"Those crazy bloggers..."

Originally, I was totally opposed to blogging because I felt that people add too much personal information to an area that it is open for everyone to read. However, I am more open to it now after seeing presentations in our 504 Friday classes. Many of the guest speakers were very successful and used blogs to act as teaching aids for their students
I saw that students participate, and they are able to see their work in one location ( which is also nice for parents).

I was looking at a teaching blog called http://21classes.com/ and found it very interesting. I urge you to visit it and look at the teacher blogs. I was amazing that FOURTH graders blogging!! (I feel old…) Moreover, I looked at http://classroomblogging.wordpress.com/ and it talked about another topic we discussed in 504 - Making PowerPoint presentations more effective!! The blogger highlighted very similar ideas that were presented in class, and now I truly feel that I cannot create a PowerPoint presentation without thinking before I create ☺

One thing that I was disappointed about while researching teaching blogs was that I did not find while many sites created by language teachers. The lack of foreign language teaching blogs disappointed me because I was looking for teaching ideas. However, I will continue the search in hopes for an inspiring language blog!

LEAVES LEAVES LEAVES… C'est l'automne, un temps pour le changement

I feel that my teaching pedagogy has been improving everyday. (That's right! My very own pedagogy.) It is not easy to observe all the time, especially when you know you would manage a classroom differently than your mentors. However, I do feel that I have been learning a lot from my experiences. I am getting a better at learning my students’ names, which I found out is VERY important. Moreover, I feel that my two classes with the methods teacher and field instructors are extremely valuable in learning how to be successful in the classroom without the aid of my mentor.

Last week I tried teaching a full lesson to a class of around thirty-five students, it was not easy!! I had a girl throwing food across the room and others starting their own conversations before I moved onto a different activity. I learned that I need to keep the kids active, manage the classroom, and be well prepared for what I will be teaching! It was quite the day… but practice makes perfect, right?

On a very exciting note: I visited a middle school French class in Dearborn and it was so much fun!! I originally started the program in hopes that I could student teach at the middle school level, but there weren’t any French middle school teachers participating with the MAC program. Nonetheless, the one-day visit really opened my eyes to what is available to me. I teach every level in the high school so I see a wide age-range of students, and I loved interacting with the middle school children. They were so tiny and just getting excited about the language! I want to continue visiting the different schools (which I think is a wonderful opportunity to have within our program requirements), and I am interested to see schools that are a little more economically disadvantaged than Pioneer – I want to see how these schools are able to engage students when resources (such as paper and technology) are not available.

How am I dealing with being a SMACer by day and having a real life by night? Well…. it involves very little sleep, a lot of multi-tasking, and focusing on what is best for me. Not an easy task!! BUT having a good cohort and positive friends to help me along the journey is always a good thing ☺

p.s. I always forget how beautiful Fall is in Ann Arbor. I have been absolutely loving the weather, and (even though I am up before the sun rises) I love seeing the changing colors of the leaves and feeling the cool breeze walking home at night.

...Oh, and T-shirts won the SMAC poll. More to come on how we will set up the design and ordering! If you have any ideas, please let me know. Gracias ~

Storybook Creating

Oh my goodness! We created mini movies in our Tech Workshop course.
Take a look at what Kate and I created with modeling clay. It is a little out there, but an interactive way to teach students! Good luck on understanding the German phrases!

Living and learning. Taking things one step at a time...

It's the first week back...and I've had a lot of realizations.
I've decided that the best way to live this year is in the moment, and take things one step at a time. After all, change is a good thing, right?

It seems a little surreal, but the first week of Fall semester is over! I've been through moving into a new apartment, getting to know my way around a humungous school, and meeting lots of new people. I’m working on keeping up with schoolwork and meeting old friends who have come back to campus for their own master’s programs. I personally am trying to keep a positive attitude and keep my spirits up by focusing on a goal towards a bright future.

As a side note, I don’t think I have evvvvver had such a full schedule starting from 6am and ending with classes at 7:45 pm!! (almost everyday…) It's incredible that I can keep going sometimes, get homework done, annnd go out and socialize in order to remember that I still have a life.

But in a few week... it's crunch time!! Pat and Eugenie’s classes are almost over, and the thirty page research papers need to get finished. AH! :) we'll see how long it takes to get those done....

