Our Future
The education of our children is in the hands of idiots.

Unfortunately.

So, we had another in-service today. This one was about helping English Language Learners (ELLs) in the classroom. Our first activity of the day was to write down what we thought about students who are ELLs. Posters were put up in the hallway and each group was to go around and write down what they thought about each prompt. These prompts included thinks like 'what they wear' 'Socio economic status' 'Who are their friends' 'Where do they eat' 'What language do they speak' etc.

Of course me automatic answers to all of them was 'well, it depends.....' but it seems that most of my collegues believe that ELLs are Mexican, they are poor, eat fast food, have no parental involvement etc.

I can't believe that people could make these generalizations about ELLs. It's terrible... especially since EVERYONE in the room but 2 people were Mexican. First of all, Spanish is NOT the only other language that is spoken in the world. Texas receives immagrants from ALL over the WORLD. Second of all, how can you think so low of people you don't even know. In college station we had tons of ELLs that belonged to a very high economic group.

I really do think that this has a lot to do with the Eagle Pass mentality. Most people have only ever lived here. That depressing... its like civilization inbreeding.
- posted by Ale @ 6:51:00 PM

 
Awww! It's a puppy!!!
OK, so it's been over a year since I posted on here, that's terrible. Especially since I had promised I was going to keep up with this thing. So... this time I'm not gonna promise I'll keep up with it and maybe that will work ;)

So, I guess a lot has happened since I last posted, some interesting stuff and some not so interesting.

I'll stick to the interesting....

My new puppy!!!
He's a Great Dane and his name is Cooper. Isn't he cute? :D He was a little tired when this picture was taken, we had just spent a long day at the Nueces river. He sleeps a lot... even if we haven't been at the river all day. It's crazy. I guess puppies need the rest. He's getting bigger by the day :)
- posted by Ale @ 5:40:00 PM

 
Up a creek without a kayak
Goodness is certainly been a while! hmmm... much has happened I guess...

My education classes went alright this semester, despite my profs (lets call him Mr. Reading/Language Arts) severe dislike of anyone who challenged his teaching... which most of the time turned out to be me... ok ok, it was ALWAYS me, but come on... it's crazyness! For example........ He gave us this RIDICULOUS assignment... we had to creat a BIG book... ok... um, im getting certified for 4-8th grade... a big book is just NOT going to fly in a 4th grade class, least of all any other grade i might be teaching so i decided to voice my opinion and bring up the fact that not everyone in this class is going to be teaching kids how to read... (most 4th graders know how to read by then, i hope) so...

um... sir... i'm getting certifide for 4-8 and i don't think a big book is going to help
well thats what our text book says! this IS the text book we are using!
*lifts textbook and slams it on desk*
uh, yes, sir, but i don't think 4-8th kids are going to get much out of a big book talking about how a dog went 'ruff ruff'
well WHAT do u suggest!?!
um... can we maybe write a book thats smaller but has more text
yes, i guess thats fine
*student raises her hand* even if we're getting certified for 4-8th is it ok if we write a book like yours *points to example with the happy dog going 'ruff ruff'*cuz its easier
(yes! she really did say that, by the way this is the same girl that had a revalation during one of our group activities, her group was assigned The Magic School Bus goes to Outer Space and during her presentation she said 'they even go to the asteroid belt, i didn't even know there was an asteroid belt floating out there! there are even inner and outer planets, the ones inside the asteriod belt and the ones outside!')

it amazes me how people want to cut corners so much... (do i sound like a snob yet?)

Dr. Lopez (from my wildlife mgmt class) always said 'do your best with these mgmt plans! don't think that this is JUST practice, that this is JUST an assingment, you may be writing these mgmt plans for a living, you can't do things half way and assume when its 'for real' you'll do a better job of it, thats not how it works'
I believed him... still do

Mr. R/LA's dislike of me did not stop there... i had 2 classes with him, of course... it could not stop there, lol... one day he decided to put in an OBSURD T/F question on our test... i got it wrong... so of course... i argued... everyone got 2 extra points on their test...

we were all suppose to present a dramatization of a poem, one day no one scheduled for that particular day showed up... so of course he starts asking the people scheduled for the next week.... he goes down the list 'im not ready yet... not yet, im not ready yet either' then he gets to ME...

Alejandra?
im not ready to present either
Teachers are ALWAYS ready Miss Martinez
my friend Michelle turned to me "he really hates u, doesn't he''

The last day of class he comes up to me 'you're book was really nice, you did a great job'

I got an A in both his classes

I am soon to be employed at the wonderful Memorial Jr. High!!! (2 minutes flat from my house, including red lights) i am VERY excited. I stopped by my alma mater the other day to check things out, met up with the science dept head and she introduced me to the other science teachers and other staff... some of the people that were there when i attended are STILL there... including the patronizing band director we shall call Tattoo, along with the relatively new guy who use to condescend so low as to be in charge of us silly clarinets during marching season my senior year... he also happens to be dating someone that -im pretty sure- graduated AFTER me... which makes him....... TOO old to be doing that

