Day 4-- Something you have to forgive someone for

There are a lot of people I should be forgiving. I should forgive the man who driving the wrong way in the parking lot and stole my parking spot. I should forgive the girl who asked me to be a witness in some random hearing and wanted me to lie, or at least state something I wasn't completely sure about. I should forgive those who are ignorant of, or simply choose to ignore, common mores in our society. I forgive the young man who used God as a reason to break my heart, stomp on my dreams, and crush a possible future.

But here are some people I have forgiven. I forgive my sister every time we fight. I forgive my husband after every argument. I forgive those who barely touch my life, but could have. I forgive anyone who is will to admit they are wrong.

But do I? Do I admit I'm wrong and apologize? That's my goal. This day was hard. I'm being truthful in my head. I just can't somehow share it all with you. That's probably why it took so long to post this. I'm sorry.

For Christmas

I realize I'm doing this a little late, but it needed to be done! I got an AMAZING gift from the in-laws! A gift card in which to purchase an eReader!

I chose the Cruz Reader because I can also check my e-mail, be on Facebook, tweet, and surf the web. I thought it would be awesome on campus. Additionally, I can buy books from Amazon Kindle and Borders. I'm hoping to download a Barnes & Noble Nook app as well to be able to share books with Nook buddies. Kindle is hopefully releasing that technology soon as well. Anyway, I LOVE it! I also got plenty of clothes, some that didn't fit. However, I returned them and was able to get even more because the after Christmas sales are FANTASTIC!

Will also got me a Scooby-Doo Wii game and some slippers and winter boots. I got him seasons 4 & 5 of Seinfeld and they've been playing non-stop all week! He also got plenty of clothes and the movie Inception. His mom gave him books. And it seems like just about everyone bought him jeans! We both will not need more clothes until summer. Then it requires a whole other wardrobe. Overall, we had a great Christmas. Everyone loved the photos that we printed for them and the other small gifts we were able to give. I hope you also had a peaceful and relaxing holiday!

merry christmas and happy new year!!

being sappy/nostalgic

So today, I realized that I totally overlooked the 6 month wedding anniversary. Not that it's a huge deal, but it was in the middle of finals week and I was sicker than a dog. Today, I realized that in two and a half months, I'll be 23. That will be here before I know it. January always seems to slowly crawl by, but February flies. And then it's March and my birthday day. 23. Wow.

Okay, okay. I know what some of you are thinking. I'm so YOUNG. But to me, 23 seems old. There are so many things I wish I was doing by now that I'm not. But there are a few more that I didn't think I'd have by now. I'm happily married to a man I can call my best friend. We have loving family and I am in school for something I truly love and can be passionate about.

Will and I have known each other for 3 1/2 years. And we've been together nearly as long. We have some terrific friends, many of whom were just his but now I count them as mine as well. One even gave us a Christmas present. We got a gift card to eat at Red Lobster. I'm excited to go on a "real" date. We plan to go to a movie afterwards! We don't usually do many formal "date nights", but we do go out to eat or to a movie together. Mostly we sit around and watch movies at home or read together. So a real night out, maybe even dressing up a bit, will be fun!

The simpleness of our relationship is what I like the most. It's great to be with someone that you don't need to put on any shows for or make any adjustments to be comfortable around. He really the most important human being in my life and I am very grateful for him and his family. His parents live in town and we get to have dinner with them at least once every 4-6 weeks. My family lives three hours away and I miss them a lot. I wish we were closer so we could dash over for dinner, but isn't really an option. We try to go see them at least every 8-12 weeks. Family is incredibly important to me. I never realized until I went to college that not everyone has the type of family that I do. It made me even more grateful for them, but also miss them even more. Once you realize what you had, you miss it.

What do you miss most? What do you appreciate more than anything else?

**Apparently I shouldn't put my posts into word to check for grammar. It just messes with the formatting. Okay. Lesson learned.**

"My Soul to Steal"

So, I know some of you have heard me rant and rave about Rachel Vincent and her awesome books... so here is a new release in her YA Soul Screamers series about a teenage bean sidhe (banshee)! I am really excited for this new installment! It's on my eReader wishlist! :-)

YOU WANT MY SOUL AND MY BOYFRIEND?

Trying to work things out with
Nash—her maybe boyfriend—is hard enough for Kaylee Cavanaugh. She can’t just
pretend nothing happened. But “complicated” doesn’t even begin to describe their
relationship when his ex-girlfriend transfers to their school, determined to
take Nash back.

See, Sabine isn’t just an ordinary girl. She’s a mara,
the living personification of a nightmare. She can read people’s fears—and craft
them into nightmares while her victims sleep. Feeding from human fear is how she
survives.

And Sabine isn’t above scaring Kaylee and the entire school to
death to get whatever—and whoever—she wants.

I DON'T THINK SO.

My personal education philosophy

For my introduction to education class, I was required to write a paper outlining my personal education philosophy. I will share it with you here. Also, this was merely to see how we felt now about education and how we think we might manage our future classroom. I have little to no experience and realize some of this might not work in real life. But, we were to get a start on a paper we will all need to have in more definite terms when we graduate. This is something I will revisit in about four semesters. (Also, the formatting is a little weird and I can't figure out how to fix it...)

