the real me
I am graduating this May with my M.Ed degree, woo hoo! Last night, I ordered my cap/gown/tassel online at my college bookstore- 40.00! I don’t mean to complain, but why so much? I can’t help but get the feeling that the manufacturers are capitalizing off of us.
On a side note- I am am further investigating doctoral programs (in education) as well as law school. Time will tell! Right now I just need to finish up everything I need to this semester!
I just formed this circle on my facebook account, but I figured we could discuss a little here. Many debate this, and it seems as though one’s geographic region plays a part in whether that red stuff you put on pasta is gravy or sauce. I’m more than half Italian, and it’s sauce to me, but hey, what do I know…
I guess I just needed a break away from the blog- that’s the thing about blogging for my gradaute class- I can’t just write when I feel like it…I must write every week. Well, taking the short break helped!
Now, I’m going to read and commnet on some other blogs!
Thanks for all the ideas and support fellow bloggers!
So, I teach eighth graders. They are alot of fun. Because of this, five years ago, I put in to become the eighth grade class advisor. In doing this, I assured myself I’d be the one planning all of the major trips, graduation ceremonies, dances, etc. I enjoy this, and so my job doesn’t even really feel like a job!
Yesterday was our annual class trip down to Washington, DC. Most of our 140 eighth graders attended, as did 13 chaperones. This is the kind of trip that has so many variables that could go wrong; it seems, we inevitably, experience one of them each year we have gone.
Let me start by saying we had to arrive at school at 7 am to take attendance. Students would then be called to one of four coach buses that would take us down to DC. Upon arrival, we would be dropped somewhat near The White House, so we could get a photo op in front of the White House,, then as a group we’d walk to the Smithsonian Museum Area, where students and chaperones would pick a museum of choice, eat lunch and tour the museum. next, we would congregate and take attendance once again before the the Washington Monument, WWII Memorial, continue the walk along the Reflecting Pool, down to The Lincoln Memorial Area- famous for MLK’s “I Have A Dream Speech” and of course, the famous “Jenny” scene in the movie Forest Gump. Students would then also walk as a group to the Vietnam and Korean Memorials. Totally cool. We accomplished all of this on time, then boarded buses to head to the National Zoo to check out the animals and grab some dinner. Well, we were there about 35 minutes when the skies opened and it poured. Soaking wet pre-teems complaining about being wet and hungry is not something one wants to hear after being up since 5:15 am and being stuck on a bus for 3 hours. It was a dilemma- parents would surely complain if we cut out the zoo- and it was only spritzing when we first arrived- what could we do?
Well, we boarded buses and instead of heading straight home, made our way to a rest stop to eat. We did arrive home at 8:30, only 1/2 an hour behind schedule. For the most part, students enjoyed themselves, and hopefully learned a lot. I am exhausted!
So, this year has been the best for the trip to DC. Check out my recap of the trip in years past below.
Year 1- Dummy me, novice, called a tour company and got roped into a tour. The tour guides HATED the 8th graders, and made rude jokes, etc. Plus, we were rushed all day. The last stop at the end of the day was The Old Country Buffet. One bus never got this info. from the tour company, and it continued to drive while the other three buses stopped to eat dinner together. This bus full of starving teachers and students finally got the bright idea to turn around after a million cell phone calls, only after they got lost in a National Park somewhere, and 45 minutes later as we were finishing, made it to dinner. Not happy campers. And we all got back late- like 9:00 on a school night.
Year 2- One bus sideswiped a car as we were leaving the monument area. The side mirror came off on the car. We had to wait for police to show up. Two students threw up on bus ride home (2 separate buses, thank god, not mine)
Year 3- We had a great day- perfect weather (sunny, light breeze and like 67) and were right on schedule as we enjoyed the day.As my lead bus was leaving the city, we sideswiped a chauffeur driven Lincoln Town Car. We pulled over (the other buses kept going since it was 6pm, heavy traffic time) and the driver of the Lincoln wanted to call police to have a report taken so he would not get in trouble. Makes sense. Only the police said we weren’t a priority) and would have to wait. Our driver wanted to give his info and leave and the Lincoln driver would not let him. So, they started to argue and fight on the street. All I remember is my principal at the time telling me and the other teacher to get in the bus(and the kids- it was hot, we had been sitting on the sidewalk) and for us to shut the door! He thought they were going to fistfight! Both men were in each other’s faces yelling until our principal got in the middle. All the while, students with cell phones calling home to say they were in an accident(and parents freaking out, not sure of how bad it was etc. making calls apparently to the superintendent!!!!) Also, me and the other teacher having to do “hand checks” (looking for, well kids touching each other etc.) b/c it was still quite warm, and some boys were starting to try and take off their shirts,etc. it was crazy! Didn’t have the cops show for 2 hours- and we finally caught up to the other buses because traffic was so bad for them.Everyone got in the school that night around 11:15…
Year 4- A group of male students thought it would be funny to hold it in and not use the lavatories on the bus, or in the museums etc. By the time they got to the zoo at the end of the day, one student had completed a full- on number 2 in his pants while running to use the rest room. The remainder of the time at the zoo was spent searching for a spare set of pants, wet wipes etc. Gross. You get the point.
