I've realized this semester, after having both an exciting and relaxing summer, that I'm having some difficulty getting back into the "work" part of school. Unfortunately for me, this tends to be a big portion of school. I can be very organized, on top of getting things done, on time to (almost) everything, and even have some time to relax (hopefully). However, I've found this semester that I can also be the complete opposite. More recently, I've been procrastinating, a few minutes late to several classes/work/appointments/etc., not doing homework to the best of my ability, and not having time where I enjoy relaxing (because I know I have a lot to do). With this realization I've decided to make a commitment: I'm going to work very hard this second half of the first semester at doing my work thoroughly, be on time to events, not saving things until the last minute, and hopefully I will be able to enjoy my "free" time.
The first thing I need to do in order to reach my goal is to make sure I have my priorities in order. There are several distractions that I need to deal with. A.) My roommate and I are still in the process of decorating our room, and it's often very tempting to put off work in order to put posters on the wall and focus on making our room comfortable. B.) Talking with friends - whether they are here at school or back in my home state of Vermont, I love chatting with my friends and making plans for upcoming weekends and such. C.) The internet - I like just "surfing the web", reading up on local or global news, checking my email, and the list goes on. I've made a step in the right direction by addressing and naming a few of my distractions, but now I need to go further. I need to really work on making sure I save these activities for when I've completed some work. I want to realize that it's okay to take a 5-10 minute break when I can do these things, but then I need to get back to work. I really want to keep in mind why I'm in college (an education!) and understand that while socializing and being up-to-date on current news is important, I'm here at school mainly to learn. So, I need to dedicate my time to studies! Obviously it's easier said than done, but I'm working on it.
Another one of my downfalls: tardiness. I've gotten into the habit of thinking it's okay to be just a minute late to a class or work. This is not an accurate thought, and I realize that! Now I need to work on this. I need to think of each class, meeting, or work time as an important appointment to which I should be on time and prepared. Now I don't want to be completely strict about my schedule, but I want to have the mindset that I should be on time - mostly because it's shows a degree of professionalism. I want to be seen as responsible, but also relaxed. I want to make sure that I make enough time to be able to be relaxed when arriving to work, class, or a meeting. Again, this is easier said than done, but I'm also working on this!
I absolutely love being organized. When I'm not, I can be very overwhelmed and then let things go completely. I want to really work on staying organized again, especially when it comes to planning ahead so that I'm not rushed at the last minute. I hate when I save things until right before they are due (if it's an assignment), because then I don't do my best work, which is what I really want to turn in. Again, it's a professional characteristic that I want to have. I want to be relaxed and feel confident about my work and show that I am serious enough about it to make it a priority. Once again, easier said than done, but I know I can accomplish this.
Actually, I know that I can have all of these characteristics and abilities. It's just that I need to commit myself to them. I basically lived according to these "rules" when I was in high school and did well. Now that I have lots of other activities going on, I need to make sure that I still make time to be organized, aware, and responsible. Hopefully by taking back these characteristics I can enjoy my real free time that I have from getting things done. I know that when I'm doing better in these areas I'm happier because I'm not rushed and I can enjoy my days. This is the mindset that I want to be in, and this semester I'm going to really work on reaching that mindset. Who knows, maybe I can actually carry these skills over into the next semester! I guess we'll see!
12/4/08 - Know that education is a constantly changing area
The cover story of Time magazine's December 8, 2008 issue is "How to Fix America's Schools". The main article is titled "Can She Save Our Schools?" and is about Michelle Rhee who is the new chancellor of Washington, D.C. schools. Rhee has been quite the catalyst since June 2007 when she was appointed chancellor by Mayor Adrian Fenty. While she came in with not much experience, she has made a lot of progress. However this "progress" has been made using some drastic measures. Since June 2007, she has fired 270 teachers - just over a year. From this new undertaking, Rhee has made many friends, but more enemies. Her main objective is to get rid of all bad teachers and when she comes across those "bad" teachers, she doesn't waste time in 'dismissing' them.
While I was reading through this article, I came upon many facts and statistics that surprised me. Some of the stats include: '35% of D.C. high school students are proficient in math'; 39% of D.C. high school students are proficient in reading; and 77% is the U.S. high school graduation rate. I learned about teacher assessment and how many or most schools 'assess teachers before they teach'. Unfortunately, this shines lights on those 'who have a master's degree, who have other pieces of paper that do not predict good teaching'. I was shocked to learn this, but after thinking about it some, I see this in schools where I've been and understand the importance that is placed on having a high enough education. However, the article is right when it says that these things don't necessarily mean that the person who has the paperwork will be a good teacher.
