Teaching and Learning Reflections

End of School 09

2009-06-16T20:13:00.000-07:00

Three days left and I still don't know if Sharon will be back with me. I looked over my last year's post about our classes and realized we did exactly what we said we would. Same rules, same classrooms. It worked out great. Now we are sitting on a sea of uncertainty. I hate LAUSD for being so stupid in the way they have run the district these last years. Now we are all paying the price. Our school will not be the same for a long time. We have worked so hard for so long to get us where we are and it will probably not stick. There is too much division and uncertainty among the staff. I have been trusting in God to either make sure she stays or give us the direction he wants us to go. I have to let him lead me, even if it means losing Sharon to something else.

Reef Check CA

2009-06-16T20:03:00.000-07:00

Well I got myself into another mess. I had to learn 77 flash cards of fish and seaweed. I thought I would never get it done and wanted to quit even before I started. It seemed as though I would never get it done. Connie of course wouldn't let me quit, "suck it up buttercup and start studying". I am so glad she did that because I really enjoyed the class and the diving. I have a whole new world opened up to me because of it. I'm the one who wanted to do it and then I almost wimped out. Should teach me to always lead with an open mind and who knows where it will take me. I almost passed all of the tests to be able to do the fish counts and I will with a little more practice. Now I want all my friends to do it with me. I guess I can't have everything at once.

Looking back on 2008/2009

2009-05-24T13:59:00.000-07:00

It is interesting to me that I am looking back on the year with some regrets. I am not sure why, but I have not been able to do as much with this group of kids as I have done in past years. I think one of the reasons is that my coordinator told me I did too many field trips with last year's kids. Instead of appreciating the fact that I gave them a chance to do things for free she wanted me to do less. All of the trips I took the kids on were paid for by someone other than the school. When I was able to get a $25 price for Science Camp and she told me I couldn't take the kids on Oct, I think I gave up and allowed myself to not have the energy to continue this year. If indeed this is the case I need to take a hard look at my outlook on why I do what I do. Is it for me, or for the kids. If I didn't do as much this year for my own reasons I need to figure it out. I'm sure there is more than one reason for it and I need to pay attention to all of them.

NBC Teacher

2008-08-20T21:17:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow I go home from Maui and start my next educational journey. I am doing my National Boards. I have a feeling it is going to be a lot more work than I want to do, but how much harder can it be than what I've done so far. We'll see. I expect I got myself in a real mess this time.

Thacher 2008

2008-07-15T00:03:00.001-07:00

After the dive class I was too tired to get up here for breakfast. I made it by break though. So far it appears they have taken off out of the starting gate at a gallop. We were exposed to a lot today, some of which might have stuck. Softchalk and the moodle shell and a bunch of stuff in Janet's class. They always make it exciting. But I am still so tired from the weekend that I am going to bed. I think I'm glad I'm here, even though I am not getting paid.

Day 2 Advanced Dive Class

2008-07-14T23:56:00.000-07:00

This past weekend Connie, Sylvia and I took our advanced diving class. Shannon and Aaron came along because the class was a graduation class from the two of them and Bob and Jan. I knew I was going to have to work hard, but even I didn't think I would get this tired.
It started Sat. night with a navigation dive and I got thrown and tossed in the surf and lost a fin and couldn't hardly move to crawl out. Aaron and another guy helped me just as I was getting to Connie. I was so mad at myself. I did do the night dive, but the dive masters helped me get my fins on. The visibility was 2 ft.
Sunday 6am we are at the boat. We did four dives and we all got the skills done and passed the class, but I was slap wore out. Not only did Brian have to help me get my fins off on the dive platform but the weights and BCD also. Then it was all I could do to drag my tired body up the ladder.
I am proud and happy we all finished, I had no doubt about Connie and Sylvia but I did doubt myself.
I was scared after the pool work, but I figured I'd live through it and I did. I am happy that I stuck it out and now have the advanced diver name tag.

