Hello Everyone!
Now that midterms are behind us we will push forward full
steam ahead. The semester will wrap up
before you know it, so make sure that you are on top of your readings and your
work. If you have outstanding work I need it this week. I also need to have at least up to LP #4 by Friday and revised LP’s need to be turned in either on
Tuesday (10/23) or Friday (10/26) of next week. I do not want you to wait until the end of
the semester to revise them because the feedback will prove useful for the LP’s
that you are writing now. Next Friday (10/26) your website analysis
project is due. I have sent the assignment
description via email. Keep up with the readings on the syllabus-
Wineburg & Martin article for this Friday (10/19), Brewster & Fager
article for Tuesday (10/23), and Heikkinen article for next Friday (10/26). Highlight, take notes, and be prepared to
discuss in class. I will likely collect
your highlighted / note taken articles as homework. Be sure that you are updating your blog. Do not be surprised if I share your blogs
with some of local teachers.
The week after next we will fiddle around with podcasts-
some of you might want to create a podcast to incorporate into your Smart Board
lesson. Each SB group should be
establishing a timeline to teach in the schools. Be sure that you have given me a flawless LP from
the group so that I can review it before it is executed. Reminder: tonight there is a Smart Board
training from 5:30-7:30 in Ackley 102. Try
to get at least one person from your group to attend.
Blog Post Ideas-
- Do some research and put forth each presidential candidate’s proposal for education. How will each agenda affect you as a college student and / or the children that you will teach in the classroom in a few years?
- Respond to the assigned text for this past week- Chapters 4 & 6 in the Parker text.
- Respond to the articles that you are reading for this week and next.
- If you have been teaching or assisting in a local school write about your experiences. Maintain confidentiality ALWAYS.
- If you attended the conference on Killington on Memory recently write about what you learned and how the content of the presentation pertains to education specifically.
- Below is an excerpt from a book manuscript that I am currently working on. Read the text and then respond to the question below.
The Calling
Teaching is an organic process for
some people that is intertwined with who they are and where they have been; the
drive to teach is a calling rather than a career choice. Some people, I believe, are born with an
innate gift to teach others. For me, the
seed of becoming a teacher was implanted in me even before I was born. It was never a choice; it was my destiny, and
it seems that the many peaks and valleys of my life have formed who I am as an
educator, as a learner, and as a person of this planet. It was with the tough experiences that I
learned patience, empathy, and the importance of being an advocate for those
who are not able to advocate for themselves.
It was with the highlights that I gained a renewed sense of enthusiasm
for what could be possible. I take each
day in appreciation and I understand that the ups and downs are all positive contributors to who I am and
who I am becoming. Positive thinking is
a conscious choice in how I have decided to live my life. Life is too short to dwell in the depths of
despair over events that have happened in the past. There is a time for mourning, but there is
more often a time for celebration.
Everything that happens happens for a reason even if at first we do not
understand these reasons.
Describe the “calling”
that you feel to become a teacher. What
is it that has drawn you to education? Be
candid.
