......with all the class material and what is expected in this third week of school. I took a quick trip over to staples last night and grabbed some new binders, portable hole punch and dividers and walked past the Mac Air display. I stood staring at the beautiful screens trying to figure out if I could afford one. Not right now, money is tight.
My cell phone rang in class again....funny how the kids would normally text before i started school. I don't usually put it on vibrate because I am terrified that I will put in down and not be able to find it again. My mind is so packed with 'other' stuff and distracted most of the rest of the time. Last night Max and I carefully packed up 42 little pouches of candy to disperse to the classmates I disturbed!!
what a surprise filled day!!! There were so many treats brought in that by the time we were nearing the 8th hour.....we were all just exhausted, coming down off the sugar high and giggling like mad.....
The fellow who spent an hour clicking his pen in yesterday's lecture had brought in a different pen and was keeping a low profile....an email had been sent out to ask that people be mindful that their actions might affect others ability to concentrate.
There were a few of us who decided to go out to dinner and look at the quiz. I had already completed it last night and just wanted to get out to eat and catch up socially. We have a really fun bunch of very chatty techie students. Its great hearing all the background stories and sharing knowledge. I am totally grateful.
Max is pulling in overtime tonight to catch up at his regular job. I do not get to see much of him when the school season starts.... I miss him a lot these days. One of us is generally leaving when the other one shows up!!! The kids are great about it and we take turns with them. Lydia is taking Hip Hop classes this fall and Mitchel is just keeping himself busy with school, his guitar playing and keeping the house running. My Dad is sliding again and although he recognizes me, he does not really know who I am. He often mistakes me for Mom. Mom is doing as well as she can while hobbling on a healing knee replacement.
I did get to steer the Dragonboat on Monday night!!!!! It was awesome!!! I told my Dad and he was instantly taken back to a time when he sailed. He misses his freedom......I miss him!!
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Monday, September 17, 2012
......think I might just have a cure.....
......for insomnia!!!! Each and every time I pull out the book for Ed Psych.....I get through a handful of pages and wake up hours later feeling confused but rested. I thought it was a phenomena until I asked a friend of mine who giggled, then advised me to just scan the pages and take notes. Apparently I spend so much time trying to figure out the mass amount of terminology that my brain shuts down. The reboot time takes hours to complete!!! Last chapter discussed Pavlov's dog....woke up to a wet shirt front and my face stuck to the leather recliner...when the door bell rang.
I spent yesterday morning struggling to get through the third chapter of the book. After 6 hours, I decided it was time to read something else and meet a deadline for a course in Aboriginal Studies. The reading from that book was considerably shorter by 5 hours but the 750 word essay would prove to eat up the remaining time. As I am typing, I look over to see the Ed Psych book beside me and the yawning has started....I pray no one rings the doorbell.
My brother in law and myself went to Stratford on Saturday for the Dragonboating Festival. It was such a great day out on the water. In our second heat of the day, we ended up paddling in what we later and affectionately (?) called 'the concrete canoe'. We were dead last and 15 seconds behind the three teams we were competing against. It felt like we were dragging an anchor behind us. I had visions of it collecting and dragging submerged logs. The boat we were supposed to get from the race before was damaged by posts sticking up along the shallow shoreline.
These next few weeks are going to be busy with reading....dear God, and creating a number of written essays. There are quizzes and exam essays to consider for the week after next, which then leads us into our first practicum. I have asked to be situated into a high school that offers challenges in diversity. The best way to learn happens when we face our biggest challenges. While I am nervous about being evaluated every step of the way, I am excited for the challenges that lay ahead.
I spent yesterday morning struggling to get through the third chapter of the book. After 6 hours, I decided it was time to read something else and meet a deadline for a course in Aboriginal Studies. The reading from that book was considerably shorter by 5 hours but the 750 word essay would prove to eat up the remaining time. As I am typing, I look over to see the Ed Psych book beside me and the yawning has started....I pray no one rings the doorbell.
My brother in law and myself went to Stratford on Saturday for the Dragonboating Festival. It was such a great day out on the water. In our second heat of the day, we ended up paddling in what we later and affectionately (?) called 'the concrete canoe'. We were dead last and 15 seconds behind the three teams we were competing against. It felt like we were dragging an anchor behind us. I had visions of it collecting and dragging submerged logs. The boat we were supposed to get from the race before was damaged by posts sticking up along the shallow shoreline.
