Food for Thought

      Why are you in Graduate School? What are your goals in life? What do you want to do with your degree when you are done? These are questions that I am asked all of the time by friends and family. I always get funny looks or silent stares when I answer "I'm really not sure...I am figuring that out as I go."
       Initially, I began this journey hoping to become a better teacher. In fact, Amy and Missy (Amy's GA at the time) came along and made a very convincing argument to our Millville group as to why we should all join the MAIT family. Thank goodness I decided to attend that meeting!!! That was my "motivation"-my-"Need to Know" moment. My Trigger, so to speak.
     I had only originally intended to take one or two classes and then I was hooked on MAIT. In fact, my first class was with Amy and I can remember feeling very overwhelmed. Thank goodness it was  a  face-to-face meeting. I knew, right away, that her class was going to be rigorous! Indeed, it was a lot of work, but the assignments were meaningful. In the end, it was worth every moment. I learned so much!!
     It was then that my purpose became different. My need to become a better teacher became a need to become a better me!! So, I continued that journey to merely see where it would lead.
    Steve Jobs once talked about connecting the dots in his life and how it was impossible to do so while he was in college. However...connecting those dots was very clear for him looking back ten years later. This is so true for me! How about you? What type of path are you creating for yourself right now? This is a question that I didn't really think about too much when I was younger. Funny, because I drive my own children crazy with this question all of the time!!

How Incredibly Successful People Think.......Hmmm....Interesting! 

Laughter is the Best Medicine!

So...in the midst of all of this talk about PARCC testing, I thought this quote might be therapeutic. 

Needing some comic relief??

Check out the videos below!!

My husband and sons were in stitches while watching this. They work for WaWa, so they are familiar with conference call experiences. I am not...so much. Those of you in the MBA program, or anyone who has had experience with conference calls...this one is for you. 

"Selfies Anonymous"

Week Three

    I had the opportunity to attend a workshop in my school district this past Friday. The morning's focus was on Dyslexia. The afternoon's focus was on diversity in the classroom with a focus on the learning disabled student and what it's like for such a student in school.  The presenters were very informative and I was very intrigued and moved by the topic.

     I can honestly say that there is always a situation that I find myself in where I really struggle to figure out how to help a student learn. I always imagine how difficult it must be for those students to conform to our rigorous curriculum. It can be challenging, in this day and age when the push is to "pass a test",  to try and find ways to make learning fun. As an educator, I do agree that it's so important to build confidence and excitement within all students. We all need to be patient and have compassion when helping anyone, especially those who struggle with any type of learning disability. Someone once said that we might forget what we say to a student after a few seconds, but the student will remember for a lifetime.

   I wanted to share a short video clip about an amazing person who has a inspirational story. His name is Willard Wigan. In this video, Willard talks about growing up with Dyslexia and he shares a sad memory about how his teacher made him feel when he was in high school. Interestingly enough, Willard used the pain that he felt from his teachers comment to serve as motivation to become the artist that he is today. Now, Willard has an amazing talent that he is sharing with the world.

     My son Scott shared his favorite quote with me just a few minutes ago. I feel that this is a great way to end my blog for this week.