Free Write

I love it when we get the opportunity to just sit down and write. No expectations, no themes, nothing holding us back except our own minds and imaginations. Unfortunetly this Monday morning I seem to be at a loss for words. It has been a long last couple of weeks and I would really love nothing more than to be back in bed only contimplating getting my ass up and motivated. The whole premiss of taking summer school was to get done a bit sooner so I could student teach this Winter quarter, but there are time that I feel that I am just exahsted and would like to take a break and hell even go back to work. I want to teach and I want to be able to say that I completed my degree but at times I am afraid that I have put myself in a hole that I will never get out of. I am tired of being broke and behind on all my bills. The fear of letting my family down just bites at me. It is not supposed to be this difficult at 44. I should be well into my career with money in the bank, the ability to take my family on vacation or to do things without worrying about how I am going to pay for it. I really hope that all this pays off in the end and I haven't made a major mistake in my choice of returning to school.
Whew, now that I got that off my chest I feel a bit better. I am doing good and I know that at times the anxiety is horrific but this is the right thing to do and I know that it is a means to the end and I will just keep moving along and keeping my head above water.

Weaver Chapter 6

What I liked about chapter 6 in the Weaver text was great overview of the different teaching tools or styles that can be used to teach grammar. She does a good job of breaking it down into various methods to teach students weather it is a whole class, small groups or even individuals. Each technique is written showing both the pros and the cons to that style and gives the teaching candidate some great incite as they develop their own style.

I was particularly interested in use of the Mini-Lesson, as it allows the students to develop their own style and has the teacher there as a guide. Great for small groups or individual instruction and does not take away from the students ability to write or develop.

Write about something that you think people should know about but don't

We talk about how great the US is and how we value our military service men and women, but there is a side to this that most people are unaware of. For most people the concept of the US is the 50 states and Washington DC, I think most people are unaware that the US still has teritories such as Guam, Puerto Rico, The Virgin Island and Northern Marianas. A territory is an area of land under the jurisdiction of a ruler or state: "enemy territory". Since these areas are under US control the men and women that reside there are able to serve in the US Military. The issue arises when the service member completes his or hers obligated service and wishes to remain in the US. They are allowed to stay here conditionally, as long they do not get into any trouble with the law. This can mean that even a simple speeding ticket can be turned into a reason for deportation as well as the loss of their military benefits. I have seen cases where men from the Philippines have served for more than 20 years and have retired from the US Navy and upon completion of their service have been denied citizenship and sent back to the PI

We are halfway through the course. What has been most valuable so far? What do you still feel like you need?

For me and my anxiety with sharing my writing, hell even just writing, the fact that we have had to share our work with others and revive feedback has been eye opening. Even though I have written stories, kept a journal, and at times just broke into random writing, I have always felt apprehensive about sharing my work. For me my writing is very personal and to allow someone else the latitude to read it and critique it is gut wrenching.  Having grown up in the days of the dreaded red pen and getting papers back that were unrecognizable because of all the marks and notes, I have always felt that writing was a chore and not fun.

As far a still needing, I am looking forward to sharing teaching ideas and concepts with my classmates. As we are almost all going into the education profession, I feel that it will be valuable to hear how they plan on teaching writing to their students and see if I can utilize any of their practices into my lessons.

reflection

A Whole New Perspective On My Writing

When we started this assignment I was pretty nervous about having to share my writing with not only my class but also with my instructor. I have never been real confident in my ability to write a story let alone a narrative of my own. As I progressed and received feedback from my peers and found my own way with the written word the assignment became easier.

The first draft allowed me to find my voice and allow me a way to tell my story in a manner that felt right and painted a strong picture. With the second draft I was able to reach a point where I felt all emotions were clear and the beginning and end were well tied.

Again the feedback that I received from my peers allowed me to review and rethink if all the details were there. With a bit of compromise here and there and a few additions and just a little dab of color on the brush strokes, I created a visual that I hoped all would be able to enjoy.

The final review that I got from my peer made me smile at what I had accomplished but also what I was able to do with my writing and a lot of the trepidation began to leave.