These next few weeks are going to be busy with reading....dear God, and creating a number of written essays. There are quizzes and exam essays to consider for the week after next, which then leads us into our first practicum. I have asked to be situated into a high school that offers challenges in diversity. The best way to learn happens when we face our biggest challenges. While I am nervous about being evaluated every step of the way, I am excited for the challenges that lay ahead.
Thursday, September 13, 2012
...where was I..... oh right!.....
......I was in the middle of another thought and the fatigue and confusion of the past few weeks has caused me to lose track. I am trying to get myself organized and create a plan of attack on how to get everything done....while trying to remember what I just finished. All in all, it is an amazing experience and I am trying to absorb every little bit.
The building on the north side of the building in full view of the cafeteria windows is such an incredible analogy for my own present position and where I see myself going. The building is an immense structure, specifically being built to accommodate first year students. It started as a barren lot around the time I began my first inquiry into teachers college in January of last year. I have watched its expansion and steady rise over the months. In just the past few weeks, the work seems to have quickened its pace. I watch all the work men clamber over the structure in their bright orange shirts and helmets....I think i need a helmet to protect the brain that aches with the constant barrage of information. The structure should be almost complete as the school year ends. Like the progress of that structure, I shall be restructured and moulded into an Ontario Teacher.
I am joined by my new colleagues and there is something really great about each and every one of them. They are all as eager to gain as much knowledge before going to practicum as I am. We are gelling as a group and helping each other when we can. We are a truly chatty bunch and some of the oldest students in the classes in a sea of hopeful young candidates just coming out of their university courses. We are all just grateful to be here....out of thousands of applicants....there are only 40 tech candidates out of 680 candidates attending this year. It is just amazing!!!
Yesterday I did my presentation project in Instructional class. I did a Power Point presentation on BreadBoards. I couldn't believe how nervous I felt and later realized that it was likely because it was in front of all my peers. The chocolate chip cookies Max made for my presentation help break the ice in my opening 'hook'. However, I realize, had this been a class of high school students, I would have lost them the second they saw the cookies....oh well, live and learn. I also volunteered to play the part of a teacher in a group play coming up in the Safe Schools lecture at the beginning of October. We get a reward for volunteering - we get to have three of our worst weekly submissions dropped, in favor of our best marks, to then be averaged.
Today our lecturer for Educational Psychology asked the assembled class if anyone had a phobia and what it was. A young man put up his hand and shared with the group that he had a phobia of snakes. The lecturer asked him if he knew at what point in his life experiences that this phobia developed and he answered that he had run over a snake years ago with a lawn mower. The lecturer replied with "if anything should have a phobia, it would be the snake that witnessed the incident!" The audience roared with laughter when he added "you may want to consider using a push mower and use it slowly.....". Of course he apologized if there were audience attendees who might not be so quick to share in his lectures.....with an apology to the young man, he promptly continued.
Tomorrow I will find out where I will teach for my practicum. There are a number of tech schools in London and surrounding area. I had no idea how huge the school district actually is!!!!! The practicum starts in October and ends in November when we once again head back into the classrooms. Six weeks of being unleashed in the tech environment and I can't wait!!!
I am keeping a dictionary handy and directly at my fingertips as I venture forth in a language I am not accustomed to....University English!!!!!!
The building on the north side of the building in full view of the cafeteria windows is such an incredible analogy for my own present position and where I see myself going. The building is an immense structure, specifically being built to accommodate first year students. It started as a barren lot around the time I began my first inquiry into teachers college in January of last year. I have watched its expansion and steady rise over the months. In just the past few weeks, the work seems to have quickened its pace. I watch all the work men clamber over the structure in their bright orange shirts and helmets....I think i need a helmet to protect the brain that aches with the constant barrage of information. The structure should be almost complete as the school year ends. Like the progress of that structure, I shall be restructured and moulded into an Ontario Teacher.
I am joined by my new colleagues and there is something really great about each and every one of them. They are all as eager to gain as much knowledge before going to practicum as I am. We are gelling as a group and helping each other when we can. We are a truly chatty bunch and some of the oldest students in the classes in a sea of hopeful young candidates just coming out of their university courses. We are all just grateful to be here....out of thousands of applicants....there are only 40 tech candidates out of 680 candidates attending this year. It is just amazing!!!
