Ideas+-++Thoughts

=**IDEAS/THOUGHTS**= Ideas from writing for English 313:

21.1.09

Today I've been trying to get everything in order. It seems that I keep forgetting my German Independent study, so I'd like to have my schedule planned so that I do not forget the class. I'd also like to be ahead in my planning and activities. Due to the fact that I have to change my work schedule, my homework schedule also needs to change. I'm not overly concerned with the work schedule as of yet. Yes, __10 hours on a Saturday is A LOT of time__, but it practically takes care of all of the time I am required to work during the week. (Seed write- So, I've been asked to write more about one particular part of my writing. Since I didn't really elaborate on my Saturday activities, I figured that it would be a good place to start. So, here goes. I don't know how I truly feel about working Saturdays. In some ways I like it. I'm able to work with people that I've known for a long time, but what concerns me is the fact that I've known them for a long time. I went from being their co-worker to now being their boss. It's a bit strange. Also, I'm not sure that I'm fond of the hours as well. 10+ hours is a long time to be in one place. Granted, I'll be able to do quite a bit of work, but it just feels strange to me. I know that I should be able to catch up on the reading that I've wanted to do, but I guess the thought of 10 hours kind of freaks me out. Obviously I have to approach the situation in a different way. Perhaps I need to compare it to something I've already done and hopefully that will make it seem a little less scary. Who knows) I've actually found that I'm more rested and ready to go. Hopefully this will continue and then not only will I be more rested but also more organized as well. I also like the fact that things aren't as unexpected as they used to be. It was decided today that we would no longer cover for Angie, which is GREAT! It always frustrated me that she called in so much. I felt that since she didn't have to directly deal with upper management that she felt it was ok to pull more over everyone else's heads. Wrong. I don't know how all of this will play out, but it would be nice for Pinter and myself not to be thrown into situations where we have to drop everything in order to pick up the slack. I do understand that things come up, but it's been way too many times to count, and I've only been in that position for 6 months or so, so it just seems unacceptable to me.

Onto a different topic. So, David and I have been discussing wedding plans a bit more now. I don't want to get too carried away, but there is a lot of stuff that we are discussing. I've been asking friends who are far away as to when would be a good time for them to come. I've always envisioned having everyone there. Rene and Michael are such great friends that they're practically like family. I'd love to have them there and participate if possible. The problem lies in the fact that I've somewhat envisioned an October affair, but as of late, I've found out that nobody from Germany would be able to come due to the fact that school is in session? I guess I need to know how to make a good decision about that. Can I forgo my idea of getting married in the fall in order to have my friends there. They are family, and besides my parents and grandparents, I would be really disappointed not to have them there. But I also have to wonder what the drawing line is. I can't do everything for everyone else. This is my wedding and the only one I'm going to have. Hmmm....It's difficult to say. I guess that's one that I may not be able to figure out on my own. Perhaps after some long discussions with other people will help. It could just throw off a lot of things (i.e. color ideas, etc.) Well, I guess we'll need to figure that out sometime soon. Inevitably if I change the date, then it will be earlier in the year than we had originally thought. YIKES! That means more to do in a shorter period of time.

26.1.09

I feel very strongly about my writing experiences in high school. One in particular, was an instance I wrote about for one of my most influential writings in my life. It wasn't a positive experience by any means, but rather a negative one that encouraged me to not only keep up with what I was doing, but to also challenge the "norms" and express my own points of view for a change. I high school, I tended to be vocal in some classes, but there were others that I tended to stay to myself due to the fact that there were a lot of classmates who tended to be very critical of other peoples work. In one particular class, I rarely ever talked. I disliked the way the teacher ran the class due to the fact that all he did was lecture. For one particular assignment, he asked us to write a paper on a particular poem. I was given the poem "Leda and the Swan" and was asked to write my own interpretation on the text. I worked hard on the assignment. I spend hours at the library doing extra research on the poem. I would see what other scholars had to say about the text in order to not only help guide me in what I was going to say, but to also help shape the poem in different forms for me. I felt good about the paper I handed in. I had spent outside time working and researching the poem and it felt good to turn in an assignment that I felt good about. When our teacher finally got around to returning our papers back to us, I was upset by the grade I received. All of the hard work and effort, and I received a D on the paper. I was angry, frustrated and mainly just trying not to cry in class. I couldn't understand why I had received such a poor grade. For this particular paper, our teacher had required that each of us meet individually with him in order to discuss our assignments more in depth. I honestly, didn't want to meet with him. I was mad and didn't want to hear the negative things he had to say about what I had written. On the other hand, I did somewhat want to meet with him because I wanted to know exactly WHY I had received such a poor grade. The time arrived for me to meet with him and reluctantly I went in and talked with him. We discussed the mechanics of my paper first and foremost. There were a few grammatical errors and I accepted what he had to say about those mistakes. If anything, I wanted to improve my writing, so those recommendations were acceptable and I felt better about our discussion about my grammar.