Advanced Scuba Class

2008-07-10T16:41:00.000-07:00

Well what a trip and an eye-opener. I did my pool lesson for my advanced dive class. I was so anxious about the whole experience that there was no part of the class I enjoyed. As a learner it reminded me of many pitfalls I can fall into. I got anxious because my new super-stretch wet suit didn't go on easy at all. I spent $350 so I could avoid this, but the same size in a 3mm is NOT the same as a 7mm. And I couldn't see the compass and swam into the wall. With one contact and a cataract I don't see to well in low light. Now I'm worried about jumping into the cold water, getting out past the surf and so forth, and so forth, and so forth. I am anxious and scared. I'll let you know how it works out after Sunday.

ISTE San Antonio

2008-07-01T15:10:00.000-07:00

I made the decision to come to San Antonio and attend the NECC Conference. I am somewhat disappointed in the conference. Either I know more than I give myself credit for or they didn't have enough interesting free workshops for the average attendee. The ones I did attend did teach me something, but not enough to warrant coming back next year. I'm not saying I didn't learn new things. I learned a lot more about programs I am already aware of. The things I learned will be very helpful. For the first time since I started this Blog I can't say I am so busy I don't have time to breath. I am being very laid back and lazy with Mickie and Julie.

School Ends

2008-06-08T17:04:00.000-07:00

I am looking at this year almost gone and I'm looking where I will make changes for next year. There are places where I'm sure changes will make a big difference. Sharon and I plan to make our procedures the same. Same rules, same consequences, same environment. I want to make next year better than this year and since I don't have the luxury of doing field trips with the kids, I have to figure out a different way. I had my feelings hurt about the field trips, but I am prepared to make the best of it. I hate that I have to do that instead of just letting the kids experience the world.

Graduation

2008-05-21T23:14:00.000-07:00

It's the night before I graduate. I have been making such a fuss over this graduation and I am thinking why do I think I am so special just because I'm graduating? I think it's because I have always felt I should have been able to graduate from HS, like normal kids. But since I didn't, I am now and I am excited about it and I want to be sure everyone knows that I am walking with cap and gown. Maybe I'll grow up one day, then again, maybe not.

New Things To Do

2008-05-19T01:26:00.000-07:00

Today was my maiden voyage into the world of C1 square dancing. Connie talked me into going and I was scared to death. I knew it was not a good idea as soon as I got there. But, most of the other dancers were higher level dancers and they helped so I didn't break the square down. It taught me two things, even if you are scared, just do it. The second is to just learn the definitions. It is the best way to become the dancer I want to be. Because of all of Connie's friends I had a great time.

TBE Final Project Presentation

2008-05-14T01:01:00.000-07:00

Well tonight was the night. I presented this awesome project, of course I could only show 2 min of it and then I talked the other three, but it turned out well. The best thing is, it's over. The Masters is finished. I know I have three other things lined up, but it feels really good to finish this one. It means I will walk in a cap and gown. I have never done that and it has always been a goal. Now I will have done it. I'll post a picture when I get one. Now if I can just get a handle on the rest of the stuff waiting for me, I be fine.

Busy Days

2008-05-12T16:45:00.000-07:00

It's Monday, the day after Mother's Day and I have a feeling of being too busy while I'm sitting still. Testing continues tomorrow, the LA River cleanup is Sat. and my Geography assignments are all due(over due) tomorrow night just before I present my Final Project for my Masters. The grading window opened today and I get to learn how to use an Active Board tomorrow. Guess I'll chuck it all for a while and go clogging.

Finish Line

2008-05-09T18:49:00.000-07:00

I just read the last post and I reflected that I am still in the same spot months later. I finished my project today and for once it is actually early. The project is the final one for my Masters in Technology Based Education. And as I speak and am thankful that it is coming to an end, my mind is on to the next project, which is National Board Certification. It's all just something to do.

