Blog Post #1

About Me

Obviously so, my name is Jeanette. I am 22 years old. I was born and raised in southern Mobile County. I come from a long line of military men and educators. Both of my grandparents were military as well as high school teachers. My father was also career military, and my mother was the greatest stay-at-home mom ever. I have an older brother. He is married to a very sweet woman, and has the two most beautiful little girls I have ever seen. I have always wanted to do some traveling, but I love living on the coast! I love to swim, and I could bask lazily in the sun for hours on end. As long as I’m outside doing something, I’m happy (especially if I have my camera in tow). I honestly believe that fishing is good for the soul. I tend to be more quiet and reserved during winter. I can’t say why really, but I’m sure it’s because I hate the cold so badly. I’m really not so bad when my social awkwardness isn’t kicking my butt.

I have always believed that it is a prime purpose in my life to do what I can to help and inspire others. I have always loved to learn new things. Being able to read, write, and use proper grammar came naturally to me. I do, of course, make mistakes from time to time, but overall I think my grammatical skills are worthy of being shared.

I chose to pursue a career in secondary English/Language Arts education. I chose this because I have a passion for literature, reading, and writing. I want to be able to say that I have inspired people to read and learn and enjoy traveling, even to sometimes unearthly places, from where they sit. Hopefully, I will even have a few creative souls cross my path that are able to materialize such vivid, imaginative worlds through words. The creative aspect of writing is definitely my favorite. I can not stand research papers on boring topics. I think all good writing is founded upon strong grammar skills, and a good sense of syntax.

Future Classroom

I plan to teach middle school English after I receive my degree. I have no plans to stop going to school myself. I plan to further my education even while I pursue my career as an educator. I would like to eventually teach creative writing on a high school, or even college level. I would really like to teach outside of the country as well. There is a big world out there that I’d like to take a bite of, and do some good along the way. As a friend of mine would say, “you have to spread the good ju-ju.”

I want to be able to relate to my students, build rapport with them, and enjoy the school year with them. My aim will be to get them as interested in my class as they possibly can be. I want them to be able to cut up a little and have fun, yet learn at the same time. I would like to incorporate technology as often as possible. I would try to turn paper/desk work into fun games as well. Instead of just reading down the list of correct answers, maybe try a different way of checking the class’ work together?

I really hope that I will have receptive students. I’m sure there will always be a few kids that will be challenging, but I view this as an opportunity to put forth my very best efforts. I will try to explain things in many different ways, as everyone learns differently. If I’m able to relate lessons to things that they already comprehend, it should be easier for them to grasp. I would like to do many activities that doesn’t involve the book, as much as just the lessons from the book. I really want to teach them why it is so important to be able to communicate effectively. I would hope that they would develop an appreciation for grammar and vocabulary, written or spoken.

I think it would be a fun exercise to find school-appropriate material from social media that contains poor grammar and let the students correct it. We could even go farther with the activity and let them choose different ways of saying the same thing. This could turn into a fun activity that will show the differences between every person's writing identity. This will help with grammar, syntax, and creativity. I know that there are many standards that must be met, but I plan to incorporate as many fun extras as possible.

Randy Pausch on Time Management

I had never heard of Randy Pausch before I watched this video. I really loved how he equated time with money. Growing up, my dad would always yell about, “Let’s get going girl! Time is money!”. That is not a concept I take lightly. I like how he pointed out that doing the right things were more important than doing the wrong things correctly. I can think of more than one time I was guilty of this

Time Management Tips

I don’t really have a problem with time management; however, I really liked the tip on Penn State’s page about having more than one planner or calendar. My planner always gets full and messy. I also liked the suggestion about using a pencil. It seems so silly not to have thought of that already. My plans tend to change a lot, so I am always making changes. Erasing pencil seems much more logical than crossing out ink.