science questions

What did you learn about the teachers (yourself in particular as well as your cooperating teacher)?
Guiding question – how is your identity (your race, language, culture, worldviews, values, experiences, your strength and limitations, etc. etc.) shapes your teaching practice, and the way you interact with children and family? What did you learn about yourself?

I learned that as a teacher my view point is very dominant in my teaching. I believe in being organized and prepared and my coop teacher also held this belief. This was very evident when entering the classroom. It was very organized, there were clear routines, subject duotangs, book boxes and so many other practices that I would and will use in my classroom. I noticed that during my teaching I shared many of my travelling experiences and the things that I had seen and done. For example we were looking through a book about shapes and there was a diamond shape on a snake and we started talking about snakes. I talked about the snakes that I held and saw when I was in Australia. They really wanted to hear more about it so we went off topic for a bit. I think it is better to make the connections because these are the things that students remember.

I also learned that I can do it. I am so much more confident in my abilities to be a teacher. I used to be very confident in my abilities and was an excellent preschool and daycare teacher. Entering the third year all my confidence was thrown out the window. People are constantly saying that you can never reach every child, there are so many hats to wear, the first year of teaching is the worst, you have no life... all these thoughts are being put into our heads and you wonder why we are questioning our career paths. The focus needs to be changed to the good things about teaching. There are so many benefits. Seeing the growth and progress in children, constantly learning new things, exploring and creating, being up to date/current and collaborating with others. Being in a cohort, we have so many supports, friendships, and people to bounce ideas off of, it is great.

What did you learn about the learner?
Guiding questions – how did you consciously try to create a welcoming, safe, and inclusive learning environment for all children to be and to learn? What have you learned about your learners?

I learned that my students were all different. They have similarities but they have more differences. By recognizing this I was able to adapt my lessons and vary my teaching strategies to be inclusive of the students in my class.

What did you learn about the subject matter (particularly the science subjects)?
Guiding questions: what broad range of resources have you (and your cooperating teacher) drawn upon to plan for and to assist you in teaching the subjects? What teaching approaches have you tried and how did they impact students’ learning?

I didn't teach science in my preinternship, my teaching partner did. Resources can and do come from a variety of resources. They came from books, online, other teachers, and from past experiences. I was able to get resources from the university. Block manipulatives and tangrams played a huge part in my teaching and without the use of these from the university I would have had to alter my lessons competely. I also used a lot of the assessment and activities from the Math Makes Sense program. This program is excellent, there are so many good ideas and ways to assess.
I tried many teaching strategies. I used direct, experiential, questioning, leaning centers, individual, group, and indirect stategies. Thses worked well in my class. It kept me from being bored and it kept my students engaged. By varying my strategies I was able to connect with most intelligences and this created a better understanding for students in my class.

What else have you learned from this pre-internship experience?
I learned that I can do it, and I can do it well. I do not have to know everything as long as I am honest with my students I will be good to go.

Science Resource Package

I didn't feel prepared for this presentation. I felt this way mainly because I did not teach my unit. Rachel and Danelle both had the opportunity to teach their lessons and use the resources that they used. I had to find resources and I was not a hundred percent sure if they would actually work with my unit of not. I wasn't able to discuss what the students enjoyed and what worked or didn't. I really felt like I was at an unfair advantage. I know that I did the best that I could and I did a lot of research into different resources to include. But at the same time I felt like I didn't have as much to share.

My group worked really well together and we easiy agreed on what we wanted to do and how to get it done. We encouraged each other, helped each other, and bounced ideas off of one another. We had a great relationship.

I think our presentation as a whole was very successful, we treated our peers as professionals. This was important to us. So much of what we do in education we are pretending to be elementary students and this gets extremely tiring and annoying. I like learning strategies and ways to teach but it is nice being an equal some of the time.