While reading the article, and after I was finished, I continued to think about Rhee's work and how she is going about doing her job. Part of me is a little wary of how she is going about it. Several times she is quoted talking about how creativity is pointless if you can't read, or do other important skills such as this. I think this is true to a point, but it shouldn't mean that we cut out creativity at all. I agree that something needs to be done in order to keep only the best teachers in schools so that students are actually learning what they need to know. And quite honestly, I don't think we should keep teachers around who are not doing their job. I feel like there should be more of a process though. Instead of just firing the teachers, perhaps we should implement programs that work to improve teachers' teaching abilities. I was quite interested when I heard about the tenure that teachers receive. The article brings up a point that Larry Rosenstock, CEO of several California charter schools, made at an education panel about how 'we don't give that kind of job security to pilots or doctors - or any others who hold our children's fate in their hands'. I read that the reasoning for the tenure is so teachers aren't being fired by politicians or board members who don't want them teaching their children, or don't feel they have the qualities just because. But you'll find people like that in any job. Basically, it just gives a feeling that many teachers believe they won't be fired because they've been teaching long enough and often this leads to ineffective teachers.
Overall, I thought the article and Rhee's work is very interesting. There are some methods to her work that I feel good about and others that I don't agree with. I agree that we really need to get a hold of the education system and get rid of teachers who are not doing an adequate job at educating students. Now, I'm not the kind of person who likes to rely only on test scores as a way of assessing student ability, but when the test scores are as low as they've been in some schools, it's time to do something about the education system. Clearly something isn't working, and we need to figure out what it is and then fix it. While this 'get it done' idea is needed, I think it's also important to keep the education personal, as schools are areas full of human contact. I don't want the positive relationships between teachers, students, and administrations to become cold and turn schools into institutions. There is a degree of personality that needs to be kept and an acceptance that we can't get everything to be perfect. We just have to make it the best that we can and be happy with it.
From this article, I have seen that there is definitely work still going into the education system in the US and that many people are trying to create very effective learning environments so that students are graduating and continuing their education. There are many new people in the education system who are trying to 'fix' schools and actually get the system to work well. While many new tensions have been created, at least some work is getting done, and this is very important. In the recent past, I've heard quite a bit about low test scores and how schools in many areas are failing. This needs to change, and thankfully there are people who are worried about it. What's even better is that those people are doing something about it. Education is still changing, and it seems that it's changing for the better.
12/11/08 - Maintain academic interest outside of subject area
Since I am a math and secondary education major, I had a couple of education classes and one math class this semester. While I had room to take another math class, or education class if I wanted to, I decided to take a couple classes that didn't have anything to do with my major. One of these classes was Anabaptist/Mennonite History and the other was Song Leading. My schedule definitely had some excitement to it!
While I was brought up in a Mennonite family, I didn't really know much about the Anabaptists or where they (and Mennonites) came from. So, I decided to take this class and find out. I thought it would be a very interesting class, and while history isn't my favorite subject (especially the part about remembering dates) I thought I would probably enjoy this subject, and I did. It was a tough class, but I managed to get through it and I know so much more now about Anabaptist/Mennonite and my history than I knew before. Each class brought some new piece of information about the Anabaptists/Mennonites and it has definitely made me more appreciative of this area in history.
I absolutely love music, however, I don't think I have the greatest voice, and I'm never really sure where (how high or low) I should be singing. If I'm singing along to a song on the radio, I really don't care about singing in front of people. However, if I'm singing a song that is really beautiful and meaningful, I get very nervous about singing in front of others. Since I can remember I've always had an issue with speaking in front of people, mostly when I'm by myself. When I signed up for the class, I think I knew I would have to lead in front of people on my own, but I still wanted to take the class. Being in this class helped me to become more confident performing in front of others. While I still don't really like to lead others, I am more okay with it. In terms of actually leading songs, I learned a lot, especially about how much you need to practice. I realize it isn't just waving your arm in front of a group of people. You really need to know what you're doing. I'm not sure how often I'll use the skills I learned in song leading, but it was a fun class that I enjoyed and am thankful that I took.
These two classes gave me a little breather from my classes that had to do with my major. They gave me something else to think about, and they pushed me in different areas of my mind. I had to pull out more creativity with song leading, and had to be able to dig deep to understand historical facts about why things happened and how they affect us now. Each class was very difficult, but it helped my mind grow in ways that is outside of my major. By taking these two extra classes, I was able to continue filling my time up with new, fun and interesting themes that I am not usually surrounded by. They each gave me a new perspective on different areas, and made me realize how important it is to have some interest in multiple areas.
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