28.1.09

Germany. It seems that there is a lot in my life that connects to the country. First of all, I have family that came from there. Secondly, I have an adopted family who is there and who I love very much. As stated earlier, I desperately want them to be a part of big events in my life (as long as time permits). Now, I'm working, attending school full time and wondering if I'll have the time to go back and see them for a while. Professor Lovik sent me an email today with information about a great opportunity in Leipzig. I want to go and honestly feel the need to go. I want to improve my language ability as much as possible and feel that the only way to do so is to submerse myself into the language. Also, if I teach the language, I want to feel that my students will receive the best type of instruction. Who wants to learn from someone who doesn't completely know the language? My big set back - work. I'm really concerned about this. I need to keep my job in order to pay for everything, but at the same time, I feel the need to take this trip. I'm nervous, anxious and everything in between. I'm not so worried about David. I know that he'll support me in whatever I decide to do. I'm just very scared with how things are for me right now. Things have felt like a whirlwind for me for a while, and I know that it will only get worse before it gets better. I honestly don't know what to do. Why I should go: Excellent opportunity, could improve my knowledge in the language as well as in teaching opportunities, great on resume, ability to be on my own for a while, opportunity to Michi and Rene again Why I shouldn't go: Job, David, Job, impending internship, money issues, wedding planning

2.2.09

Narrative Genre: What types of grammar would you find in a personal narrative as opposed to another genre? Dialog

Naturally dialog is going to be different within a personal narrative due to the fact that every individual talks and interacts with people in a different manor. For some people, there will be a lot of slang and street type talk, for others, speech is a bit more proper but perhaps worded wrong, and still others add endings on words that don't require them (more of a country type talk - this is how I view this particular type of talk-I'm not saying that everyone from the country talks like this. People from very rural communities tend to talk like this).

My big question about dialog within a personal narrative is what should we expect out of our students in this particular area? Should we only grade on what we understand, or should there be other requirements? Should we grade spelling if perhaps some students pronounce words differently and therefore write them out phonetically instead of how they should be written? Should we grade them on how they construct sentences if perhaps that is how they talk in their home or with their friends?

Grammar point - Well, it's hard for me to really incorporate my writing style into one of the fore mentioned examples of dialog. I guess I would have to say that my writing falls into the more polished form, yet there will always be a few mistakes. Perhaps that is just how I was instructed as a student, but it is also how I talk. I don't use a lot of slang when speaking, so that wouldn't come out in my writing. More of the rural vernacular also doesn't come out in my writing due to the fact that I tend to be a little more aware of what I'm saying and or reading and honestly, it irritates me to hear people talk like that, so it encourages me not to speak that way. I do tend to add a lot of repetition to my writings, where as some people would not.

4.2.09

Today I feel very overwhelmed. It seems that everything is starting to group up together and I'm loosing it. I stay up with my assignments on the wiki or on my syllabus, but find that there is more that I keep forgetting to do. It's frustrating and it throws me off. I continually find myself asking what I am to be doing for a particular class. I love that Kelly is flexible with our class, but also find that she doesn't always have everything planned. I think that she bases a lot of our class work off of what we discussed the previous class period. I have no problem with that, but I feel that assignments are given at the last minute and therefore throw me off of what exactly I should be doing. On top of these feelings, I feel that assignments are starting to boggle me down. It seems like there's too much reading and that everything is assigned in groups. All of my big projects are due at once and that bothers me. I'm naturally tired which tends to make me panic a bit more than normal. I still haven't decided how to deal with all of the stress. I love working on Saturdays, but sometimes wonder if it is such a good thing for me. I do get two full days off, but, I had to give up my homework day for it. Is it really worth it?

Speaking of stress. I'm trying to figure out a good way to approach Jane about things at work. I feel like she's taking a lot out on me and I don't appreciate it. I'm not sure how to approach the whole situation. Is it good for me to write her an email, or is this something that I need to approach in person. I find her such a difficult person to talk with. How do I over come this? This may very well be something that I will have to deal with later on in my career. What to do? I don't want to loose my job over something like this, but feel that it needs to be approached. Perhaps I should talk with Matt about it. Yes. I think that he may have some insight that would allow me to talk with her in a professional yet appropriate manor. I just don't like being picked on and somewhat abused because of someone else's mistake or lack of communication.

