Things are coming together

Okay, I think I'm figuring this thing out. At least the blog part, but one thing at a time. The quote that I choose during our class session this afternoon dealt with preparation. The opportunity to be successful is presents itself to everyone. Those that become successful are those individuals who are prepared to take advantage of those opportunity. I hope that I'll be prepared to those opportunities that present themselves to me in the course of my academic career.

"If there is any one axiom that I have tried to live up to in trying to become successful in business, it is the fact that I have tried to surround myself with associates that know more about business than I do. This policy has always been very successful and is still working for me." Monte L. Bean

This is my life right now. I am surrounded by wonderful classmates who share with me so much knowledge about teaching and life in the classroom today. I listen well and I have enjoyed visiting some of their classrooms; all of this has enhanced my graduate school experience and I know it is preparing me well for my return to the education field.

We have a lot of busy weeks ahead of us and due dates loom. I know we will all do our best and we will all be there to help each other if needed.

Have a great weekend and see you all next week.
Kate

Another week in the books!

The title has an obvious double meaning. One more week behind me and most of it was spent in the books! The reading we've done thus far has been quite interesting. It's interesting to see how reading programs are developed, especially with the current situation of the Guam Public School System. I've come to the realization that I am going to have to get my face out of the books and implement some of the points I've read about. That's going to be fun and a topic for another blog.

Reading Specialists Rock

I don't really know what to blog about today. I really enjoyed Article Three and learning about the different avenues for reading specialists. I am making headway with the projects. I will be reviewing a reading program called Read 180 that is used for struggling readers at McCool. I hope to meet my paraprofessional tomorrow, I need to confirm this with Lucille. I am trying to power ahead and get as many of the assignments done as possible before spring break. I hope to take my kids to Beijing and I don't want due dates hanging over my head. With the Praxis on April 25, the more time I can allot for studying the better. I'm looking forward to our in class meeting next week!

Perseverance is the hard work you do after you get tired of doing the hard work you already did. ~Newt Gingrich

This could be my motto for graduate school. I just keep chugging along but I see the pot of gold at the end of this rainbow.

Alright!

Alright indeed! The semester is officially in full swing. I can tell because the back seat of my car is an absolute disaster. It looks like someone raided my car but wasn't quite sure what they were looking for. The course for this week went pretty well. I'm still getting used to the format of the class. It's hard to keep track of all these forums but I'll figure it out. Of that, I have no doubt. Also, am I supposed to post some sort of quote on this blog thing?

Perseverance

Don't be discouraged. It's often the last key in the bunch that opens the lock. ~Author Unknown

I'm making my way through the chapter and article readings and working on my plan for completing the projects. I chose this quote as a reminder that I've made it this far and I'll make it to the end. I begin each semester in a panic that I will not be able to complete the required projects because I do not work in a school, but I've always found a way (with the help of my classmates) and I've always completed the semester successfully. I am again in panic mode but I slowly see progress being made and I know this semester will end well too.

Have a great weekend,

Kate

Here we go!

Alright, I'm not sure if I'm doing this correctly but here we go. I had the chance to meet with Dr. Rivera to discuss the requirements of the class. This semester is going to be a lot of work but the work seems to have numerous practical applications in the school setting. Dr. Rivera shared a nice motivational quote and we discussed it a bit. It was a nice ending to a meeting that built a certain level of anxiety. The fact that on-line posting plays such a central role in the class structure is going to be challenging for me. I feel my strengths lay more in a traditional educational structure. I find it easier to verbally express myself then to formalize my thoughts in written form then post it. With that being said, I'm up for the challenge.

High Anxiety

Happy Thursday all!

In reviewing and completing today's moodle assignments and looking over the upcoming activities, I honestly think I am having my first anxiety attack ever. Last semester, it was easy popping into my fellow classmates classrooms to do small, one session activities with their students. The activites for this class however are more involved and will require quite a bit of time working with paraprofessionals, and like I said in my moodle post, I don't know what to do about this and I wish it were May already because I'm eager to see how I've figured it out.

Dr. Rivera, I figured you would want us to find a quote online so because of my aforementioned anxiety I chose:

Ask yourself this question:"Will this matter a year from now?" Richard Carlson, writing in Don't Sweat the Small Stuff

I sure hope not!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Kate