Science Engagement Reflection

Well it has been awhile since I did my engagement activity...but here goes nothing. My engagement activity was skewering a balloon. I had some difficulties getting things organized in the morning, I assumed that there would be other people presenting the same day as me and I would go second. This wasn't the case and I had to scramble to get set up. I had a number of substance and objects to use with balloons. I wanted an activity that was inquiry based. So I gave the class the material and asked them to try and skewer the balloons after blowing them up. I had many hesitant partipants as they were scared the balloon would pop. Many of them did pop but many were successful. They each had their own theories about what substances worked and wouldn't work and experimented several times. I really enjoyed doing this activity. The best part was watching my peers faces as they tried to skewer the balloon... they were unsure if it would pop or not and would screw there faces up. I learned that inquiry based learning helps to maintain engagement. My peers were having a rough day maintaining attention and moved into discussing plans for the weekend and things that were going on. This was frustrating but at the same time I know that they are not in elementary school and this experience was aimed at that age level. Overall I think this experience went really well.

learning centers

My last two days of teaching I did learning centers. These went amazingly well with the exception of one boy, which was expected. I explained each of the centers and had them retell me what was going to happen at each center. Then I explained that when they go back to their table I want them to stand behind their chair and wait for me to say go. When the buzzer goes, after ten minutes, students need to put any sheets on the table and then hold their pencil in the air and wait for my instructions. Then students would rotate to the next table and I would say "go" and they would begin their next station. We rotated through three activity centers each day. Two of the six stations were performance based assessment stations. We assessed the math objectives for my geometry unit. This was such a great way to assess every student and keep all students engaged. The one boy that I had a few problems with has asbergers and was not in the class during instructions and came back half way through. So he was not aware of what was going on, he was okay the first day because he didn't have time to join in the centers. The next day I had to go to each of the centers with him after getting my group started. I had a lot of issues arise with him. The first of which was that he came to my group first and was mad, he took his pencil and broke it in half. Then he was all concerned with having a pencil that wasn't broken. The next station went well but the one after the pencil broke again. He started crying and I had to remove him and he had to sit on the carpet. When he calmed down I took him back to the table and he was good for the rest of the time. It was challenging but it was realistic. It was a good experience.
BubbleShare: Share photos - Play some Online Games.

all done

I can't believe pre-internship is all done. It seems like it flew by, yet some of the days seemed like they would never end. Over the past week I finished off my unit and completed my evaluation of the students... I can't believe how difficult it is to distinguish between what is good and what is excellent.

I tried out activity centers and they were unbelievably successful and the students were very engaged. I set students up to succeed by setting out clear guidelines and directions and encouraged the behaviours that I was expecting. I have to say that I will definately be using learning centers in my future classroom.

My last day of school... I did not want to leave. All the kids were hugging me and saying that they will miss me. Karmen and I taught the whole day from morning to end. We did our evaluation and learning centers before lunch. After lunch we made fruit pizza and went to the gym. I loved the gym the best. I decided to play Dead Pirates, where they lay on the ground and try not to laugh or crack a smile. It was hilarious, I had one boy try and make the other person laugh by giving himself a wedgie... so funny.

I had such a positive experience and will take much of my experience with me into my internship and my teaching career.

I am however not looking forward to going back to classes and doing assignments that are not relevant to teaching in the field. When am I ever going to have 2 50 min. sessions with one child to read a book or have 5 people read one story to a class. I just don't understand why we are doing some of the assignments... it seems like busy work to me. There are many of us that would love to boycott them, but at the same time we would like to pass. I guess we are stuck doing them and will have to put in enough effort to get by.

science questions

1. What comes to mind when you hear the words "sustainable" or "sustainability"?
To me this means trying to make the earth's resources last for the future. The way people consume and waste; we are in serious trouble. I know that I am not completely environmentally friendly and there are things that I can do to improve but at least I am aware. There are so many people who don't have a clue and just use and use without any thought or regard.

2. What is your understanding of education for sustainability (ES)?
Teaching students that they need to recycle and try and make the world a better place. Spending time going over current issues and why they are important to our class and why we should care. Answering the questions does it really effect us? How does it effect us? What can we do? How can we do it? Can we really make a change? Taking on an action plan and following it through. Explore how we made a difference, even it it is just a small difference.

