Last week was my last week of teaching for Upward Bound. As much as I know that teaching high school students long term isn't for me, saying goodbye to some of my students at their award ceremony was actually bitter sweet. I really enjoyed my Women's Studies class and there really were only a handful of students that were a problem. Grading took forever, but I finished all my paper work around 1am on Friday... meaning I've had time to start thinking about grad school.
The first thing on my agenda was finding a place to live, which I accomplished within a few days. I did lots of calling around and thanks to a friend who lives in St. Louis (I'll be going to Washington University there) I was able to secure a place with minimal hassle. Now the procrastinating packing has begun. I keep looking around my place, knowing that I need to start packing something, and then I do something else instead. I think seeing my belongings packed away will make this all too real. It's already starting to sink in, since I wrote a check for my new apartment this weekend, but packing will bring it to a new level. I'm thrilled to have this opportunity, but the next few months are plagued with so many uncertainties... I'm starting to feel very nervous. New city, new school, new people, new challenges.
So I leave August 13th... only 25 days from now and I'm procrastinating to the extreme to avoid the terrible trepidation that is threatening to overtake me and I keep thinking, "what the hell did I just get myself into?"
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Friday, July 1, 2011
The coolest app for fellow bookworms
I've always had the hardest time keeping track of which books I own and have read. I'm always losing books because I loan them out and I have random scraps of paper all over with recommended book titles or authors scribbled on them in the hope that I'll read them someday. I've told myself I'd keep a notebook or an excel spreadsheet to keep track, but its never happened.
Finally last night, as I tried to figure out what new book I wanted to start, I decided to look for an app. And I found a really cool one. It's called BooksAp and you can check it out at http://books-app.com/. It has a barcode scanner that automatically adds your books. Like all barcode scanners I've used, it doesn't work every time, but you can also search for books and add them via Google books. It automatically sorts your books by author and you can put the books into series. You also can create collections. For example, I'm using a collection called "to buy" for the books that I still want to buy or that have been recommended to me. I have another list called "to read" for the books I own but haven't read yet.
My favorite feature though is the "lend to a friend." You can select any book from your library and there is a link to click on if you loan the book out. That link synchs with your contacts and you select the friend you loan it to. If I'd had this a few years ago I wouldn't be wondering what happened to my Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.
Anyway it has a lot of features I haven't had time to really explore yet, but I'm really excited about what I have found and wanted to share! Happy reading!
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Not meant to teach high school...
I've been away for a bit because I've been incredibly busy trying to get through teaching this summer. I still have 3 weeks left and I can't wait for it to be over! Thankfully 3 weeks means teaching 8 more classes total after today, which isn't so bad. I just had the longest weekend ever due to the program... we went to Weatherford for their Academic Bowl competition. I was the social studies coach, which meant I had to be there all weekend to monitor students and help out with the events. I had some great times - for example watching our basketball team win 1st place in the championship - but there were more not so great times. Like when I got to haul all the girls bags onto the back of the bus and get all sweaty before we left. Or when I got to haul all the bags off the bus when we got there (I did the bags 4x...). Or when I didn't get dinner because I was grading tests. You get the point - the kids had fun, I worked.
Anyway classes started back yesterday. The kids didn't get a weekend (nor did I), so we're all tired and I just don't have it in me to try and come up with great lessons. Movies are wonderful things... the kids like watching them and they mean less work for me. Plus they actually can be educational...
Anyway classes started back yesterday. The kids didn't get a weekend (nor did I), so we're all tired and I just don't have it in me to try and come up with great lessons. Movies are wonderful things... the kids like watching them and they mean less work for me. Plus they actually can be educational...
Sunday, June 12, 2011
What a Week!
I haven't posted for a while because I've been busy having one of the busiest weeks ever! I started classes on Monday and started teaching on Tuesday. If that wasn't enough to keep me busy, I was also tutoring a little bit this week. Let's just say I really underestimated how busy I'd be and overestimated my ability to deal...
So first - let's talk about ridiculously long days! Monday we got to campus by 8:15am and didn't leave until 8:45pm. Tuesday we got there at 7:30 and left around 4:30. Wednesday was 9am to 9pm.... you get the idea. The worst part was, I was busy for every minute I was there. If I wasn't teaching, I was learning. Talk about mental exhaustion.
I had planned to combat my mental exhaustion and stress by taking scuba diving. What a let down! I couldn't have hated it more. I'm a swimmer. Scuba diving is about sitting under water. We didn't swim, we sat and froze our asses off. Not exactly my idea of a good time. And we had to haul around our gear, wear heavy weight belts so we'd sink, and after all that - sit in a classroom for an hour and learn the SCIENCE of scuba diving. Well anyone who knows me knows that the entry of science marked my departure from the class. Yep, I dropped it. I'll stick with swimming laps, which I love.
