I came across this story while browsing Facebook of all places, and I just dropped what I was doing and came on here. If I were to do an interview for this blog so far, I would do it on Harold Ekeh, an amazingly driven 17 year old who has grades that were so competitive that it got him into all eight Ivy League universities, plus MIT and John Hopkins University. =-O. I've had high dreams and aspirations before, but wow, how do you do that?! He's also an immigrant from Nigeria. To transition cultures, potentially learn a new language, and fully grasp the American dream at such a young age is such an incredible achievement. My hat is off to him completely. I'd love to see good things come to him. I'd love to see more American children have that ambition as well, instead of taking the easy road.
Check out the stats on this kid, GPA of 100.5 and SAT scores of 2270 out of 2400. The article published about him also states that he was a semi-finalist in the national Intel Science Talent Search. He was one of only 300 students nationwide who got selected for it. The top winners for that event receives a $150,000 scholarship for their achievements. He had a 1 in 300 chance of getting that kind of money at 17. In the interview he stated that he is interested in attending Yale University. His extra-curricular achievements go on and on as well. He plays the drums, leads a church choir, and is involved in a mentor program to get other promising students into America's best schools.
To his credit, as well, he is described as being warm and humble. His quote at the end of the article makes me glow, "I don't see it as an accomplishment for me. I see it as an accomplishment for my community. I hope it inspires the younger generation, not just in Elmont, but overall.". I will absolutely use this article in my Speech class tomorrow. It might be a little late for my high school children to get into Yale, but they can do their best at whichever university or trade school that they decide to go to. They can achieve their own best.
This blog has to be short because I have an appointment in an hour, but if you would like to see more information about this exceptional young man that I am so thrilled for, please visit
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/04/07/accepted-all-ivy-schools/25402601/
Wednesday, April 8, 2015
Sunday, April 5, 2015
Under Pressure. =-/
The song Under Pressure is playing through my head right now as if it were my pulse. I have not posted this whole weekend because I have not been myself, very tense for several reasons. My spouse helps to center me and I'm grateful for that. Today being Easter Sunday has also helped, so I feel I am finally ready to unload all this weight. This week I feel like I've been having to live up to some large expectations, not the least of which, my own, and it's taken it's toll. I feel that I am in this predicament in order to share my testimony and some helpful advice for others walking in the same shoes. Let's help each other through, shall we?
=-D.
Expectation #1, be a good spouse and caregiver and juggle the two roles in perfect sync along with other obligations, despite being in extraordinary circumstances. My mother in law is out of town and has entrusted the survival of our whole household in these hands of mine. With her out of town there are 4 of us. I take 5 classes at UCF, work 20 hours per week, try to make time for my own parents, and help to raise a 7 year old, as well as for this week try to keep the house in order, which is normally her thing. She has a lot of faith in me that I will be the future mother figure of the house, but she has old school values and she believes that it is the woman's job to cook and clean aside from having a professional life. So she feels I should also be able to take the lead in that capacity and she's expecting me to have held up my responsibilities while she's gone. I have not even begun. Friday I came home exhausted from the change in schedule and Saturday I worked a full 10 hr day. Today was all about church and family and celebration and left no time for tidying up. In fact Easter debris is still scattered downstairs from our amazing indoor Easter egg hunt. Tomorrow I'll be out of the house all day with school and then that will leave me with part of Tuesday to devote to chores. I haven't cooked a decent meal yet. Hardly exemplary, but I really don't have the time to do it right. I'll just have to humbly admit that the task was too much. That's just how it is.
Expectation #2 is my own. I have made myself a goal of sustaining my 4 A's for the rest of the semester. I am so very close. Under a month left now. But I have to admit, I especially want an A on my final project for my Technology class. I know that a completed lesson plan, spiffy and shiny, will look amazing in a portfolio and I want to do my best. This is my chance to show what I've learned. It's important, and as the submission deadline comes closer, I get more and more worked up. I have a general idea of what I want, but I sort of have some kind of writers block. I'm a little stuck despite having good advice. I'm my own worst critic. Just gotta shake it off. It'll all be over very shortly.
Expectation #3 is I want to really do a good job at this semi-permanent substituting position. Here is where I am super critical. I am really sweating not being accepted by the children. Friday, there was one boy that was being exceptionally stubborn and despite having a paper and a pencil was refusing to do the assignment. I ended up calling the dean on him and he really didn't give me a good vibe the whole time, because I was making him work. I just hope either he or some other student doesn't turn on me and convince his or her mom to cause a scene at the school just to get me out of the class. I know I have as much weight in the school right now as a piece of paper. I feel like I am super replaceable still and I'm sure that's what that fight for tenure on a real teaching job will feel like too. This feels like a mini tenure here. I feel like if I can make it through a second week without dropping the ball I'll be doing okay for myself, but those loose cannons scare me. Despite me knowing I did the right thing there's still a lot of anxiety.
One of the top 10 tips on WebMD is to de-stress with music. I agree. Pumped up music can help, but so can relaxing instrumentals. Pick your type and schedule a therapy session.
