Apparently mental illness is one denying factor for work permits in South Korea. I applied with AskNow to teach English in South Korea for a year, but my application was denied due to government stipulations on the mental health of workers. Sigh.
Maybe it's for the best. I know my family wouldn't sleep too well at night with me so close to North Korea. Something about a crazy dictator...
Showing posts with label teaching. Show all posts
Showing posts with label teaching. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
43 Things
I love 43 Things. This website allows you to enter your life goals, and view how they stack up against other people's.
My current life goals are quite the grab bag. Some are very popular (141 people want to live in Barcelona), and others are a little more esoteric (only one person wants to travel to Palestine). Some other goals I have are:
My current life goals are quite the grab bag. Some are very popular (141 people want to live in Barcelona), and others are a little more esoteric (only one person wants to travel to Palestine). Some other goals I have are:
- Get my truck driver's license
- Teach English in China (54 people want to do this)
- Get my Master's degree in Elementary Education
- Travel to Israel and the Palestinian Territories (1 person!)
- Nanny in Washington, D.C.
These definitely aren't your run of the mill goals, but I love doing new things. Can you tell I'm a little ADD?
What are your goals?
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Dyslexia
How does a dyslexic child learn?
Thew ord sare notsp aced cor rec tly.
We spell wrds xatle az tha snd to us.
Thewordsandthelettersarepushedtogether
This is the stymying question for March. One quarter of the children I see struggle with letter reversals, transposed words, and sequencing issues. They struggle to get through a sentence; a paragraph is a herculean task. How can I help them?
January was spent on tracking worksheets. Luckily, these all seem like a game to my third grader. Circle all the capital letters in ABC order. Circle the numbers from 1-100 in order from left to right. Connect all of the people facing right. They seemed to help; they certainly did no harm. The student raced through them.
I spent February securing an MP3 player and wrestling uncooperative audiobooks onto it. I had to borrow audiobooks on CDs from the library, rip the music to Windows Media Player, and then synchronize it to the MP3 player. Of course, there are restrictions on the student computers, so I had to enter all of the album information by hand, and painstakingly rename all of the tracks. This was easily an hour per book.
It was all worth it in the end as my third grader returned the player, beaming up at me.
Thew ord sare notsp aced cor rec tly.
We spell wrds xatle az tha snd to us.
Thewordsandthelettersarepushedtogether
This is the stymying question for March. One quarter of the children I see struggle with letter reversals, transposed words, and sequencing issues. They struggle to get through a sentence; a paragraph is a herculean task. How can I help them?
January was spent on tracking worksheets. Luckily, these all seem like a game to my third grader. Circle all the capital letters in ABC order. Circle the numbers from 1-100 in order from left to right. Connect all of the people facing right. They seemed to help; they certainly did no harm. The student raced through them.
I spent February securing an MP3 player and wrestling uncooperative audiobooks onto it. I had to borrow audiobooks on CDs from the library, rip the music to Windows Media Player, and then synchronize it to the MP3 player. Of course, there are restrictions on the student computers, so I had to enter all of the album information by hand, and painstakingly rename all of the tracks. This was easily an hour per book.
It was all worth it in the end as my third grader returned the player, beaming up at me.
Friday, May 7, 2010
"I Have to Let My Gartner Snakes Go!"
These are words you definitely do not want to hear out of your kindergarten student's mouth. Um, where exactly are these gartner snakes? How many of them did you say there are? And you put them where!?!
At least life with AmeriCorps is never dull. When we're not instructing budding herpetologists in the proper care and upkeep of snakes, we're teaching little third graders how to politely excuse themselves to do their noisier bodily functions (tip: Yelling "I have to fart!" is not appropriate.")
I cannot think of more rewarding work.
At least life with AmeriCorps is never dull. When we're not instructing budding herpetologists in the proper care and upkeep of snakes, we're teaching little third graders how to politely excuse themselves to do their noisier bodily functions (tip: Yelling "I have to fart!" is not appropriate.")
I cannot think of more rewarding work.
Monday, May 3, 2010
On Lunch and Plumber's Cracks
I have been eating way too many Pepperjack "cheese" and tomato sandwiches recently. Put them in the toaster oven with a few diced green olives....Mmmm.
In other news, I'm currently working with my second graders on not interrupting. We've tried the talking shell ("You can only talk if you have the shell"), incentive charts, time outs... just about everything. I've tried to figure out the root of the problem---do they not feel heard? Do they have some unmet need? I've also tried stiff consequences---one warning, then a time-out in the room, then a time-out in the hall and missing out on the game that day. Things work for awhile, then worsen. I think this is going to be a constant struggle this year. Hopefully it's just their age.