And I'll be doing lots of lap swimming to deal with the stress of teaching. Don't get me wrong, I do like to teach. But I decided to be a professor and not a middle/high school teacher for a reason. This week has served to reinforce that I made the right decision. These kids are smart, more dedicated and focused than most their age, and still they are... well their age (15-17). I just prefer adults, what can I say. I have 20 students in my Spanish I class, which I realize is not that many, but it's more than enough for 8am. Especially since these teens ARE morning people and are already bouncing off the walls. Actually they may just be on a caffeine high, because by an hour in they are done bouncing off the walls and I'm having to keep them awake. On the other hand, I think I'm really going to enjoy my Women's Studies class. There's only 11 of them (well 9 were there on Wednesday), and it's a discussion class, instead of lecture. I'll know tomorrow when I see if they did their reading and are able to engage in coherent discussion.
On the plus side of the week - my French is flying back to me! My first week in a graduate class went really well, and if I do say so myself, I'm one of the best at it! I'm sure the fact that I: (1) took French extensively once upon a time, and (2) know Latin and Spanish pretty well has have helped quite a bit. Either way, I don't suck and that's an exiting way to start my first graduate class!
Sleep was a real issue this week - I was going to bed at 2 and 3 am and waking up by 7 at the latest. I made up for it yesterday though. Went to bed Friday night at 11:30pm and didn't wake up until 1:15pm!! I didn't even know I could sleep like that anymore, it's been so long, but I guess I really needed it. Then we went to spend the day with my stepson and his family - I had a kinda pathetic birthday due to my crazy week and lack of sleep (thanks to Laura who joined me for drinks on Thursday it wasn't truly pathetic. Thanks for lifting my spirits girl!), but they surprised me with a tres leches birthday cake, making up for my lackluster birthday. Then we went to the creek, where I proceeded to think I was a kid again and walk around barefoot in the water, falling on my ass (2 times actually), once with my cell phone in my pocket. So I'm waiting for my replacement to come in on Tuesday (I have a long, bad history with phones and am always well equipped with insurance). Despite the damaged phone it was a really great time and I know the kids had a blast.
Oh and I just got an email from WashU about setting up my student ID and email address. Yay!! Things are starting to fall into place! Anywho - that's a really quick snapshot of my crazy week. I'm finally done grading papers (that's a real drag, BTW... I think I hate grading essays more than they hate writing them), so I'm off to do my French homework.
So first - let's talk about ridiculously long days! Monday we got to campus by 8:15am and didn't leave until 8:45pm. Tuesday we got there at 7:30 and left around 4:30. Wednesday was 9am to 9pm.... you get the idea. The worst part was, I was busy for every minute I was there. If I wasn't teaching, I was learning. Talk about mental exhaustion.
I had planned to combat my mental exhaustion and stress by taking scuba diving. What a let down! I couldn't have hated it more. I'm a swimmer. Scuba diving is about sitting under water. We didn't swim, we sat and froze our asses off. Not exactly my idea of a good time. And we had to haul around our gear, wear heavy weight belts so we'd sink, and after all that - sit in a classroom for an hour and learn the SCIENCE of scuba diving. Well anyone who knows me knows that the entry of science marked my departure from the class. Yep, I dropped it. I'll stick with swimming laps, which I love.
And I'll be doing lots of lap swimming to deal with the stress of teaching. Don't get me wrong, I do like to teach. But I decided to be a professor and not a middle/high school teacher for a reason. This week has served to reinforce that I made the right decision. These kids are smart, more dedicated and focused than most their age, and still they are... well their age (15-17). I just prefer adults, what can I say. I have 20 students in my Spanish I class, which I realize is not that many, but it's more than enough for 8am. Especially since these teens ARE morning people and are already bouncing off the walls. Actually they may just be on a caffeine high, because by an hour in they are done bouncing off the walls and I'm having to keep them awake. On the other hand, I think I'm really going to enjoy my Women's Studies class. There's only 11 of them (well 9 were there on Wednesday), and it's a discussion class, instead of lecture. I'll know tomorrow when I see if they did their reading and are able to engage in coherent discussion.
On the plus side of the week - my French is flying back to me! My first week in a graduate class went really well, and if I do say so myself, I'm one of the best at it! I'm sure the fact that I: (1) took French extensively once upon a time, and (2) know Latin and Spanish pretty well has have helped quite a bit. Either way, I don't suck and that's an exiting way to start my first graduate class!