16.2.09

Seems like its been a while since I wrote last. Today we worked with iMovie in 408. What a wonderful tool. It was really exciting to compile our own creations and to share them with our peers. I truly hope that I will be able to have some interaction with a teacher who teaches some sort of film class. I requested that I be placed with someone who teaches a class like that, but then again, I'm not completely sure what will come out of it. I guess we'll find out in a couple of weeks when Trudy comes in with our placements. I think that I'm very nervous about next year in terms of student teaching. I've expressed my concerns with Andy about how I just don't feel prepared. It seems like in theory I have everything or will have everything I need to complete a successful year of internship, but the thought of actually instructing a class somewhat scares me. Hopefully, through all of my planning, I won't feel as apprehensive about my placement once the school year hits. Organization is key, and I was aware of that once they truly began talking about placement, and Trudy restated this information when I emailed her about my schedule. I know that I can do this. It's just nerve racking due to the fact that it is an unknown. Something I don't know and wonder if I'll be good at. I feel the same way about getting married. Something that I look forward to doing, but am still scared about it at the same time. To reconnect with the whole iMovie aspect, I think that it would be a really cool thing to do with a slide show for the reception. It could be something that could be put together fairly quickly and could be done pretty professionally. Plus, I wouldn't have to pay for it:) Perhaps I'll start looking into that come Spring Break time. (T Minus 3 weeks and counting). So, on top of using this application for a possible wedding theme, I think that it would be a really great tool to use in a classroom. My main concern at this point in time is what I should be doing with students who only have access to PC's. It's funny, but I really don't use them enough any more to feel comfortable with teaching applications that are closely related to them. How do I reach students and teach them meaningful things without hindering their experiences due to the fact that I may or may not know what I am doing. I guess it's something that I'll just need to experiment with as I go. It's kind of neat to sit and listen to everyone type. I also find it amusing due to the fact that so many of us started these sessions with just writing on a plain piece of paper. I think many people realized that they can say a whole lot more when they type. Tis true. We type a whole lot faster than we write. It's just a neat sound to listen to everyone. Tippy tap on the keys. We have such a tight knit community in our classes right now. I wonder what next year will hold. I know they tend to place us up more by placement instead of subject. I know we'll meet a lot of new people which is nice, but also a little scary as well. I'd personally like to see what my peers are working on in terms of their own classrooms. I guess I'll just have to wait and see what is going on once the time comes. Now that this particular writing sequence has had numerous random statements, I will close it out. No need to keep going, one because our time is almost up and secondly, there's not much else I can think of to write.

18.2.09

Today is a depressing day where the sun doesn't care to shine. In another words, it's gloomy. It's one of those days where you'd much rather just stay in bed and sleep because the look of the outdoors depresses you enough to make you want to stay as far away from it as you can. You know, one of those days where it's dark, rainy, silent (minus the sound of the rain being run through by passing by cars) and very...unmotivating. It's one of those days where it seems like the weather has even given up on its self. It seems as if the weather doesn't think that it will ever be sunny, so it decides to be depressed about it's current state of events and mope for the entire day. It acts as if everyone needs to feel it's pain over its inability to be cheerful and sunny. These types of days are extremely hard. It's especially when going to class is involved in my tasks for the day. As I woke up this morning, my lack of sleep followed by the view of the day ahead of me made me want to climb right back into my warm bed. Back into a bed that had been warmed by the four hours of sleep I had had the night before. A bed that contained two of the most hot blooded, cuddly kitties one could ever ask for. Just the thought of cuddling with the cats is enough for me to want to walk right back home and go to bed. (I think I'm making myself tired right now just thinking about this).

25.2.09

Where to begin today? STRESS!!!!! That seems to sum up my life at this particular point in time. Seems like I just can't seem to keep everything under control. I somewhat know what to expect for next year in terms of preparation for my internship but things are still boggling me to no ends. Today in class we discussed our writing sequences. This is my major stresser right now. I have found that all of Joe's and my preparation has been tossed out the window and is being replaced with uncertainty and wonderment as to whether we will accomplish the task in enough time. What to do? Hopefully things will begin to look better after class today, but for the moment life is feeling like its slowly crashing out of control. I think that a few emails need to be written in order to mend some of my anxiety.

One email off and running. I just can't seem to get the MSU email account to work any faster. The slower it goes the more frustrating it becomes...

2.3.09

"Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening"

Word: Tired

INtroduce: Tired seems to run through the poem due to the many images of not stopping in areas that are normal for resting. The speaker seems to make us as the readers feel as if he still has a lot to do before he is able to rest.

INsert: My little horse must think it queer To stop without a farmhouse near and But I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep, And miles to go before I sleep.

INterpret: This means that the speaker has been traveling for a while and has important promises to keep so he cannot stop to take time to sleep. He/She is finding a way to cut through and quicken their travel, but still find the journey long.

4.3.09

Writing prompt:

What would you do with three wishes?

