(no subject)
Yes long time no post. I've been swamped with the combination of medical visits, school, and wedding planning.
School: Last quarter I ended up taking Teachers' Self Understanding (5 credit @ UWB) with Dr. Cherry Banks; Cultures of Curriculum (3 credit @ UWB) with Dr. Pamela Joseph; American Cultures (5 credit @ SCCC) with Paul Croon.
The self understand was the most difficult because it forced me to really look and a great deal of privilege and misconceptions that I was not actively aware of due to the perceived color of my skin (not having people follow me while in stores, being able to find the proper foundation for my skin, not getting questioned for the types of medicine I use, etc.) One of this issues I had problems with was accepting a white identity because I don't identify as white. I am also ethnically Jewish and I've faced a number of prejudices and stereotypes (both in jest and in callousness), so in this sense I do have a minority perspective on some issues. I guess I'm still struggling to 'find' myself in this context, but the class really helped to open my eyes.
Cultures of curriculum was interesting because we had to observe teachers instructing throughout the quarter while figuring out what type of curricula they were using. And yes, there is more than one curriculum. I discovered that I really enjoyed change-based pedagogy because it encompassed what I wanted to do with my students while teaching at FSU and what I want to do once I get certified. (Allowing students to make their own meaning, giving them freedom to creatively approach papers, teaching students as a coauthor of knowledge - not as the end all, be all of knowledge).
I had trouble with the American Cultures course as well, but it was more of a personality conflict with the instructor. Our styles just didn't mesh and he didn't appreciate me observing his teaching methods - plus, he refused to listen to alternative interpretations (in a Lit class of all places!)
This quarter I'm taking Change Reform (5 credit @ UWB) with Dr. Carol Kubota and Historical Analysis of Educational Issues (3 credit @ UW) with Dr. Nancy Beadie. Change reform seems interesting so farm, and I think I'm going to focus on my change topic of kids, providing for core needs, and how failure or fulfillment of those needs influences how kids perceive school/education. The instructor is so much fun though! The ELDPS course on the Seattle campus is a bit more intellectual and a bit more more, oddly enough. We must read an entire novel each week (Just finished Garry Wills' Lincoln at Gettysburg: The Words that Remade America). In addition to that, we have a paper due each week that is supposed to address different issues of each novel ranging from alternative interpretations, to historical context, to claims. It's a pretty beefy course, and I really should be finishing my paper that's due in three hours instead of writing this =^-^;=
Wedding: Things are going well, although I don't have as much time to devote to it because of the course work. We just met with the DJ and went over what we wanted. This weekend I meet with the wedding planner to
'walk the grounds' and figure out where the wedding party will be before, during, and directly after the ceremony. Tony and I still need to work on the prenup, but I think he's going to have to start it. Most of the stuff is either booked or purchased, so we are doing well. We did finally book the honeymoon, which will be August 17th-August 22nd. We will be fling to Washington, D.C., then busing it to New York for a few days. We are going to put off going to Japan until I have more than a single week off from my program.
Health: doing ok. I'm still having problems with my neck, but the combination of massage and physical therapy have really helped. I think my range of motion has increased from 30%-80%. I'm getting there though! Weight-wise, I've been doing ok as well. I started using the Body Bugg and I've lost 12 lbs since Valentine's day. Not too shabby, but I wanted to drop at least 10 more by this time next month. Hopefully that happens. I've stepped up cardio to 1-2.5 hours 5-7 days a week. I've decreased calories and I've been really carefully about sugar this past week thanks to some info Kathleen posted in her LJ. I must be looking better because I've been getting cat calls from random guys when I'm out walking (in jeans and a sweater).
Ok, now back to writing that paper!
School: Last quarter I ended up taking Teachers' Self Understanding (5 credit @ UWB) with Dr. Cherry Banks; Cultures of Curriculum (3 credit @ UWB) with Dr. Pamela Joseph; American Cultures (5 credit @ SCCC) with Paul Croon.
The self understand was the most difficult because it forced me to really look and a great deal of privilege and misconceptions that I was not actively aware of due to the perceived color of my skin (not having people follow me while in stores, being able to find the proper foundation for my skin, not getting questioned for the types of medicine I use, etc.) One of this issues I had problems with was accepting a white identity because I don't identify as white. I am also ethnically Jewish and I've faced a number of prejudices and stereotypes (both in jest and in callousness), so in this sense I do have a minority perspective on some issues. I guess I'm still struggling to 'find' myself in this context, but the class really helped to open my eyes.
Cultures of curriculum was interesting because we had to observe teachers instructing throughout the quarter while figuring out what type of curricula they were using. And yes, there is more than one curriculum. I discovered that I really enjoyed change-based pedagogy because it encompassed what I wanted to do with my students while teaching at FSU and what I want to do once I get certified. (Allowing students to make their own meaning, giving them freedom to creatively approach papers, teaching students as a coauthor of knowledge - not as the end all, be all of knowledge).
I had trouble with the American Cultures course as well, but it was more of a personality conflict with the instructor. Our styles just didn't mesh and he didn't appreciate me observing his teaching methods - plus, he refused to listen to alternative interpretations (in a Lit class of all places!)
This quarter I'm taking Change Reform (5 credit @ UWB) with Dr. Carol Kubota and Historical Analysis of Educational Issues (3 credit @ UW) with Dr. Nancy Beadie. Change reform seems interesting so farm, and I think I'm going to focus on my change topic of kids, providing for core needs, and how failure or fulfillment of those needs influences how kids perceive school/education. The instructor is so much fun though! The ELDPS course on the Seattle campus is a bit more intellectual and a bit more more, oddly enough. We must read an entire novel each week (Just finished Garry Wills' Lincoln at Gettysburg: The Words that Remade America). In addition to that, we have a paper due each week that is supposed to address different issues of each novel ranging from alternative interpretations, to historical context, to claims. It's a pretty beefy course, and I really should be finishing my paper that's due in three hours instead of writing this =^-^;=
Wedding: Things are going well, although I don't have as much time to devote to it because of the course work. We just met with the DJ and went over what we wanted. This weekend I meet with the wedding planner to
'walk the grounds' and figure out where the wedding party will be before, during, and directly after the ceremony. Tony and I still need to work on the prenup, but I think he's going to have to start it. Most of the stuff is either booked or purchased, so we are doing well. We did finally book the honeymoon, which will be August 17th-August 22nd. We will be fling to Washington, D.C., then busing it to New York for a few days. We are going to put off going to Japan until I have more than a single week off from my program.
Health: doing ok. I'm still having problems with my neck, but the combination of massage and physical therapy have really helped. I think my range of motion has increased from 30%-80%. I'm getting there though! Weight-wise, I've been doing ok as well. I started using the Body Bugg and I've lost 12 lbs since Valentine's day. Not too shabby, but I wanted to drop at least 10 more by this time next month. Hopefully that happens. I've stepped up cardio to 1-2.5 hours 5-7 days a week. I've decreased calories and I've been really carefully about sugar this past week thanks to some info Kathleen posted in her LJ. I must be looking better because I've been getting cat calls from random guys when I'm out walking (in jeans and a sweater).
Ok, now back to writing that paper!