Free write.......

....This is the first time that we got a prompt that told us to just write what ever we wanted to. I like this idea for many reasons. In the teaching world it can be at times difficult to inspire or motivate students to write in their logs or journals if you are being specific. To allow the student to just be able to write whatever is on their minds allows the creative juices to start to flow and hopefully that will be transferred into other aspects of their learning.

For me the world has been moving a million miles an hours lately and at times I have been feeling a bit overwhelmed. I thrive in stressful situations and have never had an issue at completing a task or taking care of a situation. But over the last two weeks I have wanted to just crawl into a dark room close out the rest of the world turn on some Jimmy Buffett and just checkout for a while. I am taking  a full load this summer and that is not so bad in itself, I am also working 25 hours a week and trying to get a whole lot of stuff done around the house on a limited budget. On July 3rd my Grandmother passed away at the age of 92 and my entire family is gathering to bury her in Southern California next week. It is hard because with my going to school full time I just don't have the money to spend on a plane ticket down there. I know that there are going to be some hurt feelings and even some resentment and that hurts. I love my family but have always lived a great distance from them and that has caused some friction in the past. It is hard to get them to understand just because I am not around does not mean that I do not love them. I loved my grandmother and cherish the gifts that she has given me over the years, my love of music, reading and art came from her, as did the stubborn streak that I have and the strong desire to succeed. It will be what it will be and I will roll with the punches. I just wish that at 44 my life was a bit easier and not so hectic. 

Teaching Grammar in Context, by Constance Weaver Chapter 2 response

Wow what a difference from our other text. Instaead of bringing the student in and enveloping them iwth the possiblities of writing and expression, this text and this chapter to be exact was brutal. The whole chapter was on how teaching grammer did not enhance the writing process and how studdies that were being conducted since the 1930's dispelled the credibility of teaching grammer. Now I am not dispelling the findings of these studies or what this chapter is trying to get across. It is my oppijnon though that the wording and the dry tone of this chapter will prevent the student from understanding why the teaching of grammer is so contriveral. For me growing up in the 70 and early 80's, I struggled with grammer and identifying parts of a sentence, that  did in no way prevent me from enjoying the writing process. After reading the studdies and oppinions of the learned schoolars in this text, I still feel that there is some basis for teaching a foundation of grammer but not to the extent that we teach it. The writing process will continue to grow and fourish without the hammering in of nouns pronouns and adjectives.

Chapter 6.....

As a teacher I am always looking for ways to engage the students and make the class captivating, challenging and fun. In this chapter Professor Murray gives some great examples of activities that can be used in the classroom. One of the great thing about the activities that he give is that not only is there a great variety in them but also the skill level and diversity is quite extensive. Once again I like how he encourages collaboration between teachers, "Design your own exercises, share them with your colleagues, steal and adapt theirs. Invite your students to make up their own."(109)

Another aspect that I really appreciated is the fact that he limits the emphasis on texts. "No text should attempt to take  the place of the students' won writing" In the classroom I have always felt that texts are a great resource but in today's electronic age there are so many supplemental texts available to the teacher and the student that limiting education to one resource is counter productive.

It has been a long week.....

...... You know, no w that I am 44 years old things should be easier to deal with and life needs to stop throwing little surprises my way. Last week started out good and it though it has been incredibly hot outside I have been enjoying the opportunity to ride my bike and get a little bit of extra exercise. On Wednesday I had to drive in to school because I had been tasked to present at the New Employees Orientation at the VA hospital and between my bike and the bus it would take forever for me to get there. As I pulled into Cheney I received a phone call from my mom letting me know that my Grandmother (92 years old) had passed away. I know that she had been slipping the past 6 months or so and that for the most part she had lost what was real and what was just her mind. After getting off the phone with my mom I started to think... Wow 92 years, what an incredible life she had lived. Born in Kansas and raised in the political world of Washington DC, she had met the love of her life while he was attending the US Naval Academy. Raised three kids and was a patron of the arts. And that is just a short snippet of the life of my Grandmother. The life she led was full of adventure and mishaps. Friends and family, she was never an idle soul and was always looking for a project to be involved with. 
I will always value the gifts that she gave me, my love for reading, the arts and a strong sense of individualism. It is hard to think that she will not be around, but I know that she is no longer wondering who she is and what is real and that she is back with my grandfather and those who loved her.

