Two More Weeks!

If you would attain to what you are not yet, you must always be displeased by what you are. For where you are pleased with yourself there you have remained. Keep adding, keep walking, keep advancing. ~Saint Augustine

I believe that what he is saying is that a person who is satisfied with something will probably stay at that same place not wanting to make any changes . On the other hand, someone who is not satisfied yet, will keep going and making changes as he goes along, adding to what he already has.

I think one of the worst things that can happen to a person's mind is to become stagnant and be stuck, not wanting or able to change it even if it could be for something better, or right, or true.

Change

"People change first, then programs; and significant change is never easy." --Hoffman and Sailors (2009, p. 223)

While going over the readings for today, I was most touched by the second article, our chapter 16. Change is not always a good thing, but whenever we're faced with the choice to change we should always be guided by thoughtful consideration, research, and observation. But the above quote stresses that the decision to change must first be made in each individual's mind. To affect change, we must reach the person. As future reading specialists, we must take this perspective to heart as we deal with students, other teachers, administrators, and the community at large. It may be tough, but fall back on all this rich knowledge we're gaining through our courses and experiences and feel empowered to inspire others with confidence.

Just a Few More Weeks! Entry for April 19, 2010

It's what you learn after you know it all that counts. ~Attributed to Harry S. Truman

Harry has a point. Knowing is nothing if you haven't learned from it.


Isn't this a beautiful sight? I was pretty close to the clouds in Meteora this day and was just in awe of the expanse of earth and sky. It really humbles a person to see all this beauty in one place.

(photo by Faye)

We must Overcome!

Bing image

"It's not what you achieve in life that counts, it's what you OVERCOME."- Author Known

It's crunch time and the the last few chapters and projects are due, we must continue to work diligently to get it all done despite all the challenges we face, we must overcome the challenges to complete and meet target. Let's do it ladies!

"If you want to build a ship, don't herd people together to collect wood and don't assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea." --Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Like the others I'm really feeling the end of the semester. Though I learned a lot and I'm glad for that, I'm also glad that we're almost through.

On a different note, I had a personal experience earlier this week that speaks to our recent readings. I was told, in a rather sour fashion, that participation in school committees would be a requirement for my PTEP group; my "extracurricular" IRA involvement would not be enough. I was reading through quotes for this week's blog and was touched by the phrase quoted above. I love my school and want to contribute in the best way that I can. However, being told how and where I can apply my talents (else I would be "expendable!") rubbed me the wrong way. It is also the wrong way for a school leader to encourage others to be productive. Being "forced" into acting encourages only contrary feelings. While I agree that committee involvement or participation in an advisory capacity is great and good, there are other ways of getting teachers to cooperate. Like the quote says, make us long for an end goal with all our hearts, and we'll find our own way there!

I hope this is something that I can apply as a teacher and a Reading Specialist. I want to infect my students and colleagues with a thirst for literacy and give them tools to help them along the way, letting their newly-kindled passion do the work!

Keeping Up with ED646

I have to admit, the class assignments are killing me! It's a tough load to carry and i'm trying my best to stay afloat. How do you all feel? Sorry, I am blogging late again. I am going to try and keep up with you all. I honestly have been good about completing my assignments for this class but when it comes to blogging and moodling, I don't know but I always seem to drop the ball. I am glad that my presentation was helpful to you all in many ways, I thought the way I delivered it, truly sucked! I was very nervous because I just came in and I was super-duper late, Dr. Rivera even drew the RED LINE! Here's the funny thing, my presentation was completed on time and I presented on that day but I totally forgot to submit the assignment in the moodle room. I am such a dork.

" Teachers open the door. You enter by yourself."

This quote speaks in so many ways of me personally. I need to commit to the workload and enter the door into ED 646!

They are not alone

Google image

"We read to know we are not alone."

-C.S. Lewis

This quote reminded me of my struggles of reading in my first years of school. Although, it wasn't a pleasant memory, at least now, I know how my students feel when they are struggling to read and know that they are not alone. Our professors equip us with strategies to teach them to become better readers, and we are there to follow through.

This was a pre-dawn picture I took on board the Cristal last November. I needed to be reminded to take some time to just be quiet and to enjoy some serenity time.

It is nearing the end of the semester, time is flying and there's still so much to do.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading the two chapters. Rosenblatt is right on when she said that a reader must connect with the text in order to make meaning out of it. Thanks to prior knowledge (from all the technology classes I took) and my schema, I was able to understand all the stuff about technology. There is a lot of information in this book that may be very helpful in taking the PRAXIS II for Reading Specialists. Dr. Rivera, now I know why you are so insistent on our participation in the blogging assignments. It helps to build our technology skills as well as our reading and writing skills. Thanks!

Tired and Discouraged?

“Many of the great achievements of the world were accomplished by tired and discouraged men who kept on working.”

How much can we accomplish if we just work a little bit more, for just a little bit longer? We cannot always see the bigger picture of life and often feel the most helpless just when help will come along. It's hard to fight against the temptation to give up because an end would equal rest. I hope we can all find the balance between resting and action because there will be time enough for rest when our degrees are good and conferred. For now, let's keep on keeping on!

The mind is not a vessel that needs filling but wood that needs igniting. Plutarch

That's what we need to do for our students and for our colleagues - ignite their minds. What is the brain worth if it is idle and not engaged? So fire them up, teachers! I have to apologize for taking up so much of class time but, it's like, I've had all this information bottled up for weeks and finally having a face to face let the "genie out of the bottle". I will be more controlled at the next face to face and limit my output to only my presentation. I guess one of my learning styles is to be around people. I have to say, Christine and Yolie, good job with your presentations and Mar, I am looking forward to yours in May.

I have to admit that I have been such a bad student lately, I have been neglecting my responsibility to blogg. So here I am, I'm back! Spring Break just passed, and boy, did it go by so fast. We just presented our "Professional Development Plan of Action." I'm glad that its over, I was fortunate enough to have the support of my grade level, who helped me tremendously with my assignment. My plan of action focused mainly of the use of Graphic Organizers.

"Every choice that you make has an end result." Zig Ziglar

I chose this quote because it really reflects my attitude in the last month. I had to make the decision to get my assignments done and make the time to do it.

Thanks, Teachers!

The anonymous quote, "If you can read this, thank a teacher," says so much about the the place and value of the classroom teacher. It is not a program or Program that brings our students to knowledge, but the thoughtful, creative, and dedicated human being that stands at the front of the classroom. However, with all the new knowledge and experiences that we are gaining through our Language and Literacy courses, I hope we can still continue to be forces of change and that we can prove true that "If you can read this, thank a Reading Specialist."

Time Check: 5 weeks!

Google image


"To live is so startling it leaves little time for anything else."

-Emily Dickinson

Yes, I checked. After this week, we have 5 more to complete our ED646 assignments. With our thinking caps on, and the encouragement from each other, we can do it!