What to do?

When I get stressed and overwhelmed I always take time to myself. I know I that point I would not be a pleasant person to be around, half the time I do not even want to be around me. Whether it be to sit down and watch my favorite TV show by myself or even just sleep. Sleep cures ecverything. Usually when I am this stressed or overwhelmed by all I have to do, I have a lack of sleep. So actually taking some time to stop everything and take a little nap, to go to bed a little earlier, or wake up a little later always seems to help. As well, I write everything down in my planner, it helps keep my organized and know what I have to do and when I have to do it. When I have down whatever it is I have written in my planner I highlight it. Yes, that is just something little but it is like a sense of accomplishment know I was able to highlight a certain task I completed. I also like to go home on the weekends to relieve some stress, whether it be to just hang out with my faimly, my friends, or my fiance. It helps so much to be away from the place I call home just because of school and to be back in the town I really want to be in. Hanging out with my fiance and friends just for fun, or going out with them helps so much. I can forget about everything I am stressed about and just have fun.

Student Writings

All of the students writings were very different. Many of them had lots of spelling and grammatical errors. I noticed that some of them started with a question or quote. Being in a 4th grade classroom right now I have seen many of my students do this as well. It is something the teachers advise them to do.

What kind of teacher do we want to become...

The kind of teacher I want to be is an inspirational and motivational type teacher. I want my students to want to learn and want to come to class each and every day. I want to be a well-educated teacher who enjoys her job and also wants to be there everyday. As well, I want to be more of a constructivist type teacher. I feel if my students are actively engaged, with lots of discussions and hands on type learning. They will do better in the classroom in the long run.

how many uses....

paper weight, door stop, pen/pencil holder, deck organizer, manipulitive for counting (count the holes), use for science lessons (explain, weight, mass, textures), defense tool(through at some one), breaking in, to decorate with, to build with,

Lesson planning.

Lesson planning is a major part of teaching. It is very obvious that all teachers have their own style of lesson planning, and have learned what works for them. After writing lesson plans myself and reviewing many different ones last week I havecome to find out what works best for me as well. Having to write full out Madiline Hunter lesson plans for each lesson does not seem necessary. However, many of the components in her style of lesson plan are great and should always be used. I feel if you are a more expierenced teacher and have taught the lesson several times to students then you do not need a very detailed, in depth lesson plan. However, if you are writing a lesson plan for the first time you are doing a lesson then I do feel it should be more detailed. It is obvious that the more detailed the lesson plan is the better prepared for that lesson you will be. Also, even for expeienced teachers, you need to write step by step very detailed lesson plans if you are having a substitue teacher that day. They have never been in your classroom and possibly have never taught what you had planned to teach that day, so you as the main teacher need to write everything they may need to know.f

Wedding Planning....

Whoever said wedding planning was something very stressful is crazy! I love it. Granted I have my mom and matron of honor pretty much doing everything, it still is amazing. The only thing stressful is that I am living in Corpus while the wedding planning and wedding will take place southeast of Houston in Clear Lake, which is near my home town. Also, that I am extra busy with school so do not have much time to do anything else. But like I said my mom and best friend are heading it up and taking care of things that need to be done. I know they are both busy women as well so that is why I am so extra thankful to have them and all their help. However over spring break I did get to do alot of the polanning on my own and with them. We are on a budget but to me that almost make it more fun, because I have to look around so many places to find what I like for the price my mom likes. Overall it is a great experience and I can not wait for the day to come....JULY 16TH!!!

Student Conferencing

I think student conferencing is a great tool to use in your classroom not matter what subject it may be. Conferencing with students gives you one on one time with them and lets you really dive in deep into their writing and them as a person. However like we discussed today in class not all students are going to have a postive outcome when it deals with their writing. The scenarios demonstrated in class showed just how many students respond when you give them their writings back and/or want to talk about their writings. Many students get upset or defensive and we as teachers need to know how to handle those situations. The scenarios and then the discussions we had really helped me realize just how I would go about talking to a student in a situation like the ones shown today in class. We also watched a video on a writing workshop conference in the fourth grade. I love how the teacher gives a praise before she goes on to say something the student should fix or work on. To me this shows that you are really interested in that students work and builds the confidence as well as shows them ways they can improve.

