Reading Commentary Six

After reading two poetry books and the common core standards for poetry, this assignment was meant to briefly analyze one of two chosen texts.

An excerpt from “Horseradish: Bitter Truths You Can’t Avoid”, written by Lemony Snicket.

If an optimist had his left arm chewed off by an alligator,

He might say, in a pleasant and hopeful voice,

“Well, this isn’t too bad. I don’t have my left arm anymore,

But at least nobody will ever ask me if I am right handed or left handed.”

But most of us would say something more along the lines of

“Aaaaah! My arm! My arm!”

I have chosen to be clever, and combine my explanation for the book into my own poem based upon the style of the one I chose.

Considering this book poetry is dependent upon the reader; 

It is sometimes referred to as poetry 

And sometimes referred to as an anecdotal wit and wisdom publication. 

However, if one were to consider this a book of poems, 

It would be closest to free-verse poetry, 

It is nothing like most poems and has its own rhythm

I chose this poem because fate intervened when I could not choose a favorite: 

I threw the book up in the air 

And chose whatever was written on the page that the book landed on.

I would use this book to show children how the voice of the writer can really come through in their style of writing, changing a poem from something that could have come from anyone’s mouth into something that could come from only within them.

Reading Commentary Five

This assignment was meant to analyze Newberry Award books that featured people from varying backgrounds and how prevalent their personal backgrounds (racial, cultural, financial, etc.) were to the overall story line. Responses were based on the following 4 categories:

—  Literature Consciously Interracial Books: A Focus on people of different backgrounds or people groups interacting with each other. Ex: Brown Bear, Brown Bear by Martin shows children of many colors in school

—  "People are People" Books: No attempts are made to reflect a distinct culture; characters could be members of any cultural group like a book about a child going to school or a family going on a trip. Ex: Ten, Nine, Eight by Bang shows a black child and her father t bedtime but does not focus on the culture; any child who's dad puts them to bed could relate.

—  Books on the Distinctive Experience of Being Within a Particular Cultural Group: Books that deal with and or share the experiences of a particular cultural group with no focus on characters of a different culture. Often times, these books help us understand that cultural group and their traditions. Ex: M.C. Higgins, the Great by Hamilton - a book about a "black experience". However, be sure to remind students that one experience of a culture group is not monolithic.

—  Books on Coping with Racism and Discrimination: These books deal directly with discrimination and racism based on cultural groups. Through My Eyes by Bridges or Less Than Half, More Than Whole by Lacapa depict two different experiences children dealt with dealing with racism.



















Out of the Dust, by Karen Hesse
This book is definitely a book on the distinctive experience of being within a particular cultural group. The story told through free verse poetry about a young girl named Billie Jo Kelby and her experience during the Dust Bowl. Told from a very particular group viewpoint, Billie tells the tale of living during the great depression, on a farm, during the dust bowl - a time of widespread drought and terrible dust storms throughout much of 1930's Americas farming communities. Although a fictionalized character and her farming family is the focus of the book, many of the experiences reference things that very well may have happened during the time.

Holes, by Louis Sachar
This one was a bit more difficult to peg, but I decided to go with people are people, as there is some description in the book, but nothing to create a concrete background for race, culture, etc. It is about a boy (Stanley Yelnats) from a poor family who is wrongly convicted of a crime and sent to a juvenile detention work camp. The relationships built between characters are more important than cultural background, though the sweet revenge/justice at the end certainly makes up for the depressing bits in between.

Almost There

Tomorrow is my first day at School W! My fingerprints finally cleared (again), and I start at 7am. Looks like no more late Sunday nights for me.

Since I'll no longer have all this excess time for studying and homework I am making the great attempt not only to get all 21 assignments that are due today turned in on time (oh, hello again procrastination), but also to get ahead on all my classes. It shall be my own personal Sherman's March, in which I shall hopefully play the part of Major General Sherman and not of the cities he razed.

I want to be the guy on the horse.
(Image used courtesy of Wikipedia)

Good-Bye Perfect Score

I was so distraught when I saw my grade for my most recent math test that I actually moaned in despair.

A 65%! Why, and more importantly, HOW could this happen? I studied hard and thought I knew the material, but apparently I shall never master graphs. The difference between this test and the previous one is that I didn't use my blog as a study resource, and I think that is where the disconnect occurred. If you can explain or teach something to someone else, then you understand the material. So going forward I'm going to try and utilize this resource as much as I can.

The silver lining on this is that I did receive full points for my presentation, and I am super proud of it - I can't wait to use it in a classroom of my own. :)

Job Hunt Drama (?)