3. What's your understanding of the relationship between environmental protection and economic development? They are polar opposites. Environmental protection is trying to preserve what is left of the natural environment where as economic development is only interested in how much money they can make from a business or an industry. This question stirred up some comments from my grandpa and he reminded me that not all economic development is bad. I'm adding in his comments because I don't think that I can say it better... I always forget that this is his specialty, helping with enviromental economic development.

I am sorry but EP and ED are not necessarily ‘polar opposites’.
Of course it depends largely upon the definition of each that is used or assumed. Environmental protection (making money from it) has in itself become a huge industry and will grow rapidly as our knowledge and concern about the effects of industrial activity grows.

It is suggested that a new industry that creates employment, wealth, and is conducted in an environmentally sustainable manner could be developed to in fact protect the environment.

Examples could be:

Reforestation, the planting of trees to enhance water sheds, protect soil resources denuded by forest fires or industrial activity, enhance the visual/aesthetics of the area or region and provide habitat for wildlife including birds, game, fur and predators including men and women, create recreation areas and provide sources of wild fruit. In the full extension of this scenario, the forest created captures carbon while growing and may in the future, be harvested in an environmentally responsible manner to construct shelters for people that would have a smaller ‘foot print’ than the existing housing and use energy efficient technology to sustain the lives of the human element of that forest and region.

Establishment of an industry to build, assemble and market clean energy systems whether they be wind turbine powered electrical generators, run of the river turbines and generators or central/district heating systems to utilize waste biomass as feedstock or other waste heat sources as an energy source. Geothermal heat sources and systems can be included with this point.

Commercial fish harvesting is an industry that utilizes existing fish populations to harvest, assemble and distribute food for humans and animals. This can be done in an environmentally responsible manner that maintains the fish populations and may enhance the wild resource by modification of the fish populations, removal of some size classes and limiting populations of some species to have the water body produce a larger percentage of the more desirable sizes and species. This can be achieved while the water body sustains and maintains an active and desirable fish population to satisfy the recreational fishery, of course the recreational fishery must also be conducted in a sustainable manner and preferably the anglers would paddle or row their watercraft and thereby have good physical exercise that would help to maintain their health and not contribute through the burning of fossil fuels to environmental degradation.

4. What's your understanding of the relationship between human and nature? We are part of nature. Without nature and the environment we will not exist. I think there is so much unnecessary destruction of nature to allow for someone to have a huge mansion that they don't use half of the rooms in. So many things that are wrong with how our society views material things and doesn't think about the consequences of their actions.

5. What's your understanding of the relationship between "education for sustainability (ES)" and your professional work as a teacher? It is my job to be a positive role model, to be aware of current events and what is going on in my community, and to do professional research on the topics that I want my class to explore.

6. Do you plan to help your students develop an understanding of sustainable development when you become a teacher? Why, or why not? I think that you have to help students gain an understanding. Without this understanding nothing will change, we will continue to overconsume, pile up garbage, pollute the water and kill the earth with stuff that is not essential.

7. Feel free to share any other thoughts you have about the ESD topic.
I wish there was a way to make people be more responsible with what they waste and what they use.

flying by

Wow I can't believe we are in our last week. I am absolutely dreading going back to classes and assignments. After being in the field it makes so much of what we do seem inconsequential. I have learned so much working with my coop and my partner. I have become very comfortable in this classroom and with the routines of the day. Goes to show with an open mind and willingness to try you are open to possibilities.

I have really grown to love the students in my room and each them has their own distinct personality. I of course have some favorites but I do not let it show. One of the little boys came up to me last week and told me that he wished Karmen and I were his step mothers and that he loved me. It was so cute.

My coop has been great, she asked us what grade we were going to be in next year and she has made arrangements for us to go and visit those grades and get a feel for what those grade levels are like. This is such an amazing opportunity. At least I will not be going into internship and be blindsided.

