My name is Jennifer. I'm a self proclaimed blog whore. African by birth. Texan by naturalization. I love music. I love to sing.
I Capture the Castle
I must say that 2011 started off rocky but ended quite splendidly. For the first time in a long time, it seems like things are finally beginning to work out the way I want them too. That I’m finally figuring out what makes me happy and it’s quite nice to know. Anyways, time for those new year resolutions. The ones where I try to make myself a better person.
1) No Wahala- Essentially translates to no trouble. A friend of mine said this to me a few weeks ago and it amused me greatly. But now that I think about it, I have a bad habit of worrying a lot. I overanalyze and then I freak out. I’m not as anxious and tense as I used to be but I still got a little bit of work to do. So when I start to freak, I should tell myself no wahala and remember what Mr. McCall told us in high school. It all works out in the end.
2) Be financially smart- I need to save. I started a savings account a few months ago. It has very little in it but I try to add to it each month. Hopefully I get a full time job in the next 6 months and I need to try to save as much as I can. Especially since I want to buy a few things that are way out of my budget right now.
3) Me first- Sounds selfish right? I don’t even know how to title this resolution but I need to think about what I want first and try not to do what I think other people want. It stresses me out when I spread myself too thin and at times, that’s exactly what I do. But no more.
Well I believe that’s all I’ll work on. It’s gonna be difficult but I know it’s possible. Here’s to hoping the world doesn’t end in 2012.
So, before I make a new set of resolutions, I thought it’d be best to look at my old resolutions. The truth is most people are unable to keep their resolutions but I’ve been faring pretty well because I no longer aim too high.
2011 Resolutions
1. Be more physically active -yes that’s cliche but it’s very beneficial for me to be fit. And having started on this path a couple of weeks ago, I find it very rewarding. So, I will run, dance, bike, etc…
- I got this done in a way I didn’t expect with student teaching. After all that standing and all the dancing around with children, I consider myself physically active. And now, I am armed with Just Dance 2, life’s about to get good.
2) Practice my music more- The short term goal of this is so I can have a great recital. The long term goal? I just want to be good.
-Accomplished that mission :)
3) Prioritize- This is probably my most difficult resolution. In order to get it right, I must first decide what is most important to me and go from there. I put emphasis on me because I tend to do what I think others want and then sometimes, I just forget to think. I understand that people may not know why I do what I do but I have to be okay with that. Only then can I commit without any regrets.
- Accomplished. Of course I wasn’t good at this a hundred percent of the time but I have gotten way better. At least I was on it with student teaching. My new life is all about balancing everything and I’m quite happy with how I’m doing thus far.
So, all in all , I did pretty darn good. Can’t wait to see what the new year brings but I shall be making those resolutions later. Good night folks!
The 2011 corps is nearly 6,000, twelve times as big as the cohorts from the early 90s. Unfortunately, the landscape in education has changed a lot in the past twenty years. Instead of facing teacher shortages, we have teacher surpluses. There are regions where experienced teachers are being laid off to make room for incoming TFA corps members because the district has signed a contract with TFA, promising to hire their new people. In situations like this, it is hard to say with confidence that these under trained new teachers are really doing less harm than good.
If I were ‘America’ I would have this to say to TFA: While I appreciate your offer to ‘teach’ for me, I’ve already got enough untrained teachers for my poorest kids. And if teaching is just a stepping stone, for you, on the path to becoming an influential education ‘leader,’ thanks, but no thanks to that too. I don’t need the kind of leaders you spawn — leaders who think education ‘reform’ is done by threats of school closings and teacher firings. These leaders celebrate school closings rather than see them as their own failures to help them. These leaders deny any proof that their reforms are failing and instead continue to use P.R. to inflate their own claims of success. We’re having enough trouble swatting the number of that type of leader you’ve already given us. If you want to think of a new way to harness the brain power and energy of the ‘best and brightest,’ please do, but if you’re just going to give us a scaled up version of the program that tries to fill a need that no longer exists, please go and teach for someone else.