Year 5- Everything was great until it rained, and still-we got home just a little late, it was a success!
if so, then we are in the same boat. i have logged in to my blog multiple times over the past week. each time i have encountered a massive case of writers block. perhaps it is sensory overload. being off all week, i engorged myself with cnn and the likes of it. tearing up at this story, laughing at another, and still no juice.
does anyone have suggestions?
This story on CNN is one that you should read if you are interested in people who help impact our world in a positive way.http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/03/16/tornado.victim/index.html
“On a cloudless day in April in 2001, I visited Bonnie with a friend. She told us to lie in the grass, and she went inside her house, unleashed about a dozen puppies and watched as they ran out the door toward us. They began licking our ears, noses and toes.”
In our grad class, Writing for Electronic Communities, we also read about other electronic communities, and respond. I am responding to some interesting questions posed by our discussion leader for the week.
He first asks “1. Knowing this, do you feel you would have enjoyed these stories if they were in a regular, linear format or did this prove more enjoyable because you could choose (in Unknown’s case) where you wanted to go?”
No, I think the less linear, the better. Maybe it is just the ADD in me, wanting to be able to click and then BOOM! Change the story! I loved feeling like I had a little bit of control over the story, but not so much, as I could never fathom what would come next. The journey, not really what was being said, eventually became more important to me as I made my way through the text.
He also asks “4. Do you think that these websites might be the future of literature over the Internet or do you think people will continue to prefer the linear form?
“I’m on the fence to whether or not the physical books as we know them will go away. One thing is sure, technology is changing so rapidly that some people face frustration as one new “technological” thing they have mastered is now “old news” and other areas are the “new thing”. As a teacher standpoint, I have heard of schools moving towards using laptops entirely with text books online, etc. There are some pros and cons to this (as is with anything) Students (in my opinion) are more apt to do the work if it is connected to technology- nothing against my teaching, but kids today have been raised to have a technological awareness that many other generations did not. Also, schools will save some money on supplies. The cons of course will be that (in my opinion) there is nothing better then enjoying a really good book- one that I can hold, and lay in bed with while reading. laptops get hot and can be cumbersome. Another downside is that students will ultimately lose the experience of having to disseminate and find information of their own; with technology, it is all that their fingertips, and is a matter of point and click for more information than needed!
Next he poses, “5. Why do you think someone would go through the trouble of creating a website like The Jew’s Daughter? What purpose do you think it serves?”
“Things seek realization in new configurations” (screen 221). The Jew’s Daughter gets the reader involved on a deep level, even subconscious thinking. This is a new configuration, even for the Web…Will books go to this, sure, why not? Some, maybe it would work, but when it comes to having to get a hold of facts, one might not like the idea of jumping all around in cyberspace.
For grad. class were were asked to read and comment on a particular piece of online text. The Jew’s Daughter is a non conventional way of reading a piece of text. Basically, it is comparable, in my opinion to a choose your own adventure book. The challenge for some is whether or not to click the hypertext, which will, inexplicably, change what you are reading, as well as the thoughts and possibly ideas of what you have previously read.
I was excited and curious as to what to expect. I tried (successfully) to get through the first page of text without moving my mouse over the blue hyper-linked text. But then, at the bottom of the page, I felt bored. Yes bored. I wanted to be like the other kids and choose my adventure. So I hypertext(ed?) again and again. I found my eyes travelling back over the text I had previous read on the page with amazement at the change hat occurred in the text that had yet to be read.
I don’t know if this piece is meant to be understood in terms of meaning rather than in symbolic terms that mean to convey the power resulting in usage of hypertext.
This was a very cool and very relevant video to our graduate course, Writing for Electronic Communities. First of all, it is interesting to see a bit of how HTML started, and just what some of those commands mean, dammit. But also, it was all about the linkage. The web is using us to interface and reach more in order to help dominate more and more of our planet!
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