On a lighter note, when I asked my first grade group "What kind of workers can you think of?" one of my first graders proudly told me that her uncle has a plumber's crack! You have to love kids!
In other news, I'm currently working with my second graders on not interrupting. We've tried the talking shell ("You can only talk if you have the shell"), incentive charts, time outs... just about everything. I've tried to figure out the root of the problem---do they not feel heard? Do they have some unmet need? I've also tried stiff consequences---one warning, then a time-out in the room, then a time-out in the hall and missing out on the game that day. Things work for awhile, then worsen. I think this is going to be a constant struggle this year. Hopefully it's just their age.
On a lighter note, when I asked my first grade group "What kind of workers can you think of?" one of my first graders proudly told me that her uncle has a plumber's crack! You have to love kids!
Thursday, April 29, 2010
"What Does Booty Mean?"
Today I found myself asking a third grader in my tutoring group, "What does booty mean?" Upon hearing my supervisor's gasp from the other side of the partition, I quickly clarified, "Pirates' booty, I mean."
Sigh. Nothing like an ordinary day in AmeriCorps.
Sigh. Nothing like an ordinary day in AmeriCorps.
Monday, March 8, 2010
Things to Do Today
Today I absolutely must:
1) Mail my students' pen-pal letters
2) Get my H1N1 shot (I'm finally not sick anymore!)
3) Do a load of laundry (my two pairs of good school pants desperately need washing)
4) Pick up my prescription at Walgreens
5) Return "The Lost Symbol" to the library (for some reason, I absolutely couldn't finish this book. Usually I'm a huge fan of Dan Brown.)
What's on your To Do list?
1) Mail my students' pen-pal letters
2) Get my H1N1 shot (I'm finally not sick anymore!)
3) Do a load of laundry (my two pairs of good school pants desperately need washing)
4) Pick up my prescription at Walgreens
5) Return "The Lost Symbol" to the library (for some reason, I absolutely couldn't finish this book. Usually I'm a huge fan of Dan Brown.)
What's on your To Do list?
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Bad Knee!
Apparently I wasn't thinking last week when I gave a guy's car a jump start. He had a bad knee, and he had to shove the car backward so that we could hook the jumper cables up. What I neglected to think about is how fickle my own knee can be. In brief? I'm now wearing a knee brace.
This makes working with the kindergarteners a lot trickier. It's practically a job prerequisite to be able to kneel down to their level. How else are you going to tie shoes and talk to them at eye level when they smear each other with boogers or start wrestling?
Hopefully with a little babying, my knee will heal right up. I guess I have to wait to break out the roller blades. Oh, well.
This makes working with the kindergarteners a lot trickier. It's practically a job prerequisite to be able to kneel down to their level. How else are you going to tie shoes and talk to them at eye level when they smear each other with boogers or start wrestling?
Hopefully with a little babying, my knee will heal right up. I guess I have to wait to break out the roller blades. Oh, well.
Monday, February 15, 2010
Interesting Kid Quotes
The day started badly, I'll admit. Embedding a staple in your very sensitive thumb will do that to you. However, my day soon improved, with some very intriguing and hilarious quotes to show for it.
The first, from a sixth grade boy:
"Can I have your button?"
"They don't come off."
"Wanna bet?" he says, grinning.
What a charmer, eh?
Another choice quote while reviewing sixth grade mythology: "They're furies, not fairies." Heaven forbid they think that the evil furies emerging from Pandora's box (hate, sorrow, ill health, death) are actually fairies in disguise.
You just have to love kids, don't you?
The first, from a sixth grade boy:
"Can I have your button?"
"They don't come off."
"Wanna bet?" he says, grinning.
What a charmer, eh?
Another choice quote while reviewing sixth grade mythology: "They're furies, not fairies." Heaven forbid they think that the evil furies emerging from Pandora's box (hate, sorrow, ill health, death) are actually fairies in disguise.
You just have to love kids, don't you?
Friday, February 12, 2010
Kindergarten Violence
A little kindergartener in my tutoring group tried to cut his friend. With scissors. While I was working with another little boy. This is not normal Kindergarten behavior.
If he's not kicking someone or flicking markers, glue caps, or erasers at other students, he's threatening them. There is no impulse control.