Just a thought

2007-11-13T22:25:00.000-08:00

It has occurred to me that maybe my mind is trying to go in too many directions at the same time. I am always thinking of new things to get involved in, and loving it. But when all of them come together to demand time it gets fairly impressive. In the long run it's all something to do and I'm having fun, so let the good times roll.

Discouraged, Never

2007-10-17T23:27:00.000-07:00

I guess the word I should have used to describe my feelings when the video sites didn't work was annoyed. I am not discouraged, just the opposite. In fact the podcast we are working on seems to be taking to long because I want it to be perfect, will be posted sometime next week, far from perfect, but we'll learn and move on. The is a learning curve for everything and I want it all yesterday. But, Janice you are right, I'm not discouraged about Web 2.0.

Week Five

2007-10-14T17:14:00.000-07:00

I just finished listening to a podcast from San Jose State and realized a couple of things. One, there is so much out there that I have never heard of that it makes this mission seemed doomed to failure.
Second, I'm going to keep plugging away at it.
I have used Unitedstreaming in my classroom in past years. I no longer have access to it, but I do have CA streaming. I have not used it as of today. I asked myself why? The best I can come up with is disappointment and familiarity. I was used to US and I liked the way it worked and was excited enough about it to become a Discovery Educator. Then it was gone. So when I watched the Water Buffalo video I was jolted back to the reality of how powerful short clips can be. It is also more work to find suitable short clips than to just show a full video and expect the students to retain all of the information supplied.
Bottom line: Get on CA Streaming and get back to the program I had started and used very successfully.
I tried to access most of the links to other videos and did not have success with most. They either did not recognize my Quicktime or wanted me to download something else and when I tried I got a message that it could not be found. This type of message makes it easy to get discouraged from trying to use their sites.

My Week of Learning

2007-10-11T23:21:00.000-07:00

Today I realize that the week is almost gone and very little of what I had planned to accomplish this week has actually happened. One of the thoughts I had was that regardless of how much I am interested and want to do it all, there comes a time in my week when I have to make choices. I hate it when that happens.

Reflections on Past Weeks

2007-10-05T13:58:00.000-07:00

As we are ending week four I started looking back on what has happened since I started this class. For one thing, my students are getting their e-mail accounts.
2, I have an idea for a Wiki,
3, I have decided that I really need a classroom blog. My parents want homework on line and our web site is time consuming.
4, My Power Point lesson is over and I'm so ready to move on.
5, Our math study group is trying out Google Docs.
6, And I love it all.

Back to School Night

2007-09-28T00:02:00.000-07:00

In a way I got brought back to reality today. At Back to School Night I was telling the parents of my gifted class about all of the neat things I was planning for their children this year. I was telling them about field trips, camping trips, science camp, blogs, podcasts, wikis and how Power Point was not an end point but a starting point. I am very excited about the year I have planned. I asked for questions and one women asked me why I didn't stamp the student's agenda? How did I answer? I told her I didn't do it because I didn't want to take time to check if my students could copy correctly. I also said it was boring and I would rather teach math/science or especially technology. I guess I was reminded that just because I am excited, the rest of the world isn't necessarily so. Oh well, go figure.

Science Books and Technology

2007-09-25T14:29:00.000-07:00

I am sitting in a meeting with the Glencoe rep and they are presenting the book and all of the tech tools. As I am watching and listening I am getting a feel for why teachers get freaked by technology. There is so much information and so many discs with access to hundreds of tools. Most of our teachers don't have regular access to computer labs, so all of the student stuff means nothing to them. Most of our teachers are not real comfortable using computers so all of the tools for teachers will be used by only a few teachers. Again, so much stuff it is overwhelming to the teachers. What a shame.

First Step

2007-09-22T12:25:00.000-07:00

This is my first step into creating a classroom blog. I'm excited about the possibilities, but am facing the realities of actually getting it done. Sometimes I get ahead of myself and want it all NOW. Janice has told me to do one thing at a time and it will all happen. I try to take that advice but in reality, I'm still jumping ahead in my mind.