Highlights of Week 4: The new and improved Mama Mindy School Update

Hi friends!
Mama Mindy here.  With the encouragement of close blogging furiends (you know...the one's that posted to my last post ((smile)),  I will no longer tell you exactly what I am doing every week but will provide a brief highlight and update of each week's progress.  Good Idea my friends!!

Okay, Week #4...I felt like a chicken running around short one vital organ...the brain. :)  Basically, the snow days I had last week put me behind on things for this week. 

For instance, I forgot about an important interview that is due this next Tuesday...a reading teacher interview.  Thankfully, I contacted my cousin Barb who teaches in Manhattan, KS, and is in her fourth year of teaching second grade and this year has a student intern ((Fascinating))  and she answered my questions via e-mail format.  I learned a lot of interesting things...especially the fact the word "phonics" is still a part of the vocabulary of new educators.  I thought that word died and was replaced by phonemic awareness and other teacher vocabulary that is more representative of the new approach to teaching students to learn to read.  I'm not sure if I like the "level" books or not...I like the idea of children knowing what they are currently capable of reading, but there is always the likelihood of teasing from other students for those that are not currently reading at grade level and also the fact that students might not want to leave their comfort-zone.  I guess that is my role as a teacher is to teach students to be respectful of everyone since we all learn at different paces and also to decide when a student is ready for the next "level." 

As I teach college students, learning to create lesson plans and teaching plans (for personal use) is something new to me.  In my science class that is integrated with my lesson planning and assessment course, I am learning how to unpack a lesson/unit.  It is frustrating because it is a new experience for me.  I'm beginning to reflect on my journey in this program and frustration is uncomfortable yet necessary so that I can show empathy and understanding when my students get frustrated with what I am trying to get them to learn.  It is also humbling to learn that being a Master's degree holder in Aging Studies has nothing to do with getting my current degree.  Teaching at the collegiate level is similar to teaching elementary school only in the fact that I care about my student's success and that I grade assignments based upon rubrics. A lot more differences than similarities.  Did I mention this is a new experience to me? :)

Math was fun as we are finishing a unit about different graphs and statistics.  I have had two other courses in statistics and with my master's, I had to be able to read tables and graphs, so it is a nice refresher and easy to do the homework attached.

Social studies has an oral history project due.  This past Tuesday, I interviewed my grandma, who is 87 years old.  I am proud of her age because it show that I might possibly live a long, happy life.  The interview was focused around her experience of being a student taught in a one-room schoolhouse. I did not realize that she moved so much as a child as her father was a tenant farmer most of her childhood and they moved from place to place to find good soil for working.  Grandma was the only one of her siblings (one older brother and one younger brother) to get her high school diploma.  Her favorite school memory was getting a doll for Christmas from teacher because her teacher drew her name in the Christmastime gift exchange.  Her most unhappy school memory was that of riding her horse in the rain in order to take her final exams to graduate from the 8th grade.

I haven't even started my Collaborations & Strategies workload for the week, but it deals with assistive technology.

Okay...turns out I had a lot to say this week.  I like this format better because if there isn't something to highlight, then I don't need to mention it. :)

Much Love,
Mama Mindy