Another is to be grateful. Being grateful helped me through today. I need to be grateful for the success I've had so far. My Pastor is really good at reminding me of that. She always tells me how proud she is of me, like her own daughter. I really do accomplish a lot and I'm thankful for the talents I do have, even if I'm not a perfect housekeeper.
In a related article from WebMD, some stress busting foods are complex carbs like oatmeal and whole grain bread (things that I don't naturally enjoy eating ironically), oranges, and large amounts of black tea.
For more stress tips, here is the article I consulted, http://www.webmd.com/balance/guide/blissing-out-10-relaxation-techniques-reduce-stress-spot. Please be well. Your life is what you make of it. Invest in yourself regularly. =-D
=-D.
Expectation #1, be a good spouse and caregiver and juggle the two roles in perfect sync along with other obligations, despite being in extraordinary circumstances. My mother in law is out of town and has entrusted the survival of our whole household in these hands of mine. With her out of town there are 4 of us. I take 5 classes at UCF, work 20 hours per week, try to make time for my own parents, and help to raise a 7 year old, as well as for this week try to keep the house in order, which is normally her thing. She has a lot of faith in me that I will be the future mother figure of the house, but she has old school values and she believes that it is the woman's job to cook and clean aside from having a professional life. So she feels I should also be able to take the lead in that capacity and she's expecting me to have held up my responsibilities while she's gone. I have not even begun. Friday I came home exhausted from the change in schedule and Saturday I worked a full 10 hr day. Today was all about church and family and celebration and left no time for tidying up. In fact Easter debris is still scattered downstairs from our amazing indoor Easter egg hunt. Tomorrow I'll be out of the house all day with school and then that will leave me with part of Tuesday to devote to chores. I haven't cooked a decent meal yet. Hardly exemplary, but I really don't have the time to do it right. I'll just have to humbly admit that the task was too much. That's just how it is.
Expectation #2 is my own. I have made myself a goal of sustaining my 4 A's for the rest of the semester. I am so very close. Under a month left now. But I have to admit, I especially want an A on my final project for my Technology class. I know that a completed lesson plan, spiffy and shiny, will look amazing in a portfolio and I want to do my best. This is my chance to show what I've learned. It's important, and as the submission deadline comes closer, I get more and more worked up. I have a general idea of what I want, but I sort of have some kind of writers block. I'm a little stuck despite having good advice. I'm my own worst critic. Just gotta shake it off. It'll all be over very shortly.
Expectation #3 is I want to really do a good job at this semi-permanent substituting position. Here is where I am super critical. I am really sweating not being accepted by the children. Friday, there was one boy that was being exceptionally stubborn and despite having a paper and a pencil was refusing to do the assignment. I ended up calling the dean on him and he really didn't give me a good vibe the whole time, because I was making him work. I just hope either he or some other student doesn't turn on me and convince his or her mom to cause a scene at the school just to get me out of the class. I know I have as much weight in the school right now as a piece of paper. I feel like I am super replaceable still and I'm sure that's what that fight for tenure on a real teaching job will feel like too. This feels like a mini tenure here. I feel like if I can make it through a second week without dropping the ball I'll be doing okay for myself, but those loose cannons scare me. Despite me knowing I did the right thing there's still a lot of anxiety.
One of the top 10 tips on WebMD is to de-stress with music. I agree. Pumped up music can help, but so can relaxing instrumentals. Pick your type and schedule a therapy session.
Another is to be grateful. Being grateful helped me through today. I need to be grateful for the success I've had so far. My Pastor is really good at reminding me of that. She always tells me how proud she is of me, like her own daughter. I really do accomplish a lot and I'm thankful for the talents I do have, even if I'm not a perfect housekeeper.
In a related article from WebMD, some stress busting foods are complex carbs like oatmeal and whole grain bread (things that I don't naturally enjoy eating ironically), oranges, and large amounts of black tea.
For more stress tips, here is the article I consulted, http://www.webmd.com/balance/guide/blissing-out-10-relaxation-techniques-reduce-stress-spot. Please be well. Your life is what you make of it. Invest in yourself regularly. =-D
Friday, April 3, 2015
SPEECH Therapy (play on words)
Here I am again, early morning blogger, thoughts jumbling around in my head already, and I've just got to get them out. I had such an amazing teaching experience yesterday. This is one of the experiences that I feel I will draw on for years to come. I know I said that I would write a part 2 to motivashion, and I will, but this is really a blog worthy post, I promise, and I will get back to that topic probably the next time I am on. So the story is, I was substituting for the first time at a high school yesterday and I was very nervous about the type of day that I would have. So many substitutes have warned me about needing to take guts of steel to an assignment at a high school. It is not for the faint of heart, they say. To top it off I wasn't given any details about the job, it simply said vacant position. What the?? What does that imply??
It turns out, it's a Speech class that had gone horribly wrong. The poor children were waiting on a class to be renovated so they could have a place of their own (and they're very close to completion on that), so they were having to rove around the campus, borrowing classrooms week after week and having no physical stability. As if that wasn't sad enough, their permanent teacher had left a considerable amount of time ago and they had been with substitute after substitute for a good chunk of the year. The children were very tired of the lack of stability and were desperate for some new life. This fledgling teacher made an IMPACT yesterday, and it felt so good, and it's landed me a recurring substitute position two days a week for potentially 3 weeks with the same class. It's going to be so nice for me, and for them, to actually see something grow.
