Things that have made me happy lately:
-Daisy, of course. How have I gone so long without a dog?
-"So You Think You Can Dance" - This show is very American Idol-like, but the amount of passion that these dancers have inspires me to want to feel that way about something.
-long emails from old friends
-good books. I just finished The Road by Cormac McCarthy (heavy, but outstanding). Now I'm onto a lighter memoir called Tender at the Bone.
-watching Darin work. He is steadfast and diligent towards achieving his goals. I look up to him.
-anticipation of promising events to come.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Tuesday, June 08, 2010
It's the end of the school year, and I have to admit that I've been very blessed this year. I have been able to be an active part of 9 students' school year. It wasn't every day, but it was regular enough that they know me and trust me. Not every substitute can say they were able to watch students grow this past year. I am thankful for that.
Darin is working diligently to get his accounting degree finished. He is getting outstanding grades and keeping his priorities straight, studying every night and staying on task with all of the reading assignments and homework. I really look up to him. He is so driven to achieve this goal.
There has been lots to do, and the summer camp job is starting in two weeks! It's going to be a nice break to go from managing classwork to just making sure the kids are having plain old fun. I get to wear shorts and a t-shirt, and play with kids at a country club all day. (The country club setting is new for me, but, hey, they have tennis!)
The graduate school applications are underway as well. I've secured one letter of recommendation, but I'm shy about asking professors from two years ago to write my one. I'll get up the guts by the end of this week, I hope. Other than that, my GRE scores and my GPA are above the average of those admitted to the program. So I think I have a pretty good shot. We'll see if it grad school is in the plan for me. Wish me luck!
Darin is working diligently to get his accounting degree finished. He is getting outstanding grades and keeping his priorities straight, studying every night and staying on task with all of the reading assignments and homework. I really look up to him. He is so driven to achieve this goal.
There has been lots to do, and the summer camp job is starting in two weeks! It's going to be a nice break to go from managing classwork to just making sure the kids are having plain old fun. I get to wear shorts and a t-shirt, and play with kids at a country club all day. (The country club setting is new for me, but, hey, they have tennis!)
The graduate school applications are underway as well. I've secured one letter of recommendation, but I'm shy about asking professors from two years ago to write my one. I'll get up the guts by the end of this week, I hope. Other than that, my GRE scores and my GPA are above the average of those admitted to the program. So I think I have a pretty good shot. We'll see if it grad school is in the plan for me. Wish me luck!
Thursday, May 06, 2010
Contemplations on Sleep and Industry
I took a sick day from my long-term job because I feel it best not to spread whatever germs I may be harboring beneath this sore throat, conjestion, and cough. I'm not completely incapacitated, so I have been reading news and blogs and whatever I come across on Google Reader.
One article that got my gears going was a news article about a recent sleep study. The study concurred that people who generally sleep six hours were more likely to die prematurely (whatever that means). Yes, once again, a study confirms that we need 7-8 hours of sleep at night. One bit that I felt worth sharing:
"Modern society has seen a gradual reduction in the average amount of sleep people take, and this pattern is more common amongst full-time workers, suggesting that it may be due to societal pressures for longer working hours and more shift-work."
How many times have I gone to bed at a reasonable hour, feeling guilty for using those two hours to sleep instead of do something productive? I've seen so many full-time teachers staying in their classroom until 10pm and arriving the next day at 6am. It's almost as if, to get ahead in our work/career/etc, we must sacrifice our own health. And the workforce is very competitive these days, because there are fewer and fewer jobs.
What is a solution to this? Sometimes I wish we could just all go back to being small homesteaders, growing our own food and livestock. That way, we'd all have work that directly effected our livelihood. The information age is scary, even for us 20-somethings who have never known anything different.
One article that got my gears going was a news article about a recent sleep study. The study concurred that people who generally sleep six hours were more likely to die prematurely (whatever that means). Yes, once again, a study confirms that we need 7-8 hours of sleep at night. One bit that I felt worth sharing:
"Modern society has seen a gradual reduction in the average amount of sleep people take, and this pattern is more common amongst full-time workers, suggesting that it may be due to societal pressures for longer working hours and more shift-work."
How many times have I gone to bed at a reasonable hour, feeling guilty for using those two hours to sleep instead of do something productive? I've seen so many full-time teachers staying in their classroom until 10pm and arriving the next day at 6am. It's almost as if, to get ahead in our work/career/etc, we must sacrifice our own health. And the workforce is very competitive these days, because there are fewer and fewer jobs.
What is a solution to this? Sometimes I wish we could just all go back to being small homesteaders, growing our own food and livestock. That way, we'd all have work that directly effected our livelihood. The information age is scary, even for us 20-somethings who have never known anything different.
Saturday, May 01, 2010
Great End to a Good Week
Saturday! My one day off of work. I've been feeling tired this week, and I think it's because I'm honestly not used to working this much. Darin laughed at me when I said that, and rightly so. Lots of people work six days a week. But luckily, I get Saturdays off.
The week flew by, and yesterday was beautiful for recess. The kindergarten playground smelled of flowers, and B. learned to pump on the swings to keep himself up. He just kept yelling "I'm doing it, Ms. O!" from the swing. It was awesome.
Last night, Darin and I had a study date, then we took Daisy for a walk. Afterwards, we watched Capitalism: A Love Story by Michael Moore and then called it a night. It was a good Friday.
The week flew by, and yesterday was beautiful for recess. The kindergarten playground smelled of flowers, and B. learned to pump on the swings to keep himself up. He just kept yelling "I'm doing it, Ms. O!" from the swing. It was awesome.
Last night, Darin and I had a study date, then we took Daisy for a walk. Afterwards, we watched Capitalism: A Love Story by Michael Moore and then called it a night. It was a good Friday.
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Long-term Job Update.
My long-term sub job has been great so far. It's nice not to think about where I'll be going in the morning. I like being able to walk in to a building that is familiar, with staff and students who know my name. Earlier this week, one of the kindergarteners handed me a folded-up piece of colorful artwork that was made just for me.
One of the permanent parapros could be doing a better job at being friendly towards me and a choice few others. It's an awkward and unnecessary element, but it's essentially her issue that seemingly stems from her hating her job. She is qualified and good at what she does. I wish she knew how lucky she is.
This particular district favors a behaviorist approach to discipline. I've enjoyed learning more about this approach. It's very rewarding when a behavior plan starts working. I want to learn more about this, and about autism spectrum disorders. Working with the same students for the next four weeks will benefit my own educational experience, which is why I'm grateful for this job!
One of the permanent parapros could be doing a better job at being friendly towards me and a choice few others. It's an awkward and unnecessary element, but it's essentially her issue that seemingly stems from her hating her job. She is qualified and good at what she does. I wish she knew how lucky she is.
This particular district favors a behaviorist approach to discipline. I've enjoyed learning more about this approach. It's very rewarding when a behavior plan starts working. I want to learn more about this, and about autism spectrum disorders. Working with the same students for the next four weeks will benefit my own educational experience, which is why I'm grateful for this job!
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