Interesting food for thought.
I never did schedule my final interview and this is partially why….
Zombie by the cranberries. Because I had too much time on my hands and I love the song. Next is to learn it on guitar
My mentor teacher listed off some names and told me long from now I will remember these very students. All the students that she named, were the ones that gave me the most trouble in class. She’s right though because I will remember them and I’ll remember them fondly.
One of the kids she named is Jospeh; A second grader who gave me hell my first week of school. He was one of 35 kids but I remember him because he was little but he had a big mouth and that big mouth moved quickly. He seemed to have a comment about everything I said and I thought to myself, this child is out to sabotage me. At the end of the day, I went to my cooperating teacher and I asked the story on Joseph. She informed me that Joseph is a foster kid, passed from home to home because no one wanted to deal with his troublesome ways. A sad story indeed but I could see why this was the case, and I thought to myself, oh great. It’s going to be a long semester but I may as well figure out how to deal with him. Some days, I wanted to pull out my hair in frustration but as I got to know Joseph more, I realized he’s just a child who craves attention that he doesn’t receive at home.
So, I decided I’d make Joseph my helper. This strategy had worked with a first grader Josh (Josh liked spinning around during class, so he held my hand up front and helped point out rhythm on the board). I had Joseph help out during class doing things such as helping me pick the kids who should have a turn (only the ones sitting quietly criss cross applesauce. It was a disaster because this child still had comments and questions and would ask/speak during my instructions. We then went over what it meant to be a helper and how to model good behavior. This seemed to have been a successful approach because as my student teaching went on, I spoke to Joseph less and less and teaching 2nd grade became easier.
Finally my last week of teaching, he became one of the best students in the class but on my last day we played a game, and he got too loud and I had him sit out on an activity where we used beanbags. He wasn’t the only kid to not get a beanbag but while the others finally got theirs back (because they still participated actively). Joseph instead burst into tears and my heart broke for him but I refused to back down. I then spoke to him about his behavior after the activity and he told me I was unfair to him because I didn’t like him. I informed him that I did like him, which is why I made him my helper but there are lines that he must not cross, and that his behavior has indeed gotten better but outbursts are still inappropriate in classrooms. He begrudgingly agreed and went back to rejoin the class. As he did so, I thought that I had ruined everything I had been working on with Joseph’s behavior. At the end of class, I informed the children that it was my last day. Most were upset and as I sent them on their way, Joseph comes up to me, hugs me, and tells me he’ll miss me. To which I replied, I’ll miss you too. Be good. The truth is I will miss him greatly.
My point is, that teachers often spend more time with these students than they do with their parents. We do not know their home life but it often affects how they behave in school. We should give them the benefit of a doubt before we jump to conclusions about their classroom behavior. And parents, it is okay to draw a line. I firmly believe that this helps children understand that you do care. They are gifts. Often smarter than we give them credit for and when they grow up, they’ll be the one taking care of you. And with that, I’m getting off my soapbox. Happy thanksgiving!
- The Razor’s Edge by Somerset Maugham”
I have a lot going on and even though I’m super busy and I haven’t seen my friends as much as I used to, I like my life for the most part. I remember reading The Razor’s Edge in High School and reading about Larry trying to find himself. Although I enjoyed it, I never understood why it was so difficult. Somewhere over the past few weeks I had an epiphany. And now I finally get it. I’m finally who I want to be and where I want to be and it feels great. I actually have a plan and it seems feasible. It only took not having anymore classes, quitting rlh, and moving off campus. I now have to act like an adult and pay bills and what not but I don’t mind so much because it beats where I was. For the first time in a long time I’m happy with no major anxiety issues. Guess the college environment wasn’t the best one for me. I am so ready to be done student teaching, get a teaching job, and start living the rest of my life. It’s not as scary as I thought. It’s rather exciting.
