Blog Assignment (Post 2)

I cannot remember the last time that I did not have a female for a boss. However, in this phase of life, I have become my own boss- in a way. Last October I started substitute teaching for Springdale Public Schools. I absolutely love it. It is probably the best job I have had to date because I gain experience, education, and utter joy from it. Springdale Public Schools happens to be the most financial stable school in the Northwest Arkansas area, and also is the home to the first I School, or School of Innovation. The School of Innovation gives me adrenaline when I am working there as it is a great advantage network for students in the Springdale district. I accept jobs there as often as I can. I also attend as many School Board meetings as I can to learn about the schools and get involved in the movement of education.
I have experienced SO much from substituting just in seven months, I will not be able to confine it down to one paragraph. I have been able to network with teachers and principals and school board officials. I have learned demographics in students and approaches from teachers. I have learned the routines and rules of most of the schools that will prepare my transition into teaching public school. I have learned many teaching techniques, classroom management ideas, and teaching tools that cannot be found in one Pinterest search or one professional development setting. I am always learning from the children and what their little minds and bodies are doing. It's been a great way for me to discover new passions in education and my strengths and weaknesses as an authoritative figure, educator, and human being. I have also discovered my strengths and weaknesses among grades and subjects and the balance between being able to handle any situation in any grade. Being in charge in the class is one of the best ways I could have learned about a classroom without learning from a book. I am so excited to discover what my future holds in having my own classroom.

Blog Assignment (Post 1)

I have kept a journal/diary since I was seven years old. Although I've always had great grades in English and Literature throughout my academic career, I have never pushed myself to write for a purpose other than myself. Blogging is a great way to outsource information and your thoughts. I have used a blog to reflect on personal aspects of my life that tied to daily life and updates on my mom and how I dealt with everything when she had a stroke. I used it for others and for myself. I also started creating art and used a blog to make people aware of what I was doing without forcing them to look at all the pictures on social media. I started a blog for lesson plans when I was teaching pre-kindergarten and was going to publish them once I was done. That is a project that has been left unfinished, but I still refer back to it sometimes and use it partially in portfolios of my work.

 

When I kept up with my Lesson Plan Blog, this was the bulletin board I would keep updated and then post a picture of it to the blog. In the blog, I had descriptions to the notecards. This might have included song lyrics, articles published on play we were doing that week, art templates that parents could download (cause sometimes our crafts were too awesome not to share with siblings), pictures of the books we were reading and the library I got them from, etc etc. It was a great way to communicate with parents without sending newsletters home in backpacks and I could refer to it when I had a new batch of kids.

 

 

I follow several blogs and subscribe to my favorites. It's an effective free organization of ideas and lessons and feelings and personal expression.  Blogging is great for outsourcing and expression in a lot of cases, however sometimes I feel like blogging in the wrong writer's hands is just a way of seeking attention and trying to affirm mistakes to an array of imaginary public. I think everyone should write. I think everyone should have and keep a journal. I think everyone should eat sleep and think with a journal- jotting down ideas, feelings, experiences, illustrations, questions, reminders.  A journal can be a witness to yourself, but I don't necessarily think it should be published, and sometimes people use blogs to just publish their lives. I have learned from great writers and tried to write for myself and other people. You can calculate the world through numbers, but you can persuade the world through writing and words.