On the 4th, my family and I went over and rode the Hiawatha trail. It is 15 mile that runs along an old railroad line. You start out in a 1.7 mile tunnel and from there you move along some of the most beautiful landscape you will find. The trail take you through numerous railroad tunnels over tressels and winds you down to the bottom of the valley where you are picked up and taken back to the top. A wonderful little adventure located in our back yard.

Patricia "Teeka" Clark

So I got a phone call this morning from my mother letting me know that after 92 years on this earth my grandmother had decided she was done and passed away. I know that sounds a little crass, but what I mean by that is my grandmother was a woman who lived life by her own rules. She was a member of the Houston family and her father was a Senator from Kansas, he was an appointee by FDR as the chair to the National Labor Relations Board, my grandmother grew up in surrounded by political families and had many friends in the DC circle. She married my grandfather, a young Annapolis Midshipman, and watched as he was commissioned and sent of to serve in the Pacific as a second lieutenant in the Marines. She was widowed with three young children and fought the military when they tried to put the blame for my Grandfathers death on him rather than equipment failure. She lived her life for her children giving them a love for music and art, always carrying herself in a proper manner. She married Ken Clarke, a well know concert pianist and continued to be active in arts and culture. My grandmother was a woman who influenced me in so many ways and gave me an appreciation for reading and music that has stayed with me through out my life. I will miss her with all my heart and will always remember her with love and honor.

What are the qualities of a good narrative...

For me a good narrative must be engaging,
tell a story
paint a picture
give the reader some insight into the writer.
complete (beginning, middle end)
personal touch, believable
consistent in content and context
considers audience
has a strong tone/voice
fluid
characters
elements of plot
something must happen for narrative to evolve

The writing process......

1. Prewriting - brainstorming, mapping, research, thinking, discussion, freewrting

2. Drafting

3. Revision /Editing

4. Repeete #2 and #3 as many times as needed

5. Publication

If I could change one thing about mysel, what would ti be and why.......

.... If there were one thing that I could change about myself I would stop being a procrastinator. For some reason I seem to always wait until the last possible minute to accomplish something, perform a a task or even pay a bill. If something is due at 9am it usually gets done about 8:55. If my power bill is due by the 5th of the month then it gets paid on the 5th. I tend to thrive under pressure and it never seems to bother me to wait until the last minute but there are times when that comes and bites me in the ass. I forget an assignment , I miss making a payment on time simple little shit like that. For me if this were something that I changed it more than likely make my life a bit easier, less stressful and less complicated.

Chapter 5 and 9 Writer Teaches Writng....

.... One of the things that I am really enjoying about this book is that the author does not talk down to the reader and brings the perspective of teaching composition to students into a non threatening manner.

In chapter 5 he discusses ways of motivating students what he calls inviting writing. What I really like about this is the way that he breaks down what is necessary for the student to become a writer and within each topic why it is an important part of the writing process. From the Need to Craft each step is a poinent and important aspect of the writing process.

I really enjoyed the section on the Syllabus and how the examples he gave of ones that he used and also how he gives the students options of using his syllabus or creating their own, It made me chuckle when he gave the anecdote about giving the students this options and 19 of them wrote their own and the ones that they came up with were more demanding than the one that he gave them.

I also got a lot out of the section on writing assignments and how he stated that he prefers open assignments to closed assignments as it allows the student more control in their writing. It was interesting when he was talking about handouts and how he creates new ones for each class and at the end of the class he throws them away along with his notes.

Chapter 9 was dealing with workshops and it gave me a new perspective, actually it completely changed my perspective on how and what a workshop for students was. I like the fact the he broke down how to deal with different issues and different types of students and even the different styles of workshops that can be used.