if we took technology and used "uploading" in the classroom for educational purposes. Possibly upload different videos, or different activities to get our students interacting with technology while they are learning. Technology is a big part of kids lives today, so that if we can get them learning by using technology that would be great. However, if they do not let us as teachers know what they want in the classroom and how they learn we can not help them with how our students should be learning.
So the question is, "What should our students be learning?" Maybe our students should be learning how to have their voices heard. Many students don't like or enjoy school because they are bored and they are not doing what they like to do or are interested in, what if us as teachers had them give us an input on what they are interested in or gives us ideas on how to make our lessons interesting and fun for them or learn? What if we took technology and used "uploading" in the classroom for educational purposes. Possibly upload different videos, or different activities to get our students interacting with technology while they are learning. Technology is a big part of kids lives today, so that if we can get them learning by using technology that would be great. However, if they do not let us as teachers know what they want in the classroom and how they learn we can not help them with how our students should be learning.
Monday, February 5, 2007
Part One
So, I figured I would have went to a few websites in Chapter 2 of Warlick's book, nope I was hooked on one for about 40 mins, yes I said it, 40 mins. What website was it? I went to Ask Jeeves for Kids... http://www.ajkids.com. I'm not going to lie, I had alot of fun. I first went to the website and just looked at the main page. It is just like the jeeves.com website with the little space you can type in what you are searching for. Then off to the right of the screen there are a pile of books with different words on then showing different subjects in school, a dictionary, a thesaurus, an almanac, an atlas, biography, and others. When you click on one of those it takes you to another page which can help answer a question you might have about the subject or maybe have sparked a new interest in that certain topic. I clicked on the science book and then I clicked around after that and I came up to how to make a lava lamp. How cool would that be? Making a lava lamp.
Then yo can click on a link that says Where's Jeeves? It then goes through this cute story of who he is and what he does and what he likes to do. I was interested in it. It had pictures of what he liked to do and it was just cute and creative how it was set up and arranged.
The site also have a fun and games link, where I spent most of my time. All the games and everything is educational, so while kids are having fun they are learning and thinking at the same time. If I could have fun with something like this imagine what a younger kid could do. They had a connect the dots game where it gave you a hint of an animal then you clicked the numbers to connect the dots and you get a few clues then you guess and it gives you the answer. It also has a tic-tac-toe game, it has checkers and that guides the players on how to play the game and make the right moves and really comprehend the point of the game, it also has a spelling game and solving riddles.
Not only can this website help kids with homework and doing papers and projects it is also fun with the games and educational at the same time. If this website was given to me when I was younger I really think I would have enjoyed doing homework and research because there is so much to that website. I feel it should be give out to third graders and up and even younger kids. A website like this can be beneficial to teachers and parents when it comes to getting their kids doing their work.
Then yo can click on a link that says Where's Jeeves? It then goes through this cute story of who he is and what he does and what he likes to do. I was interested in it. It had pictures of what he liked to do and it was just cute and creative how it was set up and arranged.
The site also have a fun and games link, where I spent most of my time. All the games and everything is educational, so while kids are having fun they are learning and thinking at the same time. If I could have fun with something like this imagine what a younger kid could do. They had a connect the dots game where it gave you a hint of an animal then you clicked the numbers to connect the dots and you get a few clues then you guess and it gives you the answer. It also has a tic-tac-toe game, it has checkers and that guides the players on how to play the game and make the right moves and really comprehend the point of the game, it also has a spelling game and solving riddles.
Not only can this website help kids with homework and doing papers and projects it is also fun with the games and educational at the same time. If this website was given to me when I was younger I really think I would have enjoyed doing homework and research because there is so much to that website. I feel it should be give out to third graders and up and even younger kids. A website like this can be beneficial to teachers and parents when it comes to getting their kids doing their work.
Friday, February 2, 2007
Random...
Just a random bit of information, but I was just sitting in my room straightening my hair and a commercial was on tv and for some reason it interested me. As I was watching it it showed Friedmans book "The World is Flat." It was for buy.com and I just found it interesting that a book we are reading was randomly in a commercial.
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Group Project
So we have a group project to do and I am the team leader...oh boy. Along with Kristin, Lindsay and Nichole we are the PODCAST group...woohoo! Anyways, when we first met we were all a bit confused as to what a podcast is and what it does and such. From there we figured out what we are going to do for our podcast. Our audio podcast will be a brief explanation as to what a podcast is, what you can use it for, how to get it and so on. Our video podcast will be us showing everyone how to make a podcast. We figured if we did something like this we would be able to help other people that may feel the way we do, confused about the world of podcasts. Hopefully it will work out the way we want it to!
Well then...
Well now that I feel stupid I am back to blogging. I had a hard time signing onto this blog and come to find out I was doing it all wrong...go figure. Anyways so our reation that was due yesterday on the readings and videos, well here it is enjoy....
So, technology is the new it thing huh? Well, then looks like I have some learning to do. I was blown away when Will Richardson said that his class is almost paperless. I believe my jaw dropped…it’s English, how is your class paperless? It looks like I better brush up on my technological skills and figure out more about this whole blog world.
At first after reading everything we had to and watched everything we had to, I was a little bitter at the whole advancement in technology. It just seems very odd that a class can be done completely online, especially an English class. It is an awesome thing that Richardson has done and I feel it is a great way to get all of the students connected in a way that they are not divided by cliques or who is or isn’t smart. On a blog everyone can be themselves and react to what other people have to say without feeling stupid or putting the other person on the spot. I feel being a future teacher it would be a great experience for my students to blog with another English class at their level from some where else across the country, sort of what we did in our 374 class. They would each have their own individual blogs and a “blog buddy” they keep in contact with, then a blog for both of our classes. After watching Richardson’s videos it made me think of what I can eventually do with my class. I feel though that some students would be reluctant to the whole blog world possibly because they do not have the internet or a computer at home, possibly sports or other after school activities, maybe work for other classes would hold them back, or maybe they just would not like that. I would love to know how Richardson enforces the blogging in his class and how he grades them with the blogging.
