PhyreBards

Ugh, so I cannot remember to make these posts. No, I remember that I need to make them, I just somehow can't get myself to actually do them. Oops! :) So I've been working on the specifics of my lessons, like the actual powerpoints, the actual handouts, etc. and it is amazing to me how much time everything takes! I get really into this kind of thing and add in all this extra stuff (animation, pictures, etc.) and the next thing I know, it's been 500 million hours and I'm finished with one powerpoint presentation. I tell myself that it's okay to put time into these because they are things that I will be able to use forever, blah blah blah... but sometimes I really just wish that there were more hours in the day. I get really overwhelmed when I think about how huge my topic is (greek mythology) and how much I really want to cover with the students, and it's sad to remind myself that I have five lessons to teach it all. Well, my teacher offered me more days if I wanted them, but lets face it, who has time for that?? Oh well... I also feel a whole lot of pressure with this lesson because Mrs. Nall said that the students are really excited for the unit and that she's really excited to see what I do. That is a whole lot of pressure! What if the students hate it and Mrs. Nall thinks I just wasted five days?!? I hope this won't happen and I keep telling myself that it won't, but it's just a lot of pressure to teach in someone else's class knowing that they are giving up valuable instructional time for this. I just hope it all goes well!

I really don't want to subject everyone to this, so let's see if I can work some HTML skills and make my commenters have to work for it!

( i still owe you guys two posts )

I will get back to those other two posts--I have one to write from the week of the management seminar and one from Halloween week--but not right now. I'm going to eat some lunch and go BACK to the school. I do have a question for you guys, if you can answer it. I haven't really told Mr. Metz any of the problems I have with him, his teaching, or his treatment of me, because I don't want it to reflect badly on me and affect my evaluation. At this point in the semester I'm not even sure if it's worth it, but is there any way I can approach the subject that won't be offensive? Or should I bother?

I did enjoy the seminar on recipes for the classroom. I took away several ideas that I think I will be able to modify and use in my classroom. The keyword here is "modify". Isn't that what creating lessons is all about? Even after I am teaching for 20 billion years and design 80 billion lessons, I will have to modify each lesson so that it fits the particular class. We all keep asking Dr. Pyne to give us methods, to give us lesson ideas. I think that the trick is (as it has been beaten into us) to get to know our students. We need to decide how to get whatever content we are teaching across to our students. So...that said, I now understand why Dr. Pyne wants to give us theory over method. The method will come with theory. Method is centered around needs, strengths, and weaknesses of students.

The House on Mango Street, by Sandra Cisneros, tells the story of a young Hispanic girl named Esperanza who dreams of someday living in her own house. Her parents have moved their family from apartment to apartment, and still dream of having a permanent home somewhere. But for now, the family is living on Mango Street.

Esperanza deals with racial prejudice, a friend whose father abuses her, the realities of becoming a woman, women in her community being treated as lesser than the men, and trying find someone to trust with her poetry.

The book captures snapshots of Esperanza's interactions with her neighbors and family. Each chapter tells about an aspect of her life on Mango street and previous experiences. Though the book does not follow a strictly chronological pattern, Esperanza's character develops as she realizes that she wants more for herself than what society has planned for and expects of her.