Three months in review

I can't even remember the last time I clicked on my Blogger bookmark. My last post was in mid-August. I miss blogging. I miss writing in my journal. So many things have happened, but I haven't taken the time to stop to record them. I'll have to refer back to my facebook status updates to try and remember the noteworthy things that have happened in my life recently to begin recording them. Until then, I'll generate a list of some important points. I can't promise that they'll be chronological, nor will I promise that they will make sense to everyone.

I stayed home sick today from work. I have a cold, although part of me wishes it was swine flu. I still don't believe that disease exists (despite the number of confirmed cases in Tooele County).
Speaking of Tooele County, I'm officially a resident.

I didn't vote this year which makes me very sad. It's the first election I've ever missed in all my voting years. I never took the time to familiarize myself with the candidates and proposals for this county. I didn't want to go to the polls uneducated and pick the name that sounded the best. I was ashamed that I neglected my patriotic duty to be informed and to share my voice.

I really like Tooele. Or at least I did until it started to snow.

My car broke. The transmission gave out. That wasn't the only thing wrong with it. It would've cost more to fix than it's worth. It was a blessing in disguise. Well, actually it wasn't even disguised all that well. I was certain to die in the car I used to drive if I were to have driven it in the snow.

That means I bought a new (to me) car. It's number one selling point for me was traction control. I told myself if I ever lived in the snow again then I wanted a car with traction control. I was sold on that feature years ago when I lived in Provo and dated a boy who drove a car with traction control. I was never scared when I drove his car, but I was always scared when I drove my car.

So far, I love my car.

Second only to traction control is my other favorite feature. It has a tape deck. That's right. I can listen to cassette tapes any time I want in my car. The only problem is, I don't have any cassette tapes. So I'm adding that to my Christmas List. As a matter of fact, it's the only thing on my Christmas List (since the last item was satisfied a little over a month ago). I want a mix tape from each and every one of you. PLEASE. And make this wish come true faster than my wish for a Snuggie.

Speaking of Snuggies, I got one! YAY! My life is complete now. My younger sister, Casey, got one for me. I'm using it right now. To show my appreciation for her wonderful gift, I created this photo album of me enjoying my Snuggie. View the album here. You'll be ever so grateful you did. (Of course, I have to thank Casey again for taking the pictures for this gratitude photo album.)

I'm the in the Relief Society Presidency of my ward. I was a little, make that a lot, intimidated by the calling. I've never felt like I was the woman that I imagined all members of Relief Society Presidencies to be. As always, the Lord has helped me to grow into my calling. This calling has been the source of great happiness and countless blessings these past couple months. I look forward with great anticipation to the tremendous blessings that will continue to occur in my life as I serve diligently.

I really like my ward. It's smaller than I would like, but there are new people and visitors every week. We'll be busting at the seams before you know it.

I've made some really great friends in my ward as well. I have something to do every night of the week. We go on amazing adventures. Click here, here, here, here, and here for some photos of the great things we do.

I like teaching. Teaching is fun. The rest of my job isn't as fun. Well, I take the back. The social part of my job is fun. I have made some really good friends in my colleagues. One of the other fifth grade teachers has become one of my favorite friends. We went to St. George together during UEA and hiked in Zion and caught a couple shows. We went to The Complete Works of Shakespeare (Abridged) at the Shakespeare Festival in Cedar City and to Aida at Tuacahn.
Gosh, I miss St. George. I almost drove there last night. I just didn't want to drive back today. Oh, well. Thanksgiving will be here in a week-ish. I can hardly wait.

My students are amazing. They are adorable. They are smart. They work really hard. They make me giggle all the time. I had a student say to me the other day, "You laugh more than anyone I know." I took that as the highest compliment. I like them, and they like me. They like me so much, that they want me to have the finer things in life...including a dreamy boyfriend. They invented a boyfriend for me a couple weeks ago named Chad Hotpants. He has been the source of many a conversation since then. I even had a student bring in a picture from a magazine of Chad Hotpants. He clipped out the cartoon of a man climbing a ladder with the seat of his pants on fire. Hahahaha! They had a heyday the one time I ever let them write on the white board. Enjoy these photos of their graffiti.

Well, this post is entirely too long. I'll have to save some other random information for another day, but I wanted to get these posts under way so that I could post a few days worth of "I'm thankful for..." posts. I really enjoyed that last year.