We had the opportunity to go outside when it was warm out and go sliding and build snowmen, followed by hot chocolate and rice krispie cake.


This week is going to fly by but I am looking forward to doing some of my lessons that I have planned this week and trying out activity centers.

intro lesson

My intro lesson was alot of fun... stressful but fun. I brought in a ton of boxes and Karmen and I spend recess taping up boxes and getting things ready for my lesson and then spent an hour taking them all apart. But as they say a picture is worth a thousand words so here are a few pics.

Preinternship

So much to do and so little time in a day!

Well going into the school the first few days I was still nervous and didn't know what was expected of me. Now... I am alot more comfortable. I am learning more about the students in my class and my coop teacher. I am learning so many new things and trying them out. I learned how to do benchmarking and dolch words for reading and will try my own guided reading group next week. I am also teaching my unit and it has changed so much that I will have two units when I am finished.

I have to say that I am finding many things that my coop teacher does that I will take with me and I know that there are many other things that I would do differently as well. But things are going much better than I anticipated. I am trying to be very open and observe the things that are happening within the classroom.

The last couple weeks of classes are being highlighted in my classroom. The Wong video is one of those things that I am finding to be highlighted the most. I believed that my classroom was very structured, and it is, but they are established routines. The students could perform them without the teacher present. The first 45 minutes of the day are all established routines and they know what happens during that time period. They also know what the signals are for different activities. When the timer goes off, how to get ready for lunch, etc.

I have also learned that praising is a very powerful classroom management tool. They want to do better to get chosen to do an activity. This is behaviourist but it works.

found poem

I was going through some of my old stuff and came across some poems that I wrote a long time ago. I used to love to write poetry and I was even published. I wanted to add this poem because it still applies to what is going on in my life. I just don't know what I want to do.

The Road

The road I'm on,
Goes so very far;
But all the signs,
Have long since been gone.

Which way should I go?
Should I turn?
Where will it lead?
What's going on?

Is the road going to be bumpy?
Or smooth as can be?
Will I meet someone?
Or go all alone?

After I'm gone. down my road,
The signs are up;
Saying I can't go back.
Or change my mind.

So what's done, is done.
I guess I can't complain;
So I'll smile and say thankyou
And keep moving on.

by Janine Smits

diversity

I learned alot during the treaties four workshop. I know very little about treaties and I feel a little bit better after taking this workshoip. I know that I still need to learn more about them. I really enjoyed having the perspective of people that went through the hardships of the treaties and residential schooling. It made an impact on me. I had heard about some of the things that had happened but not by a person that it had happened to.

One of the things that was said that has stuck with me is that it is not my fault. I always believed that I was being blamed when issues with the treaties were brought up. I think it was something that I needed to hear so that I could get over the idea of being blamed and defending myself. When I feel blamed I always feel defensive and cornered. I can't change the past, I can only help to make my classroom representitive of all cultures.

I hear numerous racial remarks and jokes and it is so normallized. Why is it okay to make fun of a culture? a hair color? ethnicity? I do this, I laugh at these, I make jokes about myself being a blonde. So is this right? Is this wrong? Why does it seem to be more okay if you are making fun of your own ethnicity or haircolor? After going to the treaties four workshop I went to a comedy show that featured an aboriginal man. Almost all of his jokes were about his culture, his family, and his experiences with the world. I laughed at most of his jokes as at the time I thought they were funny... the next day as I thought about it i really had to stop and wonder why they were so funny. Would they have been funny if it would have been a white guy saying them? Probably not then it would have been racist.

questions

One of my professors wrote this for me to think about:

"I challenge you that rather than searching for others' great ideas and practices, you start to look into yourself - what interests and passion do you have? what talents do you have? what dreams do you have? and what it takes for all those to come out and meet/enrich the world? "

The answer to these questions is I don't know. I have a variety of interests, passions, and talents. My dilemma is that I don't like to remain on one project for an extended period of time. I think that may be one of the reasons that I like technology so much, it is constantly changing and there is something new to explore.