The last time I saw a situation like this, I was working with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome affected children. I'm seriously worried about him.
We're taking him out of a group situation and I'm going to start working with him one-on-one. I lose out on some of my planning time, but I think this is more important. He can't work in a group---the others are suffering. We just can't get anything done. This way, the others get to learn without wondering if they're going to bear the brunt of his impulses that day, and he gets the one-on-one help he so desperately needs.
If he's not kicking someone or flicking markers, glue caps, or erasers at other students, he's threatening them. There is no impulse control.
The last time I saw a situation like this, I was working with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome affected children. I'm seriously worried about him.
We're taking him out of a group situation and I'm going to start working with him one-on-one. I lose out on some of my planning time, but I think this is more important. He can't work in a group---the others are suffering. We just can't get anything done. This way, the others get to learn without wondering if they're going to bear the brunt of his impulses that day, and he gets the one-on-one help he so desperately needs.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Frugal Fixes
Looking for a cheap fix for my torn jeans, I hit Wal-mart last night for some iron-on patches. I'm hoping they'll work on the interior of the jeans, and not look too funny. Exterior patching is definitely not an option for work!
While I was there, I stocked up on a few staples---soy sauce, whole wheat bread, and a four pound bag of oranges. I've got to beat this cold, so I'm really laying on the vitamin C.
My car is fixed, and I'm only $113 poorer. Rather than having them run a test on the battery and alternator (which would have run about $100), I had them simply replace our old battery. Given that it had over 200,000 miles on it, a new one was definitely not out of the question. A new battery ($75) and an oil change ($30) later, and my car was back in business! I had to pay for the repair four different ways (with two Wal-mart gift cards, one cell phone rebate debit card, and a credit card), but the cashier didn't look at me too strangely. Ah, to be on a budget.
While I was there, I stocked up on a few staples---soy sauce, whole wheat bread, and a four pound bag of oranges. I've got to beat this cold, so I'm really laying on the vitamin C.
My car is fixed, and I'm only $113 poorer. Rather than having them run a test on the battery and alternator (which would have run about $100), I had them simply replace our old battery. Given that it had over 200,000 miles on it, a new one was definitely not out of the question. A new battery ($75) and an oil change ($30) later, and my car was back in business! I had to pay for the repair four different ways (with two Wal-mart gift cards, one cell phone rebate debit card, and a credit card), but the cashier didn't look at me too strangely. Ah, to be on a budget.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Dumpster Diving
I'm worried about my kid. He comes to school so hungry. He's always begging the other children for their food, and the other day I caught him taking food out of the garbage can. It was still inside a baggy, thank goodness. I don't know what I would have done otherwise.
I talked with his teacher, and she is just as concerned as I am. We'll probably talk to the school counselor and see what needs to be done. I can't stand the thought of this kid being so hungry.
It's time to hit the store. I still have $20 left for Food Benefits for this month, and I can't think of a better cause.
I talked with his teacher, and she is just as concerned as I am. We'll probably talk to the school counselor and see what needs to be done. I can't stand the thought of this kid being so hungry.
It's time to hit the store. I still have $20 left for Food Benefits for this month, and I can't think of a better cause.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Crummy Performance Evaluation
I just got my first performance evaluation as a reading tutor with AmeriCorps. Not so great. Though nothing was unsatisfactory, about half the marks were satisfactory, and the rest were good. Not a single excellent! Given how hard I've been working and the number of extra tasks I've taken on, it was a bit of a burn to have my mark for "Seeks additional responsibilities" to be only a good! I single-handedly started the pen-pal program at the school, began tutoring our kindergarten kids who had received no tutoring prior to this, and sponsored a lunchtime homework help club. How is that only a good?
I'm burned out. If all my work can only merit a good, what does that say? I haven't felt truly well in months. It's been going from one bit of scheduling craziness to the next, and I still haven't been able to fight off the bronchitis/sinus troubles/double ear infections. I'm so tired!
At least it's making a difference for the kids. My first grader is now sounding out simple words, and she didn't even know half of the alphabet at the beginning of the year. My kindergarteners are learning a new word a day, and my English Language Learner is breezing through simple stories!
If nothing else, at least I'll know I made a difference, performance evaluations notwithstanding.
I'm burned out. If all my work can only merit a good, what does that say? I haven't felt truly well in months. It's been going from one bit of scheduling craziness to the next, and I still haven't been able to fight off the bronchitis/sinus troubles/double ear infections. I'm so tired!