Writers Workshop Videos...

I really enjoyed both the videos we watched. I want to teach younger students as well so I hope I am able to implement writing strategies like these in my classroom. In the first video we say I thought it was great that it was a peer discussion. The teacher was only there to facilitate. The children were able to "show off" there writings and illustrations to their other classmates by ready their story aloud and showing the pictures they had drawn. Most of all I liked how the other students not only praised the writer but were able to give them suggestions as well. It showed that the listeners were able to comprehend what the writer had just read. I think the strategy is excellent. It showed they all enjoyed their writings! In the second video the teacher went step by step on how she uses the writer's workshop in her classroom. I loved it! She lets the kids spread out, get comfortable and work with others. It is not a chore for them to write, it is something they are able to enjoy and do well. This was my favorite video and I hope I can implement them in my classroom just as well as these teachers did.

Inspiration...

My mom is the most inspirational person I have ever met. She is my best friend and inspires me each and every day to push forward for the goals I want in my life. She went to college after haveing four children. Juggling college and raising 4 kids she was still able to graduate with a 4.0. I always complain about how tough school can be sometimes and then I think back to what she has accomplished and laugh at myself, knowing she could do it while raising a family makes me believe in myself more. As well she is currently back in school getting her masters. She is doing a program online, while still working. She is the enrichment specialist at an elementary school. So with a full time job, full time mom, she is still able to get her masters. She inspires me more than anyone to stay in school, graduate with honors, and pursure all my goals and dreams.

Questions over interview assignment

I enjoyed the interview assignment alot. I found hearing from an expeirenced teacher on her day in the classroom fery helpful. I am most proud of taking in everything the interviewee said with great respect. The teacher I interviewed is a fourth grade all subject teacher. She had so many great things to tell me about her expierences in the teaching field. I feel the best way for me to learn is by seeing or hearing from someone else first hand and that is what I have achieved through this assignment. I was able to not only hear what she has to say about teaching fourth grade, but I came at a time when she was teaching a lesson so I was able to see how she teaches too. Just about everything I heard from the teacher I interviewed I found useful. Whether it was useful in the fact that it would be something I would want to implement in my classroom, something thad had not at all worked for her, or even information I found useful was techiniques or ideas she was using that I did not find working out to well. However, the most exciting idea I got from this interview was to use as much discussion in the classroom as possible. I saw first hand how well the children interacted together and how much more information the recieved from the lesson just by being able to talk and ask questions. I did not come away from this assignment thinking it was a "piece of cake" and I learned everything I could possibly learn. I had chose to interview the teacher I am currently field basing with. At first I thought it would be a good choice, but looking back I wish I would have interviewed someone I was not familiar with.

I deserve the best....

When I read from my card and said, "My name is Erin, I deserve the best and I accept the best now". It was very encouraging to have the class clap afterwards. It felt a little wierd because it was just something I was reading from a card, not saying I don not feel this way, but it was not something I personally came up with. The applause was personally a good and uplifting filling, however a little confusing, 'are they clapping for me? Or for whoever wrote this one the card?' The support from my classmates was a nice feeling, and me supporting the rest of my class was a great feeling as well.

"I deserve the best and I accept the best now" is what my card read. I think this is a very motivational saying. We all deserve the best, no matter if you think you do or not, you do! The last part of the quote ties into that, not only do you deserve the best but you must accept it as well. Sometimes I do not feel that I deserve the best and therefore I do not accept it. We all must learn to be accepting of "the best" that is given to us. Even when I feel I deserve the best, sometimes it is hard for me to accept the best, depending on the situation. I never want to be selfish but I think when it comes to deserving the best we all must learn to be a little bit selfish to know that what we deserve is the perfect thing for us personally!