Other than all that things seem to be great, everyone is SUPER nice and i am VERY excited, my classroom has WINDOWS!! (how cool is that! :) ) and the incoming 7th grade crop is reported to be 'sharp', the instructional officer desperately wants me to teach the pre-ap class but scheduling conflicts with the training make it impossible 'oh well', she said 'next year' i find it surprising that they would allow a first year teacher to teach THE pre-ap class for 7th grade science, but... apparently... they are not happy with the woman who is now teaching it...
i also stopped by the high school to say a quick hello to Mr. Laurence, silly me... talking to Mr. Laurence is never a quick thing... i'll be working with his wife next year (she teaches 8th grade science) and he assures me i will do fine...
"just stick with Phyllis and you will be fine", he says, "and keep your mouth shut, some of these people who have been teaching for 20+ years don't like the idea of someone coming in and knowing more about the subject than they do, or someone who is willing to do more with the kids... that kind of stuff... this is your first year, sit back, listen and just say 'ill take that under advisement' you know what you're doing, and set boundaries within the first 2 weeks... that's when the kids learn how u handle late homework, tardies, that kind of thing.........."
i seriously think that in a couple of hours of sitting with Mr. Laurence during his conference period i learned more than a semester of student teaching could have ever taught me... and he also convinced me to buy a kayak :)

i'm shooting another rodeo next weekend... eagle pass doesn't have the luxury of a fall or spring... it sucks... but the money is good and sometimes i get some really great pictures out of it... that makes it all worth while...

in a couple of weeks i take off to a month long of college station fun... and field work with didi, after that another month long of vacationing with the family... Debbie has decided we should travel the east coast, and i have NOOO problem with that... the BEST part of it is that on our way back to TX we are touring the CNN center in Atlanta! i know, im a nerd, but come on... how many channels can u turn to ANY time of day and there is always something you should be watching... im addicted, its the best channel out there and i can't stop watching, CNN THE MOST TRUSTED NAME IN NEWS... and it really is... at least i think so :D debbie prefers fox news.... 'it is not biased' she says... of course not... it tells both sides to every story... uh huh (by the way, have u seen the Stephen Colbert speech at the correspondents dinner! sooo harsh, yet so true, at least i think so - google it)

well, thats enough for today, i promise i'll try and keep up with this thing :p
- posted by Ale @ 1:48:00 PM

 
Fact or fiction
So....
Education is interesting. :)
Lately I have been substituting in a pre-k class.
I can't believe that children THIS small are allowed to attend school. It seeme the education system has changed since I was that young.
I must say the song singing is lots of fun. In the spirit of halloween we are dancing and singing to songs like 'Skin and Bones' and (my personal favorite) 5 little pumpkins.

I was very surprised to discover something about kids that age. It turns out that they believe that anything in a book is 'make believe'. I definitely don't blame them for it with all the stories they read (or are read to them). I just think its strange how at my age now... books give more credibility... especially when considering the kind of stuff I was required to read for my classes...
well...... that was my strange observation of the day :)

cheers! :)
- posted by Ale @ 8:48:00 PM

 
The future
People seem generally dissatisfied with the answer I give them when they ask the unavoidable question: So... what are you going to do now?... SOOO... I have come up with a brilliant plan to combat this annoying custom that usually accompanies a graduation.... I am going to start making stuff up :) Here we go....

• I am writing the great America novel, haven't you heard?

• I'm joining doctors without borders! sure... I don't have a medical degree and nothing that remotely resembles one, but it's a third world country, who will notice?

• Didn't they tell you? I'm moving in with you!

• I have decided I am going to navigate the Rio Grande in search of fresh water squid, know where I can find a used canoe?

More to come... I'm sure :p
- posted by Ale @ 2:26:00 PM

 
dude whats with this huge space... i can't get rid of it
So I am now back home and much has happened... ok, not much, but it's definitely not as bad as I thought it would be. I have discovered several things....

• Never believe anything my mother says. She tends to embellish. I have now had the great opportunity to experience things and then hear her tell other people about whatever it was that happened. I'm only sorry Didi isn't here to help me convince her that that in fact, is NOT what happened. lol
• My family is freakin' awesome. My aunt has again decided that we should see our great United States. Next summer the 'Clan in the Van' will be embarking on another two week tour, this time of the entire eastern U.S. Note to self... we will need to do a redesign on the caps... people in the south might not know what we mean by 'clan' especially if they can't spell, like me. They might mistake us for racists Mexicans instead of the dorky partially Scottish people we are.
• Baby raccoons are a lot like cats
• There really are live armadillos in Texas!
• It does rain in Eagle Pass
• White lantern lights are sooo *sigh* nice :D
• Dryers do swallow socks
• Pressurized air cans (for cleaning camera equipment) are awesome
• The Wal-Mart photo center just might be better than the HEB one, especially when your internet connection is so slow.... you could die trying to load photos
• Stephen Spielberg is not good at remaking movies
• Christopher Nolan is :)
• Dads do not like shopping for clothes
• Feathery, flamingo shaped pens make me happy
• Hiking boots are awesome in the rain
• There are no fish in the Medina River
• Teachers make a lot of money.... at least compared to what I'm use to
• Not everyone is lucky enough to turn their passion into a career

more later.....
- posted by Ale @ 6:57:00 PM

 
When I grow up..........
It is my last night as a college student... and technically it was my last day. I have one final tomorrow at1 pm and after that i will officially, no longer be a college student. This saddens me to no end. Although I have been looking forward to this moment for so long, it is bitter sweet. It makes me think... was I really looking forward to it, or just waiting for the inevitable? I knew that one day it would be over. No more tests, studying, stressing over grades, and I was anxious for that. But when I started this whole thing out my freshman year I never expected this whole experience to be so wonderful. I have met so many people. Experienced so many wonderful things and have grown so much. I don't even remember who I was before I was an Aggie. I know God has so many more things in store for me but I'm finding it difficult to imagine they could be as good as or better than my experiences over the past four years. I find myself wishing it wouldn't end, but I guess it is time to move on. I'd probably feel a little better about all this if I knew I had some sort of security in store for me... but I don't... I shall float on... not knowing what will become of me until something big happens. I have this fear that one day things will be so bad... that I'm gonna wish I was back here.... back when I felt like I belonged... when I was surrounded by Aggies... by Christians I could have fellowship with... surrounded by people who understood me, and who I understood.
- posted by Ale @ 2:09:00 AM