Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Blog Post #1
TOPIC 1 - PERSONAL INFO
I am a forty-two year old mother of three who lives in Spanish Fort, Alabama. After dating almost eight years, I married my high school sweetheart (Craig). We went to separate colleges in South Carolina before marrying, and then we moved to Tuscaloosa where I went to work teaching special education and he went to law school. Upon completion of law school, we moved down south. At that point, I began teaching and coaching at Fairhope High School until we began our family. Since then, I have been the typical stay-at-home soccer mom. All my children (Mary Katherine - 13, Lora Ashley - 11, Cade - 7) are very active in sports activities. One or all of them participate in baseball, softball, volleyball, basketball and track, and I have enjoyed watching and/or coaching them in these activities. It may be obvious from that list that team sports is a passion. I think involvement in team sports teaches you things that can't be learned in a classroom (or anywhere else, for that matter). Between school, church and sports I am extremely busy; and although I have always been a good student, I am seriously worried about my ability to add three college classes to the "to-do" list!
So, I have been at home for the last 13 years raising kids. However, I have remained active in the educational field through my own children. Obviously, I have relearned almost the entire elementary curriculum through homework and projects. I have been room mom for one of my children's classes every year. I have volunteered in almost every position conceivable, including PTA Fundraiser Chairperson, Secretary, VP and President. I have been so involved at my children's school that my husband has often asked why I don't just go back to teaching so I can get paid for being there! I guess you could say that I am passionate about having a strong educational system, so here I am at South Alabama going through the steps of recertification.
An early hands-on experience with a special needs student is what led me to enter the education field. In sixth grade, I was chosen to work with Jeremy as a peer tutor. I was never told Jeremy's "label," but looking back he obviously had some type of intellectual disability. Jeremy also had several behavioral habits that needed to be worked on in order for him to fit into the school setting a little better. I worked with Jeremy every week and really developed a relationship with him. After leaving sixth grade and moving on to the junior high school and high school, I often wondered about Jeremy and how he was doing. I never saw him at school. Then, as a senior in high school I had the opportunity to be a "hugger" for the Special Olympics, and , low and behold, there was Jeremy! When Jeremy recognized and remembered me at that event, it cemented my desire to become a special educator.
TOPIC 2 - RANDY PAUSCH ON TIME MANAGEMENT
Randy Pausch's lecture on time management was an enjoyable "listen" (Randy Pausch on Time Management). He has a good sense of humor about the decisions we make and why we make them. This point in his discussion probably stood out the most to me because I have a real problem with saying "no." You can probably determine that from the list above of PTA jobs for which I volunteered or agreed to do. When I see a job that needs to be done and nobody else steps forward, I tend to feel obligated to do it. I am not sure if that is due to a personality trait, a strong work ethic or a need to feel needed. ???Who knows??? One thing I know I will have to implement during the next few months is Pausch's advice to ask "Why am I doing this?" Between the continued demands of a family and home and the new demands of college classes and all that is necessary to reinstate my teaching certificate, I think this question will become my new best friend. As a mom, I have become a master of time-management and multi-tasking, so if I can learn to eliminate the tasks that aren't important, maybe I can make it through this semester.
I also thought Pausch's whimsical comments on experience were entertaining. He jokingly states that bad judgement leads to experience which leads to good judgement. So many times we view our own bad judgement as "failures" in our life, but if we look at these experiences as stepping stones to coveted "experience" and "good judgement," then we can feel a little better about those "failures."
I am a forty-two year old mother of three who lives in Spanish Fort, Alabama. After dating almost eight years, I married my high school sweetheart (Craig). We went to separate colleges in South Carolina before marrying, and then we moved to Tuscaloosa where I went to work teaching special education and he went to law school. Upon completion of law school, we moved down south. At that point, I began teaching and coaching at Fairhope High School until we began our family. Since then, I have been the typical stay-at-home soccer mom. All my children (Mary Katherine - 13, Lora Ashley - 11, Cade - 7) are very active in sports activities. One or all of them participate in baseball, softball, volleyball, basketball and track, and I have enjoyed watching and/or coaching them in these activities. It may be obvious from that list that team sports is a passion. I think involvement in team sports teaches you things that can't be learned in a classroom (or anywhere else, for that matter). Between school, church and sports I am extremely busy; and although I have always been a good student, I am seriously worried about my ability to add three college classes to the "to-do" list!
So, I have been at home for the last 13 years raising kids. However, I have remained active in the educational field through my own children. Obviously, I have relearned almost the entire elementary curriculum through homework and projects. I have been room mom for one of my children's classes every year. I have volunteered in almost every position conceivable, including PTA Fundraiser Chairperson, Secretary, VP and President. I have been so involved at my children's school that my husband has often asked why I don't just go back to teaching so I can get paid for being there! I guess you could say that I am passionate about having a strong educational system, so here I am at South Alabama going through the steps of recertification.
An early hands-on experience with a special needs student is what led me to enter the education field. In sixth grade, I was chosen to work with Jeremy as a peer tutor. I was never told Jeremy's "label," but looking back he obviously had some type of intellectual disability. Jeremy also had several behavioral habits that needed to be worked on in order for him to fit into the school setting a little better. I worked with Jeremy every week and really developed a relationship with him. After leaving sixth grade and moving on to the junior high school and high school, I often wondered about Jeremy and how he was doing. I never saw him at school. Then, as a senior in high school I had the opportunity to be a "hugger" for the Special Olympics, and , low and behold, there was Jeremy! When Jeremy recognized and remembered me at that event, it cemented my desire to become a special educator.
TOPIC 2 - RANDY PAUSCH ON TIME MANAGEMENT
Randy Pausch's lecture on time management was an enjoyable "listen" (Randy Pausch on Time Management). He has a good sense of humor about the decisions we make and why we make them. This point in his discussion probably stood out the most to me because I have a real problem with saying "no." You can probably determine that from the list above of PTA jobs for which I volunteered or agreed to do. When I see a job that needs to be done and nobody else steps forward, I tend to feel obligated to do it. I am not sure if that is due to a personality trait, a strong work ethic or a need to feel needed. ???Who knows??? One thing I know I will have to implement during the next few months is Pausch's advice to ask "Why am I doing this?" Between the continued demands of a family and home and the new demands of college classes and all that is necessary to reinstate my teaching certificate, I think this question will become my new best friend. As a mom, I have become a master of time-management and multi-tasking, so if I can learn to eliminate the tasks that aren't important, maybe I can make it through this semester.
I also thought Pausch's whimsical comments on experience were entertaining. He jokingly states that bad judgement leads to experience which leads to good judgement. So many times we view our own bad judgement as "failures" in our life, but if we look at these experiences as stepping stones to coveted "experience" and "good judgement," then we can feel a little better about those "failures."
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
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