I have often thought about this and still don't know if I exactly know what I would wish. I guess if I had to, these would be my wishes: 1. For success- I would wish for success for myself and for David. I think that if we were successful in our fields and didn't have to worry about loosing our jobs that we would be in a good place financially and emotionally. With these things I think that we could enjoy each other's company even more and would love living life.

2. To have the ability to travel whenever I'd like-I would love to have this. I enjoy traveling, but don't get to do it enough. I'd like to be able to decide to go somewhere on a whim and have the ability to do so (without it costing me more money). In this respect, I could go visit my friends whenever I'd like and can enjoy learning about other cultures.

3. For my family's happiness- I would like for everyone in my family to be happy and content with their lives. It's important to me that they succeed with whatever they set out to do in their lives and I'd like for my parents to not have to worry about their retirement and whether or not they'll have to work.

The 10 worst things that could happen on my way into work:
 * I have a flat tire
 * I run into a deer
 * A meteor hits my car
 * I get car jacked
 * I run out of gas
 * I forget how to get to work
 * I get pulled over by the police...more than once
 * My co-workers don't believe that I work with them
 * I hit a person
 * I crash my car

18.3.09

I just found out that I've been offered a position at the AATG teaching prep course in Germany this summer. I'm excited but need to present a good case to UPS in order to convince them to let me go. Here are my thoughts:

By allowing me to participate in this opportunity it will not only help me benefit in my area of study at MSU, but it will also help benefit my abilities and increase my resources in helping with our business. First of all, this prep course is in another country. By being there I will be forced to find new ways to communicate with others. I will have to make sure that my opinions are stated correctly and will therefore improve more effective ways to communicate with others. By obtaining this ability I will then be able to bring back what I have learned and implement it within the work setting. I am constantly working with other employees who sometimes need situations spelled out in order to understand what is expected of them. I intend to use my learned abilities in oder to relay information and expectations quickly and efficiently. Hopefully this will also help in keeping conflicts down to a minimum and will allow for better employer/employee relations. This conference will also enable me to engage in new and inventive ways in evaluating student's abilities within the classroom. I can turn what I learn into a good application for work. I can continually find new and innovative ways to evaluate employees on their work methods and safety knowledge. I can also instruct them in a way that doesn't seem like a lecture but something that is fun and possibly enjoyable. I will also be learning how to teach German as a foreign language. It will give me the information I need in order to properly teach students. In the same way, I will be able to implement new ways in how to teach employees their jobs as well as understand their different learning and performing methods. I can easily see what will and won't work well for them. I will also be able to connect with them on a very different level. I can see where they are coming from and can implement my instructions based on their background knowledge of their job and on their lives.

25.3.09

Today I found out where I'll be interning for the next year. At the moment I have some mixed emotions, but feel that overall, things work out for particular reasons. I think that being in a new area will help me understand what it will be like to be a new teacher as well a prepare me for the years of teaching I have ahead of me. Andy states that his students need a lot of encouragement and support in his area, so perhaps this is why I was placed where I was. I continue to have concerns about how I will balance everything in my life during this next year, i.e. job, internship, classes, planning, David, wedding planning, family, etc. Hopefully, I can get everything in order so that things will flow smoothly for me. It's going to be hard and I'll have to work hard at doing things, but I think everything will go well. I was thinking about work a bit while just quickly looking over the high school's webpage. I noticed that they start classes at 7:44 am. This could actually be a good thing for me. It means they get out earlier which is great in terms of sleeping for me :) I think that work would work a lot with what I have to do. I could go into work later and then just leave and go strait to teaching. I'm thinking that this is the best plan. From there, I'll have to incorporate everything else, but this may very well work. I think it's mainly the apprehension that gets me nervous about everything.

20.4.09

As I think about my portfolio project, I'm debating what types of texts to use within my most influential areas. First of all, I think that I'm going to add in the television show "Lost". Why might you ask? Well...amazingly I actually started putting together elements of teaching while watching the show. It occurred to me one day that "Lost" uses tons of recursive as well as backwards planning. My teacher friends hated me when I brought this thought up in conversation one day. They completely agreed with me, but the fact that I had linked a good television show with teaching was almost a sin in their eyes :). I think that this show has a lot of really teachable elements within the story and I'd love to be able to use it whenever I can. I actually created a mini-type lesson surrounding this show. I also think that I would include my personal narrative from this class...or perhaps my research project. I'm not sure. I think that either one of those texts would be beneficial for me to add. They helped me approach assignments from a student's perspective which helped, but I also feel that I connected well with these assignments and presented them in interesting ways. Questions: What should I include? Does everything need to connect directly to me, or can I have them relate in other ways? Does everything have to be textual? I have a television show, but can we include a website, movie, music, etc? What do employers want to see? Professional or personal?