With the articles we had to read online I was very surprised with the fact that kids today are considered “Content Creators.” They are considered that if they have created a blog, a webpage, or even if they share music. Technology today is opening a whole new world for the future generations to learn and communicate.
So, technology is the new it thing huh? Well, then looks like I have some learning to do. I was blown away when Will Richardson said that his class is almost paperless. I believe my jaw dropped…it’s English, how is your class paperless? It looks like I better brush up on my technological skills and figure out more about this whole blog world.
At first after reading everything we had to and watched everything we had to, I was a little bitter at the whole advancement in technology. It just seems very odd that a class can be done completely online, especially an English class. It is an awesome thing that Richardson has done and I feel it is a great way to get all of the students connected in a way that they are not divided by cliques or who is or isn’t smart. On a blog everyone can be themselves and react to what other people have to say without feeling stupid or putting the other person on the spot. I feel being a future teacher it would be a great experience for my students to blog with another English class at their level from some where else across the country, sort of what we did in our 374 class. They would each have their own individual blogs and a “blog buddy” they keep in contact with, then a blog for both of our classes. After watching Richardson’s videos it made me think of what I can eventually do with my class. I feel though that some students would be reluctant to the whole blog world possibly because they do not have the internet or a computer at home, possibly sports or other after school activities, maybe work for other classes would hold them back, or maybe they just would not like that. I would love to know how Richardson enforces the blogging in his class and how he grades them with the blogging.
With the articles we had to read online I was very surprised with the fact that kids today are considered “Content Creators.” They are considered that if they have created a blog, a webpage, or even if they share music. Technology today is opening a whole new world for the future generations to learn and communicate.
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
NCATE Standards Reaction
I found the 7 standards to the NCATE very interesting. It is putting a HUGE emphasis on how important technology is in the classroom. Now, with new technologies out and everything being upgraded to an intense state, it is hard for everyone to keep up, especially teachers. Not only are they in a classroom from 8'ish-3'ish 5 days a week, they also have the after ours work that they have to do such as grade papers, tests, lesson plans, etc... It seems as if teachers these days would have to be in workshops more than not, so that they could be taught how to use the new technologies that are required for their classrooms. Yes, the new technologies are great, but when someone is comfortable with the way they teach why make them sit through something that they do not want and or need? I don't know maybe I read the standards wrong. Everything is great with the technology, don't get me wrong, I feel it is just very time consuming for teachers to deal with.
Welcome All!!
So, where to begin. I'm Ashley Pichura and I'm currently a Junior at SUNY Cortland studying Adolescence Education concentrating in English. Yes, most people would say English is for nerds, however, I like to disagree because I am far from a nerd. This log has been prompted by my ENG 307 professor...Karen Stearns, we will see how good this goes, this whole blog thing seems a bit technological for me. I mean I do well with computers and all, but iMac and iMovies and such, I might find myself half way around the world lost in everything.
Many events have occurred in my life to steer me away from the whole English teacher idea. I have thought about going into nursing if I do not pursue my career in being a teacher. Either way, both professions will be extremely gratifying. Hey, who knows, I could be a teacher during the school year and a nurse by summer.
So, why English? No idea? I was debating between English and History and I chose English. I have always loved creative writing and short stories, now that I am in my third year here at Cortland, I have come to realize that English has a WHOLE other aspect to it. I realized I am not as good of a writer as I thought I was (therefore I'm pretty sure I have many grammar errors) or reader for that matter and that frustrates me to no end.
Now, more on a personal note I will write about myself so that everyone can learn more about me. I am from a city outside of Binghamton called Johnson City, home of the Wildcats. I am extremely close with my family. The past two years have been rough, my grandmother was diagnosed with cancer on April 1st, 2005 and my mom with breast cancer on March 7th, 2006. These were pivotal points in my life that made me grow up and realize what life if really about. It is sad though that it was events like this that opened my eyes to the real world. My friends and family is what I live for and they make each day better and better. I would not have my life any other way right now.
Anyways, time to go, new things to do in ENG 307 instructed by kstearns....until next time folks!
Many events have occurred in my life to steer me away from the whole English teacher idea. I have thought about going into nursing if I do not pursue my career in being a teacher. Either way, both professions will be extremely gratifying. Hey, who knows, I could be a teacher during the school year and a nurse by summer.
So, why English? No idea? I was debating between English and History and I chose English. I have always loved creative writing and short stories, now that I am in my third year here at Cortland, I have come to realize that English has a WHOLE other aspect to it. I realized I am not as good of a writer as I thought I was (therefore I'm pretty sure I have many grammar errors) or reader for that matter and that frustrates me to no end.
Now, more on a personal note I will write about myself so that everyone can learn more about me. I am from a city outside of Binghamton called Johnson City, home of the Wildcats. I am extremely close with my family. The past two years have been rough, my grandmother was diagnosed with cancer on April 1st, 2005 and my mom with breast cancer on March 7th, 2006. These were pivotal points in my life that made me grow up and realize what life if really about. It is sad though that it was events like this that opened my eyes to the real world. My friends and family is what I live for and they make each day better and better. I would not have my life any other way right now.
Anyways, time to go, new things to do in ENG 307 instructed by kstearns....until next time folks!
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