Yesterday I did my presentation project in Instructional class. I did a Power Point presentation on BreadBoards. I couldn't believe how nervous I felt and later realized that it was likely because it was in front of all my peers. The chocolate chip cookies Max made for my presentation help break the ice in my opening 'hook'. However, I realize, had this been a class of high school students, I would have lost them the second they saw the cookies....oh well, live and learn. I also volunteered to play the part of a teacher in a group play coming up in the Safe Schools lecture at the beginning of October. We get a reward for volunteering - we get to have three of our worst weekly submissions dropped, in favor of our best marks, to then be averaged.
Today our lecturer for Educational Psychology asked the assembled class if anyone had a phobia and what it was. A young man put up his hand and shared with the group that he had a phobia of snakes. The lecturer asked him if he knew at what point in his life experiences that this phobia developed and he answered that he had run over a snake years ago with a lawn mower. The lecturer replied with "if anything should have a phobia, it would be the snake that witnessed the incident!" The audience roared with laughter when he added "you may want to consider using a push mower and use it slowly.....". Of course he apologized if there were audience attendees who might not be so quick to share in his lectures.....with an apology to the young man, he promptly continued.
Tomorrow I will find out where I will teach for my practicum. There are a number of tech schools in London and surrounding area. I had no idea how huge the school district actually is!!!!! The practicum starts in October and ends in November when we once again head back into the classrooms. Six weeks of being unleashed in the tech environment and I can't wait!!!
I am keeping a dictionary handy and directly at my fingertips as I venture forth in a language I am not accustomed to....University English!!!!!!
Friday, August 31, 2012
.....new beginnings..
......in the next chapter of my life's journey!!!
If I live to be 96, then this year would signify the half way point in my life.....my midlife. Most people at my age are becoming empty nesters, downsizing and winding down towards retirement. So why am I still raising children, caring for my parents and pursuing higher education at the faculty of Education at Western? Why would a menopausal middle-aged woman decide to risk it all while still juggling everything else? It's a Calling.....the understanding that everything has fallen into place to bring me to that point in my life where I KNOW intrinsically that it is what I was meant to do. The cancer journey that ended a career, the time I needed to discover my passions and the conviction to pursue another path.
When I applied to the Faculty of Education, I had no idea how I would pay for it, what I would do to earn a living while attending classes and if I would even qualify to be accepted. I did have faith and a whole lot of it and the belief that it would all somehow work out.....this coming from a person who worries about everything!! Within weeks of acceptance, struggling to get re-instated after a major deadline was missed due to an error in communication, I was on my way. A few weeks after that, a monentary gift from my parents answered some of my financial woes...it was now time to move forward and simply not look back.....
I am eternally grateful for the support and affection from my family, friends and colleagues as I embark on this new adventure. This blog's for you and for all those who have inspired me up to now and for those who are about to inspire, encourage and challenge me!!!
If I live to be 96, then this year would signify the half way point in my life.....my midlife. Most people at my age are becoming empty nesters, downsizing and winding down towards retirement. So why am I still raising children, caring for my parents and pursuing higher education at the faculty of Education at Western? Why would a menopausal middle-aged woman decide to risk it all while still juggling everything else? It's a Calling.....the understanding that everything has fallen into place to bring me to that point in my life where I KNOW intrinsically that it is what I was meant to do. The cancer journey that ended a career, the time I needed to discover my passions and the conviction to pursue another path.
When I applied to the Faculty of Education, I had no idea how I would pay for it, what I would do to earn a living while attending classes and if I would even qualify to be accepted. I did have faith and a whole lot of it and the belief that it would all somehow work out.....this coming from a person who worries about everything!! Within weeks of acceptance, struggling to get re-instated after a major deadline was missed due to an error in communication, I was on my way. A few weeks after that, a monentary gift from my parents answered some of my financial woes...it was now time to move forward and simply not look back.....
I am eternally grateful for the support and affection from my family, friends and colleagues as I embark on this new adventure. This blog's for you and for all those who have inspired me up to now and for those who are about to inspire, encourage and challenge me!!!
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