NRC was great!
What a shock to the system to go from 3 days of about 80 degree weather to snow, sleet, and ice. Ah, such is life in central Indiana. But really, here were some amazing things about Miami:
*The National Reading Conference itself was wonderful! Tons of sessions, and I got to go to lots of the ones that interested me.
*I learned a lot and thought a lot.
*I got to meet, or at least be in the same (small) room with some bigger names in education. Wow.
*I networked, and have someone putting in a good word for me in the township where I would love to be working next year.
*Our presentation went well.
*Everyone was shocked that I was an undergrad. I think I may have been the only one at the whole conference. Made me feel good to know that I can handle discussions with grad students, people who hold their doctorates, and others like that, without sounding like an idiot.
*I realized how amazing Butler's education program is, how lucky I am to be a part of it, and how incredibly lucky I am that all of this research stuff kinda fell into my lap about this time last year. It's an opportunity not many other people get to have.
*I've decided that eventually I'm going to pursue my doctorate. I've always known I wanted to get my master's degree in a couple years, and working in academia always sort of interested me, but I know for sure after the past few days that I definitely want to get my doctorate. This whole education research world is wonderful, and I want to continue to be a part of that. I know that I'll do teacher research in my own classroom, and will probably even start something next semester when I'm student teaching in Alyssa's room, but I want to eventually do more with it.
*Jogging by the bay with Jen watching the sunrise.
*Getting to know a professor and a faculty member outside of the Butler/school realm. Lots of fun.
*Great discussions with said professor and faculty member.
*Walking away with some great writing ideas and things I want to continue to think about.
*Feeling reaffirmed in my passion and ideas for teaching, and how we need to teach the kids, not the curriculum.
*Planning some writing days with Jen for the week after I'm finished student teaching to work on our respective writing projects (my thesis has got to get finished soon!).
All in all, the trip was a wonderful experience. I'm so glad that I had the opportunity to go.
Now for regular stuff:
This is the last week of classes (thank goodness). I only have this week and next week of student teaching, and then I'm finished for this semester! Hooray! Granted, I have tons of grading and a few projects/assignments I need to finish before then, but that's okay because it's soooo close. I'm so ready for this semester to be over with. I love teaching, I'm just ready to be somewhere else and I'm ready for the classes I have this semester to be over with.
That's about all for now. I need to get off here and get some serious grading done before taking my ressies to go see Nutcracker at Clowes. Then it's back here to grade some more and work on a bulletin board that needs to be changed before having dinner with Dad and Cassie (I know, shocker. I think this is the first time in 4 years that Cassie will see Butler, and the first time in 2 that Dad's been up. Don't get too excited though, they're really in town for the Colts game. Driving up to see just me? Yeah, right. But hey, at least it's a free dinner that's not in Atherton.), and then coming back here to grade some more. Sounds like a fun day, huh? As cold as it is, I'd love to curl up with a blanket and good book and read or write, or a mixture of both all day, but alas, no such luck. Adios for now! Good luck to everyone as we finish up the semester!
*The National Reading Conference itself was wonderful! Tons of sessions, and I got to go to lots of the ones that interested me.
*I learned a lot and thought a lot.
*I got to meet, or at least be in the same (small) room with some bigger names in education. Wow.
*I networked, and have someone putting in a good word for me in the township where I would love to be working next year.
*Our presentation went well.
*Everyone was shocked that I was an undergrad. I think I may have been the only one at the whole conference. Made me feel good to know that I can handle discussions with grad students, people who hold their doctorates, and others like that, without sounding like an idiot.
*I realized how amazing Butler's education program is, how lucky I am to be a part of it, and how incredibly lucky I am that all of this research stuff kinda fell into my lap about this time last year. It's an opportunity not many other people get to have.
*I've decided that eventually I'm going to pursue my doctorate. I've always known I wanted to get my master's degree in a couple years, and working in academia always sort of interested me, but I know for sure after the past few days that I definitely want to get my doctorate. This whole education research world is wonderful, and I want to continue to be a part of that. I know that I'll do teacher research in my own classroom, and will probably even start something next semester when I'm student teaching in Alyssa's room, but I want to eventually do more with it.
*Jogging by the bay with Jen watching the sunrise.
*Getting to know a professor and a faculty member outside of the Butler/school realm. Lots of fun.
*Great discussions with said professor and faculty member.
*Walking away with some great writing ideas and things I want to continue to think about.
*Feeling reaffirmed in my passion and ideas for teaching, and how we need to teach the kids, not the curriculum.
*Planning some writing days with Jen for the week after I'm finished student teaching to work on our respective writing projects (my thesis has got to get finished soon!).
All in all, the trip was a wonderful experience. I'm so glad that I had the opportunity to go.
Now for regular stuff:
This is the last week of classes (thank goodness). I only have this week and next week of student teaching, and then I'm finished for this semester! Hooray! Granted, I have tons of grading and a few projects/assignments I need to finish before then, but that's okay because it's soooo close. I'm so ready for this semester to be over with. I love teaching, I'm just ready to be somewhere else and I'm ready for the classes I have this semester to be over with.
That's about all for now. I need to get off here and get some serious grading done before taking my ressies to go see Nutcracker at Clowes. Then it's back here to grade some more and work on a bulletin board that needs to be changed before having dinner with Dad and Cassie (I know, shocker. I think this is the first time in 4 years that Cassie will see Butler, and the first time in 2 that Dad's been up. Don't get too excited though, they're really in town for the Colts game. Driving up to see just me? Yeah, right. But hey, at least it's a free dinner that's not in Atherton.), and then coming back here to grade some more. Sounds like a fun day, huh? As cold as it is, I'd love to curl up with a blanket and good book and read or write, or a mixture of both all day, but alas, no such luck. Adios for now! Good luck to everyone as we finish up the semester!