Feb17

In your hands..

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In your hands..

When someone asks where my heart is,

my heart is in your hands..

your hands protect me

hold me

love me

take me

and when someone asks why I trust your hands

with my heart,

I simply say, “Because I love him”…

and to be able to have the privilage of holding your

heart in my own hands is like being on top

of the world..

our two worlds met, our hands clasped together

and we’ve been inseparable..

and  when someone asks where my heart is..

I still let them know that my heart..is in your hands

 

Jan27

Let’s take the line out of Linear!

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Let’s take the line out of Linear!

My education teacher gave us this site to read and I found this great chart on it. This is definitely where I want to be in terms of teaching my class..in the Constructivist Column! There might be some changes to some of the choices, but overall this is a great way to view the classroom. Students don’t want teachers shoving facts down their throats through lectures..they want to be able to comprehend and understand the material and what’s going on.

http://ascd.org/publications/books/199234/chapters/Considering-the-Possibilities.aspx

Traditional Classrooms Constructivist Classrooms
Curriculum is presented part to whole, with emphasis on basic skills. Curriculum is presented whole to part with emphasis on big concepts.
Strict adherence to fixed curriculum is highly valued. Pursuit of student questions is highly valued.
Curricular activities rely heavily on textbooks and workbooks. Curricular activities rely heavily on primary sources of data and manipulative materials.
Students are viewed as “blank slates” onto which information is etched by the teacher. Students are viewed as thinkers with emerging theories about the world.
Teachers generally behave in a didactic manner, disseminating information to students. Teachers generally behave in an interactive manner, mediating the environment for students.
Teachers seek the correct answer to validate student learning. Teachers seek the students’ points of view in order to understand students’ present conceptions for use in subsequent lessons.
Assessment of student learning is viewed as separate from teaching and occurs almost entirely through testing. Assessment of student learning is interwoven with teaching and occurs through teacher observations of students at work and through students exhibitions and portfolios.
Students primarily work alone. Students primarily work in groups.
Jan18

Are you who you wanna be?

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Are you who you wanna be?

Well today is the first day of spring semester. And it’s raining, none the less. (It rained almost every Tuesday last semester..I’m totally over it.) I’m a little excited, I must admit. Going to school is giving me something interesting to do and I love learning new things and love when my teachers are fantastic (so I’m crossing my fingers..). This semester I’m setting out to NOT get any C’s..lol..*stupid grammar!*, to be more on top of my readings, and to not procrastinate. Part of my Education Class (TLC II) this semester, just like the last, is to go to a school and observe a classroom. But this semester is more focused on my actual grade rather than everyone in Elementary. So, hopefully I’ll get an 8th grade class to observe and do a few days of teaching in. It’s pretty exciting-finally, something in my field. It’s going to be a tough (6 classes!), but great semester and I’m looking forward to it.

This brings me to my next thought..

About a week ago, I found out that a young lady, who had happened to catch the bouquet at my best friend’s wedding, passed away due to a car crash. She was my age, had a boyfriend she wanted to marry, and was just so happy and funny. (And this was all assumed only 5 minutes after meeting her..she was truly something else). And though I don’t personally know her, it really made me take a step back from the routines of life that day and made me wonder how I’d be remembered if it happened to me..I guess that’s a little dark or depressing, but it’s true. Actually, this entire year has been this way..We’ve had so many brides and people around us dealing with cancer and death and it’s just a shock every time we hear it. Brides with breast cancer..one who beat it, was cleared for her wedding, then finding out it came but only a few months after. Another bride, who at 23, beat stage 4 colon cancer, then a yr later beating lung cancer. Another woman across the street fighting for her life with the most rare form of cervical cancer. This constant reminder of how young these women are just devistates me and makes me realize that it could be me..I pray it never will be. Life can be given and taken away so quickly in this world we’re living in.

I just want to be the reminder in your lives today that life is but a gift, and we must live it like it’s our last breath everyday that we wake up. How are we going to be remembered? Are we going to be the “mean” person? “Selfish” person? “Greedy” person? The “liar”? Or are we going to be the “compassionate”, “loving”, “selfless”, “respecting”, “funny” person? I want to be the latter of the two, but that’s just me.

This drives me to want to be the best I can be everyday that I’m alive. I want to be the best sister today. The best daughter. Girlfriend. Friend. Confidant.  The best Christ-love someone’s experienced today. The best laugh. The best student. The best follower of Christ today. This is my daily goal. And do I screw up at times? Sure. Do I forget sometimes? Of course. But the beauty of this is that I try, and when I have the privilege of waking up the next morning, I get to try all over again.

So I ask you now..Are you who you want to be? Are you the attitude you want people to remember you by? The smile they’ll remember? The laugh? The love? The friend? Sister, brother, daughter, son, girlfriend, or boyfriend? Let’s start today..and just enjoy life and not let worries or concerns overtake you when you can be smiling.