I don't know if I want to be a school teacher. I do love teaching but at the same time I am in the school system doing preinternship and there are so many things that I see that I just don't want to do. I'm learning one way of teaching at school and another way in the classroom and I don't get to practice what I want to. I am very uninspired by my current placement. I am not saying that she is doing things wrong because she has some really good ideas and practices. I think I am unexpired because of the lack of choice within my lessons. I don't get to try what I want.

Another reason I am unsure is because I am used to playing with students to help them learn (early childhood) and all the playing seems to stop once they hit grade one. This is one of the reasons that I am drawn to inquiry based learning. Students questioning, exploring, learning, and following their interests deeper. I haven't seen this in action and won't have the change to explore it fully until I am a teacher and I am scared that before that happens I will pick up other habits that are easier and become complacent. I know that I can fall into rutts and if I am not inspired I will not try. I can see myself doing this constantly right now in my classes. I am happy just floating by. So far the class that I have put the most effort into is Arts Ed and that is because I really like the arts. I also really like technology and loved taking my ECMP classes and learing new things with technology. The outdoors and field trips are another thing that I think I would really enjoy doing with students. I love being outside and i believe that so much learning can happen in a real situation compared to from out of a book.

As for dreams, I dream of travelling. I love going to new places and experiencing different cultures. I am put outside of my comfort zone and forced to meet new people and experience new things. I don't do this often enough when I am at home although I have been trying to more and more. So right now, I would like to travel to another country for my first year of teaching. I believe there is alot that you learn from other places to do with the education system. Different techniques, strategies... I learned so much when I was in Australia and taught there that I didn't know. I am not very socially aware although I want to be. I try and make a difference everyday personally but I still live in my own little bubble. I think that is why I like travelling because I am always outside my bubble and learning new things.

I wish we had the opportunity to go into a classroom and just try out what I would like to try and then go back to my section and debrief with them. You have an opportunity to learn without complete failure and then have a support group that can help explore options with.

I just don't know is my answer... I have answers but they don't seem to give me direction. I want to be inspired and have a vision of where I want to be but I just can't seem to find it. I don't know if there is a way to find it other than through trial and error.

I want to be a passionate person and teacher. Right now my passion is travelling and I'm not sure how that relates to teathing.

Inspiration

I want to be this type of teacher!

I love quotes

"Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world."
-- Albert Einstein
“A mind once stretched by a new idea never regains its original dimensions.” - Anonymous

Environmental Education

I found this video very inspiring and so true. Children are the future and by teaching enviro ed early on things can change. Imagine if a program like this was implemented in our school systems.... think of the possibilities. The extra resources and funding would be amazing. Teachers try their best already to teach Enviro ed but having an organization that would help with these types of things would be a huge help. There are some systems in place through outdoor education but I don't think that is enough. We only have one earth and why is it not the most important thing to think about. We could teach english and math until we were blue in the face and if nothing is done about enviro ed than what is the point...

I love this video... the power of the outdoors. I want an outdoor classroom, why do schools have to be within four walls.

wonder

I am really enjoying doing experiments in my Ed Science class and learning from my classmates how to engage students. At the same time I'm not sure that I am learning the dos and donts of teaching science. I don't know what is acceptable, what is outdated, what are best practices. I can look up science experiment online or in a book but to learn how to do the activities or chose the activities that are appropriate is another story. I understand that we are relating curriculum to our experiments but I still don't know the fundementals of science education. What makes it different than any other subject?