At least it's making a difference for the kids. My first grader is now sounding out simple words, and she didn't even know half of the alphabet at the beginning of the year. My kindergarteners are learning a new word a day, and my English Language Learner is breezing through simple stories!
If nothing else, at least I'll know I made a difference, performance evaluations notwithstanding.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Don't You Just Love Kids?
Yesterday, my hilarious second grade group and I were reading Amelia Bedelia. We got to the part where she was instructed to dust the furniture (which, of course, to her means add dust). She finds some dusting powder, and dusts away. Since this is not the 1950s, I asked my students to clarify what dusting powder is. Surprisingly, one girl knew! Her response?
"Dusting powder is like make-up. My mom uses this because she works in a bank and she has to dress up. Also, she has to cover her zits."
Way to be tactful! Luckily, I was able to rein in my laughter. It did leave me wondering, though. What exactly are they telling their parents about me?
"Dusting powder is like make-up. My mom uses this because she works in a bank and she has to dress up. Also, she has to cover her zits."
Way to be tactful! Luckily, I was able to rein in my laughter. It did leave me wondering, though. What exactly are they telling their parents about me?
Monday, January 11, 2010
Poop!
Today did not end well. I should have realized the very minute that I heard the word "poop" that gloves were in order. Somehow I just didn't think that I would need them to untie the shoes of a kindergartener so he could change his (poopy) clothes. I was wrong.
It was everywhere: on his shoes, on the floor, even in the nurse's office. It was a veriable poop extravaganza!
Gallons of hot, soapy water and innumerable squirts of hand sanitizer later, I was finally breathing easy. Gone are the days of simply crinkling up your nose and blase-ly washing your hands. Now we worry about Hepatitis and AIDS and every other disease under the sun.
Oh, poop!
It was everywhere: on his shoes, on the floor, even in the nurse's office. It was a veriable poop extravaganza!
Gallons of hot, soapy water and innumerable squirts of hand sanitizer later, I was finally breathing easy. Gone are the days of simply crinkling up your nose and blase-ly washing your hands. Now we worry about Hepatitis and AIDS and every other disease under the sun.
Oh, poop!
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Life Goals
I was rifling through my purse the other day, and came across this list of goals:
- Live and Work in Barcelona
- Teach English in Asia
- Get a Master's Degree in Teaching---maybe through the PACE program?
- Finish two years of service with AmeriCorps (in New England or Alaska)
- Get a Trucker's License
- Travel in Europe (in Venice, Rome, Vatican City)
- Go on a Vegetarian Cruise
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
19 Jobs
Children today will have an average of 19 jobs before they are 38. I've had nine, and I'm only twenty-two.
I've had good jobs---reading tutor with AmeriCorps, and English teacher to refugees and immigrants in Minnesota. I've also had some crazy jobs: English teacher with a European Academy in Guatemala, where my boss paid off the gangs to keep the teachers from being kidnapped, and selling plasma. Nothing too entirely special jobs were working in the college dining service, and acting as a custodial trainer.
Somehow ordinary jobs just can't be normal for me, though. Even working as a custodial trainer, I managed to discover that my coworker was a drug dealer and get hit on by a retired monk. Average? Hardly.
Nothing beats my job in a little, out of the way Spanish academy in Xela, Guatemala, where I fended off the advances of my three bosses while trying to get my full paycheck. It was always a negotiation. "Will you take half your wages? We're a non-profit!" Me: "No. I need to make rent this month." Them: "I don't have change." Me: "I do." Erg!
That job had a rather interesting ending: I was forced to quit after my student proposed to me, and my bosses refused to do anything about it.
At least life is never dull!
I've had good jobs---reading tutor with AmeriCorps, and English teacher to refugees and immigrants in Minnesota. I've also had some crazy jobs: English teacher with a European Academy in Guatemala, where my boss paid off the gangs to keep the teachers from being kidnapped, and selling plasma. Nothing too entirely special jobs were working in the college dining service, and acting as a custodial trainer.
Somehow ordinary jobs just can't be normal for me, though. Even working as a custodial trainer, I managed to discover that my coworker was a drug dealer and get hit on by a retired monk. Average? Hardly.
Nothing beats my job in a little, out of the way Spanish academy in Xela, Guatemala, where I fended off the advances of my three bosses while trying to get my full paycheck. It was always a negotiation. "Will you take half your wages? We're a non-profit!" Me: "No. I need to make rent this month." Them: "I don't have change." Me: "I do." Erg!