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Through this assignment, I have been asked to examine the way I view the education of children in new and unique ways. By determining how I view the various aspects of teaching, I have been able to reflect on the progress I have made this semester so far in regards to my learning and also some assumptions I had related to teachers and the education system in America. I had always known it was a challenging and complicated issue, but I never knew the hidden influence legislation and special interest groups play every day in the classroom. I know it is impossible for anyone to have all the answers to our education problems, especially a single first year education student, I have formed an answer to how I think I will address some of the problems of education as they will pertain to my future classroom.

How students learn best and succeed
        I believe students learn best when they feel safe within their learning environment. I will want to structure the learning environment in a way that will be safe for making mistakes because they are encouraged and supported in a positive way. This is like the progressive philosophy because progressives make the learning environment safe for risk taking. I will strive to give my students a sense of belonging and community, similar to reconstructionism, because I feel that within a learning community that they take ownership of students will strive because they have taken personal responsibility for their learning. This is also similar to existentialism because students take responsibility for their own work and learning. Students also succeed when they are challenged to push their abilities like existentialism because I will be challenging students to be independent and find solutions to problems. This will challenge them to think in new and unique ways.
The role of schools
        One of schools most important tasks involves preparing students to become productive members of society. This could include preparing students to succeed in college or giving them the skills necessary to enter to workforce immediately following high school. This is similar to pragmatism in applying what students learn to their daily life by preparing them for a future job or career. In addition to students who are ready to work or ready to enter higher education, schools also need to create students prepared to be involved in the world around them. These students should be willing to participate in our government and will acquire the skills necessary to make decisions for the betterment of society, similar to Marxism or reconstructionism because both emphasize creating a classless society and being involved with social issues. Students who leave school should have at least an appreciation for the art that society produces from works of art in a gallery, to the historic buildings of our country, to the written word, stage, and music. This is promoting cultural literacy and also emphasizing great works, but applying them to a more contemporary setting. This is similar to both perennialism and essentialism because the first emphasizes the great works while the latter notes acquiring culture and cultural literacy for personal benefit. Schools are should provide an education for all, even if it isn’t in the exact same manner for each individual student. This is like the existentialists because they believe in individualism and alternate choices for students.
Why students fail
        Students fail because they can’t connect to the material in a way that is meaningful for them. Students who fail don’t see a point in learning as a whole or maybe just in learning this particular day’s lesson. This relates to cognitivism because cognitists wants students to construct knowledge that will be meaningful to them through their learning experiences and interactions with other students. Another factor that could contribute to a student failing is that they don’t receive enough support. This could include their parents or even within the classroom. Perhaps a teacher doesn’t expect anything of a particular student. This is mostly likely exactly what that student will deliver. This is related to progressivism because teachers act as facilitators who encourage students with their learning.
Most effective way to teach and assess students
        The most effective way to teach is through guided instruction, small group work, and whole and small group discussions. Teachers should use divergent questioning strategies along with evaluative and reflective questions. By using these strategies students are expected to do more than simply recite information from the text, but will be learning at a higher level on Bloom’s Taxonomy. Evaluative questions will help students analyze the information found in the text. Reflective questions help students examine decision-making. Both of these will help students grow on an emotional, intellectual, and spiritual level. Also, these types of questions help students develop independent ideas about the topics discussed in school. This is similar to existentialism because it encourages students to philosophize about life. Students also benefit from individual essays to hone their writing skills. This is a traditional method. However, it is necessary for students to master prior to college and also to prove competence in writing. It is most related to the essentialist philosophy.

The most effective way to assess students is through essay and short answer tests that relate to the way learning was done in the classroom. It makes no sense for the method of testing to not match the way a subject was taught. It is also beneficial to students to post the goals and objectives for the class period on the board and to give them a syllabus that will outline what is to be studied throughout the course of the term. I will not be giving any students zeros on major assignments. Discipline will also not be reflected in my grading. For example, if a student is sent to the office and misses an in-class discussion they will be given a one-page reflection or the like to do to make up points rather than taking a zero for the day. The total points possible on the reflection might only be seven out of ten, but they will not be getting a zero. Additionally, students benefit from reading a mixture of classic literature to give them a sound foundation because much contemporary literature alludes to or directly references the classics. Students should study good contemporary literature so they can appreciate it as an art form developing during their lifetime.

Effective classroom management
        The most effective way of managing a classroom is to give students your expectations in the beginning and then stick to them. By providing students with a syllabus they will know ahead of time which days they will have homework. If they know they will miss an in-class assignment because of a doctor or dentist appointment or because they are leaving early due to an art, music, or athletic competition they will be able and expected to alert me early on about the absence so that an alternate assignment can be completed. Since this is promoting student responsibility this is like existentialism. If I believe that the students in classroom will make positive decisions, I am setting the expectation that will make positive decisions and therefore, the students most likely will make positive decisions. I will also alert my students to consequences if they do not make positive decisions and they will be delivered consistently. However, positive reinforcement will always come first.

Having a hard time...

I'm having a hard time writing my final paper for the religion class I'm in. Here is what I need to reflect on:

1. What do you believe about God? How would you describe God? On what basis do you claim this as your understanding?
2. What do you believe about Christ? How would you describe Christ? On what basis do you claim this as your understanding?
3. What do you believe about salvation? How would you describe salvation? On what basis do you claim this as your understanding?

Wow. The only question I know the answer to is salvation. I know what I believe about how people are saved. But does anyone have some good prompts that will get me started on thinking about how to describe God or Christ? Or maybe how you would answer one of these questions.