university

On the weekend I ran into a peer that I went to school with 5 years ago. We were both taking Early Childhood Education. I got talking to her and she is back at university taking psychology and trying to get into the BEAD program. We were talking about how our classes transfered into the university and how it was such a joke. Why are university's in Canada so ridiculous? When I went over to Australia on exchange their whole four years of university focuses on their Education degree, there is not two years of arts and science and then lets learn about Education. As an Education student I feel unprepared to go into the classroom and that is mainly because here I am being in university for the last 4 years and this is the first year that I have taken strictly Education classes. What a joke. I also don't know who in their right mind would go and take Early Childhood if they were planning to go and upgrade their education. There are Early Childhood Degrees offered through UofR and the credits that transfer from a two year diploma are 3 or 4 if you are lucky. How pathetic. You spend two years strictly focusing on Early childhood and then go to do a degree with it and you are back down to having almost no education. The whole transfer system leaves plenty to be desired. I have fought nail and tooth for the credits I have and it still doesn't even come close to the amount that I should have received. I would love to see the university offer strictly education classes and prepare teachers... there is only so much time in each semester to take the classes that you want to take that would be beneficial, so why not get rid of the electives that are pointless.

Reflect

I really do not like reflecting, and have found that I enjoy looking and seeing what others have to say. In this past week I have come to learn that I do this with many things. I like sitting back and scoping out the situation before contributing and forming my ideas. In a way this is good because I take into all opinions and facts before making up my mind but in another way I feel like I am not knowledgable. I don't have a direct opinion. Meeting a person for the first time I tend to feel that person out before putting myself out there. Once I know the person then I know how to react and where my boundaries are. I am beginning to think that maybe I have some trust issues.... I also feel like reflections are personal but I know they are a big part of the education profession. I do think about how things could be done better or differently but I do it at the time and then move on, I don't live in the past... I live in the here and now and what can I do next.

21st century teacher

I guess I am going to answer some of my own questions. I can start small and then move bigger as I am employed in my own classroom.

Are we learning to be 21st century teachers?

So how do I become a 21st century teacher when alot of what I am learning is 21st century theory but what I have to practice is not. I would love to do a thematic unit integrating all subjects and using technology. I have big ideas and want to put them into practice but the educational system doesn't allow for complete control.

I also want to be a more civic minded teacher and person but starting is so hard especially when I am so so busy. I have to find balance and balance does not entail doing any extras. In the future I hope to be.

Playground wisdom

This video is a great reminder as to the simple things in life...
1. What ever you do MAKE IT FUN!
- I am having a difficult time doing this because it is such a busy semester with so much information to comprehend. I do make time to curl and do a hip hop class each week. It is a time for me to have fun and be myself. Another way that I make it fun is by talking and being around friends.
2. Practice Gratitude
- I am grateful for my friends that are going through the same experiences as me and sharing their thoughts, ideas and dilemmas. I am grateful for my dog, Scrapper, because he is there to greet me with a jump and kiss everyday when I get home, no matter what type of day I have had. I am also grateful for my family who is there for me no matter what.
3.Reach For the Stars
- I want to do the best job in my preinternship as possible. I am trying to think of new and exciting ways to make my unit come alive. I am also striving to accomplish my degrees.
4. One Step at a Time
- This is key in my life right now. I have come to accept that I can only do one thing at a time. I can't focus on the distant assignments I need to start small and go from there. At the same time it is always a concern in the back of my mind. But I'm working on it.
5. Always Play Nice
To me this means working with others and being professional. Not going behind someones back and talking about issues you may have with them. It is trying extremely hard to get along with others and work in the best interest of the children. It is working collaboratively and sharing thoughts and ideas that would and will benefit others.
6. Challenge Yourself Everyday
Think outside the box. Don't settle for the boring paper and pencil. Say my students can do it and so can I. Prove to the myself that anything is possible if I believe. The only limitations on myself are the ones that I place, so going out of my comfort zone is a huge challenge.

Nature of Science

I really enjoyed this video and what he had to say about the nature of science. It really made me stop and think about my own beliefs about how the world works.

science

Science articles/poems:

I have learned that as humans we are constantly changing out ideas and thoughts, rediscovering information, asking questions, interacting with the environment, and trying to be successful in our chosen path in life... these all have aspects of science linked with in. So as a science teacher I want my students to understand that we are all linked to the earth and one persons actions ay not immediately affect us but when a number of people do the same things it can have irreversable effects. I want my studnets to know that "We Are the Earth" as David Suzuki shares in his videos. I want to make a difference and I want my students to be civic minded as well. Students also need to be able to interact with their environmens and know that change can occur with one person.