That job had a rather interesting ending: I was forced to quit after my student proposed to me, and my bosses refused to do anything about it.
At least life is never dull!
Monday, November 30, 2009
My Little Puddle Jumper
The first day back at school after Thanksgiving Break is always rough. Teachers expect this. Yet we're never quite prepared for the fury that is the sugared up, it-can't-be-schooltime-yet child.
Let's just say that today was a little crazy. The kids hadn't had a full day of school for a week and a half. They are understandably antsy.
However, my little puddle jumper took this to new extremes. Waiting in the bus line, he decided that every puddle was a monster to be relentlessly stomped. Dozens of little children were soaked in his quest, and I still have muddy footprints on the legs of my jeans from when he bounded up in joy.
By the time that I cajoled him inside to read a book while waiting for the bus, he was wet and beginning to understand just why jumping in puddles isn't a good pre-bus past time ("I'm soaking wet! I don't want to wear my shoes!") Sigh.
The easiest thing to do would have been to pull him out of the puddles and away from the temptation of splashing others. But teachers aren't suppposed to physically restrain or pull on children. Even though he was kicking water onto other children, we couldn't just pull him away. Crazy, but true. We could only threaten to talk to his mother, get the principal, or offer alternatives to his behavior.
I hope the rest of the children never find out about this.
Let's just say that today was a little crazy. The kids hadn't had a full day of school for a week and a half. They are understandably antsy.
However, my little puddle jumper took this to new extremes. Waiting in the bus line, he decided that every puddle was a monster to be relentlessly stomped. Dozens of little children were soaked in his quest, and I still have muddy footprints on the legs of my jeans from when he bounded up in joy.
By the time that I cajoled him inside to read a book while waiting for the bus, he was wet and beginning to understand just why jumping in puddles isn't a good pre-bus past time ("I'm soaking wet! I don't want to wear my shoes!") Sigh.
The easiest thing to do would have been to pull him out of the puddles and away from the temptation of splashing others. But teachers aren't suppposed to physically restrain or pull on children. Even though he was kicking water onto other children, we couldn't just pull him away. Crazy, but true. We could only threaten to talk to his mother, get the principal, or offer alternatives to his behavior.
I hope the rest of the children never find out about this.
Monday, November 16, 2009
I Need a Vacation
How pitiful is it that I'm already planning every possible long weekend and day off that I can scrounge up? I'm looking ahead to three day weekends and marking down travel days as "After school on Friday to before school on Tuesday." Teachers don't arrive home from their vacations an hour before school begins---it's just not right!
I think the upcoming Thanksgiving break is getting to me. I'm ready to check out and head back to Minnesota. I'm tired of the alphabet song and open and closed syllables. I'm stealing five minutes here and five minutes there to gaze longingly at discounted cruises. Even Alaska with its Arctic gales is sounding pretty appealing.
I think the upcoming Thanksgiving break is getting to me. I'm ready to check out and head back to Minnesota. I'm tired of the alphabet song and open and closed syllables. I'm stealing five minutes here and five minutes there to gaze longingly at discounted cruises. Even Alaska with its Arctic gales is sounding pretty appealing.
Monday, October 5, 2009
Okay, I Laughed
I love teaching kids. If they're not deliberating who to call in the case of a vampire uprising ("But the fire department can't do anything about vampires!"), they're making innocent slips of the tongue.
We were working on the -ank word ending. I was having them read words off of the board, and this took a nasty turn when we came to "sank." This child couldn't be satisfied with such a straight forward word. Oh, no. He had to add another letter, turning the nice, innocent "sank" into "skank."
Oh, yes.
As I desperately tried to stifle my giggles (these were second graders, after all, no need to discuss exactly why this word was so funny or what precisely it meant), I moved on. Wouldn't it just so happen that the next word was skin. Oh, joy.
I laughed, and I laughed, and then I changed the subject. Very smooth.
We were working on the -ank word ending. I was having them read words off of the board, and this took a nasty turn when we came to "sank." This child couldn't be satisfied with such a straight forward word. Oh, no. He had to add another letter, turning the nice, innocent "sank" into "skank."
Oh, yes.
As I desperately tried to stifle my giggles (these were second graders, after all, no need to discuss exactly why this word was so funny or what precisely it meant), I moved on. Wouldn't it just so happen that the next word was skin. Oh, joy.
I laughed, and I laughed, and then I changed the subject. Very smooth.
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