So today was an exciting and interesting day: I had an interview at another school (school P) this morning to be a teaching assistant in an MOID classroom, and I felt that the interview went really well. I really liked the principal and staff, and the principals office was full of awesome comic book paraphernalia, so I was immediately at ease and thought to myself, "Yes, this school."

However, I had no sooner left the interview when the school who had rejected me earlier in the week  (school W) called. Instead of a secretary as I was expecting, it was the principal; she wanted me to come and see her within the next 20 minutes. Another position was opening and she wanted to talk to me again about working there. When I arrived, she essentially said I had been one of the worst applicants she had ever interviewed, which was a downer. After going over my interview guffaws with me, she went on to say that she wanted to take a chance on hiring me, and offered me a position as a teaching assistant in one of their kindergarten classrooms.

Here's where the drama begins. As I was on my way to get my transcripts and head over to HR to be processed into the school district, the OTHER school called me back and said they were eager to hire me. I had missed the call, so I had the opportunity to mull over the two and make my decision. First I called my mom who was at work and couldn't really give an opinion; then I called my boyfriend to ask what he thought and got the time/distance/pay spiel I knew I was getting. All of my teacher friends were (duh) teaching, so I couldn't ask them. I called my department advisor and asked for her opinion; she helped me weigh the pro's and con's, and told me that she thought I would do best in the kindergarten classroom. So I called back to tell school P that I had already accepted a position at another school just before they called. They said they were sad the had missed the chance, and wished me good luck. Then called back twice just to make sure.

Bittersweet Week

So I got the call this morning, and Better Candidate outshone me again because they had more experience in a classroom setting. Tell me universe - how am I supposed to get more experience when I can't get into the classroom?

I've also been dealing with the most painful ear infection I can recall. The doctor gave me steroidal ear drops but now my ear feels like it is full of water and I would punch kittens if it would make the pain and stuffy-ear-feelings stop.

On the bright side: I got a perfect score on my first math test of the semester.

I have never received a perfect score on a math test in my life, so I'm a bit excited. Part of it I'm sure has to do with reviewing the material several times in order to teach it to other students and explain it in the blog. I also have get to start making a game for an elementary level class involving statistics. We'll see how that one goes. Now if only I can do as well on my art history exam today as I did on my math test - fingers crossed!

Odds

So I'm on a math roll today, finally got my math homework done and realized that I am one math post short for the math blog - oops! So I'll be covering the last and shortest part of the probability section: Odds!

Now, odds and probability are different, and it is important to know what that difference is.

Image from Math Magic website

The numerator for both is the amount of times you obtain the desired outcome, but the difference lies in the numerator. While probability has a denominator that lists all the outcomes, when calculating odds, you have the undesirable outcomes as your denominator.
To find out what the undesirable number is, simply find the total number of outcomes and subtract from that the number of desirable outcomes. This leaves you with the undesirable outcomes, your odds denominator.

Math Magic has a great page explaining probability and how to change from probability to odds. See it here: Math Magic - Probability

Probability Game

This probability game can be adjusted for any grade level, and makes for a great online practicing resource!

Probability Game

The Beginning...

All good stories must have a beginning, but sadly this story has already begun and we've missed the introduction. Alas, a recap will have to suffice.

My journey into education began many years ago, before I even knew this is what I wanted to become. I always thought I would become a scientist like my father, and for a long time that is what I was determined to become. I persevered through the related courses, each more difficult than the last, and found that I was not happy. I saw the backstabbing and cut throat world that was awaiting me in my intended profession and was deeply saddened. My search for a career offering endless learning seemed like it would result in playing office politics and being miserable.

I have always loved working with children, and found them to be far more fun and interesting than adults. Some things happened to me over the course of a year, that we won't discuss at this time, but it was due to these events that I finally realized my passion for education. I had been seeking a place where I could continuously learn while sharing my knowledge, and it was right in front of me the whole time. I changed my degree from Biology to Early Childhood Education, and I couldn't be happier.

Now that we have delved into my academic history, a bit about myself:

• I love to make jam. I made my first batch (Peach Cinnamon) this past summer and everyone loved it. I ran out of jars within 2 weeks because everyone I knew kept swiping it!
• As implied by the title of the blog, I love crafts. I have been cutting, pasting, coloring, stitching, etc'ing, since I was knee high to a grasshopper. This results in Christmas cards that would make hallmark jealous sent out every year.
• Hiking, camping, walkabouts, and any excuse to be out in the woods is probably the greatest thing(s) ever.
• I have two dogs:

Shadow

Askit

                                             

• And a kitten named Major Tom

Full Name: Major Thomas Starlord Winchester the First-and-Last

And that's it for now. Looking forward to the upcoming weeks to share with you what is going on while I traverse this road towards becoming a professional educator!