These poems helped me realize that science is interwoven in everything that we do. From looking at a tree, to a piece of art, to just living. I learned that I want my classroom to be interactive, exciting, a place for exploring new/old ideas, and understanding the many whys we have in life.

Americans Stop and Listen Obama's inauguration speech affected Internet use patterns
By Stuart Fox Posted 01.21.2009 at 12:56 pm 0 Comments

Plugging In a Different Way: akeg (CC Licensed)
Sure, people said they were working during yesterday's inauguration, but the Internet tells a different tale. It seems that a large portion of Americans actually stopped working and searching the Internet while Obama was speaking, and on the flip side, Twitter and Facebook shot through the roof.

Google, on its official blog, reported a substantial drop in queries lasting from the time Obama started taking the oath of office to the end of his speech. Similarly, the Merchant Circle, a company that helps small business expand their Web presence, noted a sharp decline in Web traffic while Obama was speaking.

But while Americans seemed to turn away from business, they turned towards social networks. Twitter reported five times as many tweets per second during Obama's swearing in than the service usually records. This led to delays of up to five minutes, an eternity for a service used to delivering content in seconds. Facebook also saw a huge jump in use, reporting 4,000 status updates a minute during Obama's speech.

The inauguration was also a boon for streaming video, the viewing of which reached its highest level ever during the speech. For some cable carriers, Internet traffic spiked by over 400 percent during the event, easily topping the record set last year during the US Open.

Once Obama finished his speech, and the poet Elizabeth Alexander began speaking, the traffic returned to normal. This, combined with footage of the crowds attempting to leave the Mall while Alexander spoke gave the impression that the poet was not as well received as the president. However, that may not be the case. According to data provided by Amazon.com spokesperson Sally Fouts, Alexander's work, "Praise Song for the Day: A Poem for Barack Obama's Presidential Inauguration", jumped 2,878 precent in sales rank to 369, up from 10,990 earlier in the day.

So that's what everyone did once they got back to work from watching the inauguration: they all started buying Obama-related merchandise.


It is interesting to see that there is such an interest and so much support for the new president. I can only hope the same for Canada. Why are we so passive? Why is it so hard to create change? What would I do if I was primeminister for a day? So many questions and so few answers.

One question I have about the new president is if race is not suppose to make a difference in what you can do and who you can be how come one of the most memorable facts about the new president is that he is black. I understand it is evolution and the changing from slaves to equals but that is how he is forever going to be remembered... as a colour. He has good messages and is very inspirational but it still comes down to that fact.

Down and dirty

Okay I have to get this out there.

I am going insane this semester. The classes are longer, they are front loaded, there is tons of reading, a unit plan due in a month, approx 10 projects due before preinternship and another 5 after preinternship... where do we find time? Personally the amount of information that I am recieving from a few of the classes I could skip for a few weeks and do the readings and not miss a thing. At least I would have time to work on my unit plan. The assignments are not laid out ahead of time to start working on other than our units that we are not suppose to know how to do.

I also feel that we are learning all these theories and idealistic ways to teach on paper but they are not being modelled in the class room. Everything looks good on paper but personally to learn something well I need to use it hands on and practice and see it in work. I learn by observing and then repeating with alterations and adaptations that suite my personality. Reading the text book for over 2 hours a day does not benefit me. I read to memorize until the exam and then forget it because it wasn't relevant to my immediate need for it. At least the reading for Assessment we talk about in the class and then we work on how we would use that information.

I just want to run away to somewhere warm and forget about school, exams, and readings. So, I am off to go curling.

Powerful Thoughts

Technology

Ideas

How a small idea can grow.... you really can make a difference if you put an idea into action.

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Looking back on my blog I used for ECMP 455 I really wanted to repost this because I think it is valuable to think about.