Substituting's nice because if you have a challenging class that is beyond your ability, you can walk out that door at the end of the day and never have to take it on again, and it's not your responsibility if those children learn anything that year. However, permanent, or semi-permanent teaching is a very rich experience. You bond with the children. You engage them. You inspire them. You see them change before your very eyes. It's something I want so bad. Today I'll be with the same students and we'll be taking our rough ideas for a 5 minute speech on self ambition/identity and developing a formal outline for it. The children will learn actual speech skills FROM ME!! I am so excited. This will make them more prepared/less nervous to present to me on NEXT THURSDAY (!!!) when I return as their substitute again. =-D.
I absolutely want to do this. My children were awesome in class yesterday despite their circumstances. They really opened up to me about their dreams and their goals and their passions. I got some incredible speech ideas out of them. One girl wanted to be a neo-natal nurse, delivering babies, so she could experience the miracle of life and be a part of a family's first moment together. One girl said she wanted to be a teacher, and my heart swelled. One boy said he wanted to write about his love for poetry, which is very bold, and how his mother had inspired him to write through her own poetry, and that now he is inspiring others. One young lady wanted to be a cosmetologist because although some people might not see the beauty in themselves, she sees the beauty in all people and would like to make a difference in the way they perceive themselves. Other children loved to travel. Another was into space science and wanted to write about that. Still another student had transferred from Kenya and wanted to talk about his love for soccer. I was just blown away over and over again. I have to leave for work in a half an hour and I am so excited.
On top of sharing such an inspiring story, I want to share that there is a teachable moment in this. You want to know more about your students and how you can help them, personal narrative and one on one time went a long way. I only shared the really upbeat, stellar dreams of my students, the flip side was it helped some of the students cope with traumatic events of their past. Divorce, backstabbing, and poverty were among the really gritty topics that came up yesterday and I was able to allow this assignment to be a therapy. No lie, it felt like the Freedom Writers movie. I have the utmost hope for today. It felt so good telling those students yesterday, don't worry, I'll be back tomorrow to help you. To quote a song, 'Something tells me, I'm into something good.'. =-D
It turns out, it's a Speech class that had gone horribly wrong. The poor children were waiting on a class to be renovated so they could have a place of their own (and they're very close to completion on that), so they were having to rove around the campus, borrowing classrooms week after week and having no physical stability. As if that wasn't sad enough, their permanent teacher had left a considerable amount of time ago and they had been with substitute after substitute for a good chunk of the year. The children were very tired of the lack of stability and were desperate for some new life. This fledgling teacher made an IMPACT yesterday, and it felt so good, and it's landed me a recurring substitute position two days a week for potentially 3 weeks with the same class. It's going to be so nice for me, and for them, to actually see something grow.
Substituting's nice because if you have a challenging class that is beyond your ability, you can walk out that door at the end of the day and never have to take it on again, and it's not your responsibility if those children learn anything that year. However, permanent, or semi-permanent teaching is a very rich experience. You bond with the children. You engage them. You inspire them. You see them change before your very eyes. It's something I want so bad. Today I'll be with the same students and we'll be taking our rough ideas for a 5 minute speech on self ambition/identity and developing a formal outline for it. The children will learn actual speech skills FROM ME!! I am so excited. This will make them more prepared/less nervous to present to me on NEXT THURSDAY (!!!) when I return as their substitute again. =-D.
I absolutely want to do this. My children were awesome in class yesterday despite their circumstances. They really opened up to me about their dreams and their goals and their passions. I got some incredible speech ideas out of them. One girl wanted to be a neo-natal nurse, delivering babies, so she could experience the miracle of life and be a part of a family's first moment together. One girl said she wanted to be a teacher, and my heart swelled. One boy said he wanted to write about his love for poetry, which is very bold, and how his mother had inspired him to write through her own poetry, and that now he is inspiring others. One young lady wanted to be a cosmetologist because although some people might not see the beauty in themselves, she sees the beauty in all people and would like to make a difference in the way they perceive themselves. Other children loved to travel. Another was into space science and wanted to write about that. Still another student had transferred from Kenya and wanted to talk about his love for soccer. I was just blown away over and over again. I have to leave for work in a half an hour and I am so excited.
On top of sharing such an inspiring story, I want to share that there is a teachable moment in this. You want to know more about your students and how you can help them, personal narrative and one on one time went a long way. I only shared the really upbeat, stellar dreams of my students, the flip side was it helped some of the students cope with traumatic events of their past. Divorce, backstabbing, and poverty were among the really gritty topics that came up yesterday and I was able to allow this assignment to be a therapy. No lie, it felt like the Freedom Writers movie. I have the utmost hope for today. It felt so good telling those students yesterday, don't worry, I'll be back tomorrow to help you. To quote a song, 'Something tells me, I'm into something good.'. =-D
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