What kind of learner I am......

I am a very hands on, interactive type of learner. I love to actually be doing something rather than just sitting and listening to a professor lecture to me. Even in my past years of schooling, I have always been this type of learner. I always got more from experiments, activities, and group discussions than I ever did from sitting and being told the information or having to sit and do worksheets. I am a very visual/kinesthitic learner. I have always been active and I think that relfects in my way of learning as well. I hope to be this same kind of teacher. I think children can benifit so much more with actually doing an activity or being involved in the learning as well as the teaching.

Notions of readiness...

I think children all have different ways and techniques they use to get "ready" for the next goal. As well, we as teachers all have different ways we teach the children to achieve their goal of readiness. To help the students achieve readiness for the next thing coming or even the next grade coming, we as teachers need to make sure the students have all mastered the previous thing we were trying to teach them and not only should they have it mastered but we should review it with them before beginning whatever new is being taught. Once you are "ready" to have the children move forward to a new study or even a new grade, you as the teacher need to talk with the students about what is coming, what they need to look for, and be "ready" for.

Response to Shitty First Drafts

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Anne Lamotts article, Shitty First Drafts. It was very funny but at the same time held much truth to the message it was telling. I have never been one to sit down and know exactly what I was going to write or even many times what I was going to write about. Knowing that a profound author, as well as many others, have the same feelings about writing is very reassuring to me. I love the idea of just sitting down with out any care of what you are going to write and just start writing what comes to mind, writing a "Shitty First Draft".

Here are my answers to the three questions at the end of the article.
1) I believe when Lamott writes "the fantasy of the uninitiated" she is referring to those who are not writers or have never been to serious about their writings. Those who have never been serious about their writings have a preconceived idea about that all writers just sit down at their computer and begin typing away at a perfect piece, when in reality that is no where near the truth.
2) Lamott refers to her trust for her writing process as "more or less". I think she refers to it this way because just like she stated in her article, many times when she sits down to write she feels hopeless and can not seem to get anything out on paper until after procrastinating awhile and the finally beginning her "shitty first draft". I do think her wariness is personal because everyone feels different when they start their writings, some better than others. However, I to feel the same wariness Lamott feel when I first try and start anything I have been assigned to write about.
3) I think they first draft is more about the product of the writing! The first draft is just as important as any other step because it lets you let out exactly how you are feeling with no expectations of actually recovering any "good" material from it. Lamott says herself that she will write her "shitty first draft", wait a day and then go back to it with some colored pens and see if she can find anything worth putting in her second draft. Therefore getting the best material for the final product.

All About Me!!!

My name is Erin. I am from La Porte, Texas. I have one older brother and two younger sister, as well as a dog and a cat. I got engaged on November 5 and we are getting married on July 16, 2010 in Clear Lake, Texas! We have been together for over six years and I can not wait for our wedding day. Ever since I was a little girl I always knew I wanted to be a teacher and teach the younger children. My mother is a teacher and she has been the biggest role model and inspiration in my life. She is one of my best friends and I can only hope to be half the women and teacher she is. I graduated high school in 2006 and started attending Texas A&M University in College Station in August 2006. I attended TAMU for 2 and a half years! In December of 2008 I moved to Corpus Christi to be with my fiance who is in the Coast Guard and stationed here in Port Aransas. I started attending TAMU-CC in January 2009. I love being down here with my fiance and love the school here, however I miss College Station more than anything. I am an Aggie at heart and will ALWAYS bleed MAROON!! I will be graduating this coming December with my EC-4 degree and can not wait to begin teaching. We will be moving back to the Houston shortly after I graduate so I can begin teaching there. I am so ready for what the future holds for me and I can not wait to start my career, as well as start a family.