The Upswing

A neighbor recently asked me if I was enjoying this program. It was the first time I had seen the light of day all weekend, as I had been inside writing lesson plans, updating a wiki and writing reflections for completed lessons. I still had a stack of papers to grade and textbooks to read, but my husband forced me out of the house. Perhaps I was starting to smell. I know my appearance was frightful. My neighbor looked genuinely concerned for me. It was the first time she had seen me in months (since about September). So, when I answered, "Yes, I am enjoying the program," I don't think she believed me. But that is the crazy thing about this whole experience. It is HARD work. Harder than I ever expected. I have made many sacrifices this year to be in this program and to keep up with it's demands. Caffeine has become my best friend. I fear the dark circles under my eyes may never go away. And I am wondering if the "Freshman 15" also applies to grad school. Yet, through it all, I am still enjoying what I am doing. I love trying to apply what I am learning in our courses into my internship classroom. I love being in the classroom each day, forming relationships with each student and trying to find the best possible ways to help them learn and reach their full potential. During these last few weeks I may have looked and felt like the walking dead (scaring neighbors and small children along the way), but these last few weeks have also been the most rewarding weeks of this program. The opportunity to develop and teach my own lessons on a day to day basis was an incredible learning experience. Perhaps the most rewarding part of the experience was watching my students make connections and experience those "a-ha" moments during the lessons. That is why I am in this program. That is why I am a tired, exhausted, and caffeine addicted graduate student. I want to teach children. I don't want to take the easy route to teaching. I want to use the best teaching practices. This requires hard work and sacrifice. I certainly don't see things getting easier next semester. Class until 10pm? YIKES! And I definitely have SO MUCH still to learn. But, I am up for the challenge.

So, yes, I am enjoying the program.

Whacky Wiki

As I consider the latest wiki assignment for EDCI 546, I can't help but feel a little whacky. I am a planner. I have to-do lists for my to-do lists (I wish this was an exaggeration). So, the thought of building a wiki page with a group of six other people without first developing a plan, leaves me feeling a bit out of sorts. I have no doubt that we will be able to develop a wonderful page full of lesson plans, but the way in which we will do it is outside of my comfort zone. But, then I have done a lot of things outside of my comfort zone since I started this program.
I am still getting used to the idea of wikis. How can numerous people sharing the management of one wiki make a cohesive, informative site without chaos taking over? I suppose this is what I will discover as we begin to work on the wiki this week. Sometimes, I am better off not asking too many questions. I just need to dive in.

A Response to Diane Penrod's Using Blogs to Enhance Literacy

As someone who had a blog for many years, I was always very careful about what I would "send" out into the world. If I was making a statement about something, I would research to be sure I wasn't sending out false information. I didn't want to mislead people, but more importantly, I didn't want the public humiliation of people commenting and pointing out how horrifically wrong I had been. So, I could understand and relate to Ms. Penrod's discussion of blogging and how it could build literacy in the classroom. She made the point that students who blog are very aware of their audience and are more likely to do research and spend more time on their writing if they know that this writing will be shared with a larger audience. Ms. Penrod makes a very compelling argument for using blogs as a literacy tool. I can see blogs as a very useful tool in the classroom. In addition, as a mom of a 9-year-old who is currently writing a book, I am considering allowing my children to give blogging a chance. There are many examples of youth blogs. I found Lyssie's Life. This blog belongs to an 8-year-old girl who uses her blog to highlight her writings, writings of others, and videos of herself reading. While this is not a classroom blog, it is a blog that is promoting literacy learning for it's author and it's readers.

Laughter IS the Best Medicine

When I applied for this program I knew I was signing up for an intensive program that would require a lot of sacrifices on behalf of both myself and my family. I also knew I was going to be extremely stressed. It is what it is. Yet, while being stressed beyond my imagination, I am having fun. I am so grateful that I can come to class on Tuesday and laugh about this crazy insanity with my cohorts. And most importantly, I am not alone in this process. Somehow, I know I will make it through. It won't be pretty, but I will make it.