A final thought: I need to figure out how to actually help my mentor teacher. I don't feel very useful simply observing. I do enjoy the fact that I am learning, but I want the students to know I am going to be a part of their class structure! So we'll see... I'm going to investigate this week.

BBQ Time.

As of tomorrow (after our wonderful little technology course) we will be done with our summer term!! ...sort of. Two research papers have to be written in August, but nonetheless, it's Friday and time to celebrate!!! Our class is having a barbeque, and I love that everyone is so optimistic and friendly! It is definitely important to get to know each other because I know that over the next year I will definitely need the support of my fellow students.

We talked to the previous MAC cohort today (aka last year's class), which was a nice change in the normal schedule. There was one language teacher that talked to us, and I actually learned some good info from her conversation with us!! I was really happy to hear that she actually used what we are learning in technology class with her students! I didn't think I would be able to apply a lot of the complicated online/web systems we're learning about. My brother was always the "computer whiz" and I never thought I could actually utilize what is out there. Well, watch out!! I plan on using some of the tools learned in our class with my own students. I know that it will engage them, and I should utilize the technology course while I have it!!

I just have to figure out how to remember all the steps, instructions, and sites we get in our tech course.... zut alors!

On a side note... I'm happy Chloe is bringing veggie burgers to the BBQ :) MmmmMMM.

Confusion...

The summer segment of our program is almost over and it's hard to believe. The past few weeks have been filled with lots of change, meeting new people, new information, deadlines, and technology (oh, and chatzy! ...how could I forget).

I feel that I am on a system overload and need to process all the information being given to us in order to finish the August deadlines, and start the new school year with a bang! I'm excited to see where it will lead me...

As for the technology, all I can say is that I am really, really glad we have a Mac computer for school related business (and its so convenient to carry around). Also, I am intrigued to see what kind of technology I'll be using during student teaching at Pioneer. But... I am a big promoter of forming personal relationships and the human connection. I hope that I'll be able to utilize technology in just the right amount to promote learning, but going overboard.

Voici mon secret. Il est très simple: on ne voit bien qu'avec le cœur. L'essentiel est invisible pour les yeux.

Le Petit Prince quotation in the title explains a secret, that one can only see rightly with their heart....

I think that it's really important to remember this idea while going through my year intenstive program. A lot of my classes have talked about helping students achieve both academically and personally. Therefore, opening my heart to my future students and my present MAC classmates and teachers is going to help me have more fulfilling experiences. I believe that academic and personal gains result not only from a good work ethic, but from getting to know the people around you. You must try to understand a person's background, viewpoints, passions, values, and areas of difficulty in order to develop a mutually beneficial relationship.

Also, our technology class discussion on the thoughts of John Dewey really impacted me. He believe that education is a process of living. The value of education is a concept that should be applied to the present, children have knowledge that is worth something and should be built upon. Building connections between people is very important, and it should most definitely be applied to our students. You need to meet a student half way and connect with them in order to produce meaningful results.

How scary it is to think that a teacher has the future of a child in his or her hands! Nevertheless, I have decided that I am not scared. My passion devours the terror.
I have decided this is the only way to move forward. I am going to embrace the challenges and the changes that I have experienced during the start of the MAC program. By doing so, I feel that my life lessons will help me somehow connect with my students and positively influence their lives.

On a lighter note: Remember to enjoy life, do a little dance, and travel the world.
This video may help guide you: click here!

School Days: My thoughts on the first day of "Teaching w/ Technology"

Oh my goodness! What an incredible class... we get to learn how to utilize technology that I can use in my everyday life and towards my teaching career. Our instructors, Mr. Stanzler and Mrs. Keren-Kolb, seem like very talented and kind people. I feel that they will be able to teach us a lot, while keeping the course fun and interesting. For example, we started off with introductions and had the opportunity to create a drawing of our ideal classroom. I really liked that activity and I think it got our imaginations going. There were some amazing drawings out there! I believe that if you can imagine something, then anything is possible! The introduction to the course made me feel that if we learn how to correctly use technology, then our students will truly be able to benefit in their course. So... I am looking forward to the new school year and the new possibilities that the technology course will provide.


Before I forget, the chatzy backroom conversation site is pretty outstanding!! I love that we can chat/clear up our confusion about the class while class is going on! .... wonderful :)

And this is my new kitten.... (she is pretty wonderful as well!)

My First Blog!

Learning how to become a teacher....