Sleep was a real issue this week - I was going to bed at 2 and 3 am and waking up by 7 at the latest. I made up for it yesterday though. Went to bed Friday night at 11:30pm and didn't wake up until 1:15pm!! I didn't even know I could sleep like that anymore, it's been so long, but I guess I really needed it. Then we went to spend the day with my stepson and his family - I had a kinda pathetic birthday due to my crazy week and lack of sleep (thanks to Laura who joined me for drinks on Thursday it wasn't truly pathetic. Thanks for lifting my spirits girl!), but they surprised me with a tres leches birthday cake, making up for my lackluster birthday. Then we went to the creek, where I proceeded to think I was a kid again and walk around barefoot in the water, falling on my ass (2 times actually), once with my cell phone in my pocket. So I'm waiting for my replacement to come in on Tuesday (I have a long, bad history with phones and am always well equipped with insurance). Despite the damaged phone it was a really great time and I know the kids had a blast.
Oh and I just got an email from WashU about setting up my student ID and email address. Yay!! Things are starting to fall into place! Anywho - that's a really quick snapshot of my crazy week. I'm finally done grading papers (that's a real drag, BTW... I think I hate grading essays more than they hate writing them), so I'm off to do my French homework.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Sad news... the Entourage eDGe has been discontinued :-(
 |
| The Entourage eDGe, may she rest in peace :-( |
Reviewers are talking about how having both an eInk reader screen and an Android powered LCD made it too heavy and too expensive. I have to disagree completely. Devices, like the IPAD for example, may be lighter weight, but they are much more costly and are not nearly as functional as the eDGe. The eDGe allows me to read pdf and epub files and annotate them with a stylus. I can then re-save the file in pdf form with my annotations. And that's just the reader functions! There's also the note pad, not to mention android applications, Docs to Go, audio recorder and a lot more!
I just can't imagine not having mine and I think it's a real loss that they've been discontinued. I just hope someone in the near future picks up where they left off and advertises better! I think this reflects on our society's priorities... we have all these gadgets that are so expensive and yet do great because they cater to our obsessive need for entertainment. Meanwhile, a device that caters to the academic fails. Oh well, I guess I'm just glad I have mine. Still a sad day in my book... :-(
Friday, May 27, 2011
Vacuum Storage Bags
Today I did some packing. Well, technically I was re-packing. I had already tried to pack up all but a few outfits for the summer, but I ran out of space. So I ordered some of those storage bags that you use a vacuum to suck out all the air. So today I re-packed my clothes using the vacuum bags and eliminated an entire suitcase! Yay for small victories!
On an entirely different note, I did some more work on my Spanish I lesson plans. Again, wow is this time consuming! I've got the vocab lists for the entire course, worksheets and quizzes for my first unit written, as well as the directions and rubric for their family tree project. So many small details to attend to. I was freaking out, but then my friend, who just got a job teaching with the program this summer as well, texted me. He was freaking out too - so I feel a little better. Apparently my panic is well-founded. :-)
Wrapped up my day babysitting the most adorable 18 month-old little girl in the world. Her parents went to dinner and I worked on lesson plans while watching Buffy The Vampire Slayer (she was asleep already). Fabulous end to a pretty productive day!
On an entirely different note, I did some more work on my Spanish I lesson plans. Again, wow is this time consuming! I've got the vocab lists for the entire course, worksheets and quizzes for my first unit written, as well as the directions and rubric for their family tree project. So many small details to attend to. I was freaking out, but then my friend, who just got a job teaching with the program this summer as well, texted me. He was freaking out too - so I feel a little better. Apparently my panic is well-founded. :-)
Wrapped up my day babysitting the most adorable 18 month-old little girl in the world. Her parents went to dinner and I worked on lesson plans while watching Buffy The Vampire Slayer (she was asleep already). Fabulous end to a pretty productive day!
Thursday, May 26, 2011
I got a job! Yay!?!?
Trying to find a solution to my lack of funds for moving - I applied for a job teaching this summer. Last week I found out that I've been given three classes and I was thrilled. After today, however, I'm questioning how well this is going to work out. I spent most my day preparing my Spanish class materials. I wrote my syllabus (including agenda and grading scale). I threw in the towel while working on my vocab lists.
I need the money and I really do love teaching, so I'm not about to give up, but seriously... I never dreamed this planning would take me so long! I mean who'd have thought that putting together an agenda and the materials for a class that meets 4 hours a week for 6 weeks would be so difficult? To be fair, I think this is more difficult than a normal high school situation. I've been told here's your class title, teach what you want. No textbook. No objectives. No expectations. The freedom is great, but maybe just a little bit crippling. It's exciting though, and ultimately I'm a nerd so (complaining about the work aside) most of me is loving this.
I need the money and I really do love teaching, so I'm not about to give up, but seriously... I never dreamed this planning would take me so long! I mean who'd have thought that putting together an agenda and the materials for a class that meets 4 hours a week for 6 weeks would be so difficult? To be fair, I think this is more difficult than a normal high school situation. I've been told here's your class title, teach what you want. No textbook. No objectives. No expectations. The freedom is great, but maybe just a little bit crippling. It's exciting though, and ultimately I'm a nerd so (complaining about the work aside) most of me is loving this.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)