Something else to read in your spare time

You're going to think I'm silly, but I've created yet another blog. I like to keep these things separated.
I really like the reflective process and want to reflect and share my experiences of my first year teaching. If you are interested, jump on over to http://teachingmyfirstyear.wordpress.com/ and read away.

Story time

Once upon a time there was a fifth grade teacher who was starting at a brand new school. This teacher was so excited about everything. Then one day, she found out some very sad news. This new school did not have enough money to install projectors in every classroom. This teacher will not have a projector in her classroom.
Although this teacher is very talented and creative, not having a projector will be a difficult adjustment. You see, this teacher loves computers and technology. Technology is a big part of her life. She imagines that many of her students also live a similar lifestyle. They probably use computers all the time. They are entertained by gaming systems that are computers. They are probably masters at the self-checkout. Whether or not they have their own cell phones, they maximize the use of any they can get a hold of, easily navigating and utilizing all the features of any cell phone that lands in their hands. They've known technology their entire lives.
Yet when the students walk into their classroom on August 24, their jaws will drop. It will be like they entered a foreign country. Not because the building will be new or their classmates will be from all over the county, it will be because they will enter an old-fashioned classroom environment where nothing is digital.
Fortunately, this story doesn't have a totally sad ending. This teacher aired her frustrations and made a cry for help via her facebook status. She was contacted by a friend who had an extra television lying around and was willing to donate it to the classroom. Now this teacher will at least be able to hook her computer up to the tv so that the classroom will not be void of visual stimulus and reinforcement. Maybe the principal will see how much a projector means to this teacher and the good she will be able to do with one and opt to mount one of the limited number in her classroom.
Or maybe the teacher can work up a persuasive argument that will convince the principal that it would actually be cheaper and educationally valuable to install a projector in this teacher's classroom. [If this teacher cannot display an image for the whole class to see, she will be forced to print copies for each student. A classroom cannot be without context. Three printed copies per student per day (assuming $0.07 per copy) adds up to over $900 per school year. One can get a mighty fine projector for that kind of money. This cost doesn't account for the time it will take the teacher to make the copies nor does it reflect the adverse impact on the environment. Also, the teacher will be forced to spend her extremely valuable time creating posters and picking up pictures at Walgreens (which also brings in more cost for posterboard, markers, glue, picture development, etc.) and less time on developing more meaningful lessons and intervening with students who are not yet proficient in particular concepts.]
This story must temporarily come to end. This teacher hopes, however, that this will not be the permanent end. She wishes with all her heart that she will be able to report a fairy tale ending before too long. Cross your fingers for her.
The end.

I'm a college graduate

It's official. I graduated from Dixie State College on Friday, May 1. It feels great to graduate.

(I'm no where near finished. I anticipate many more years of formal schooling and countless hours of independent study.)Will, my older brother, finished his degree requirements in December. I loved that we were a part of the same commencement.

I'll take math

I just finished my last solo week of student teaching. Whew! Finally.
I asked my mentor teacher before I left today how she wanted to split up the day on Monday since we are transitioning back to tandem teaching. She had started a science testing preparation activity and wanted to finish that. Since she had it all prepared, she took that one right off the bat. She sat there in silence for 5-6 seconds. Finally, she said that I should definitely take math and that we would tandem teach literacy.
A huge grin covered my face as I tried to accept the math responsibility without laughing. I told her I'd be glad to take math, since they are going to be taking a test. I couldn't hold back anymore. I erupted in laughter! Bwahahahaha! I think that's the hardest I've laughed out loud in a long time.

Graduation is fast approaching

I consider myself tech savvy...most of the time. I purchased a student license for Adobe Design Premium and have used several of the included programs, but for some reason, I was intimidated by Photoshop. Well, today I found myself with the overwhelming desire to create my own graduation announcement. I had to face my fears. I jumped right in. A special thanks goes out to all the wonderful internet people who made this project possible. I went to Google with all my questions and found the answers on a slew of Photoshop tutorial posts. (I was greatful that I wasn't the only who needed assistance for even the small manipulations.)
I'm impressed with the final project, especially knowing it was my first. My friend, Jodi, gave me the perfect statement of validation. "If your career as a teacher fails you could go into digital artwork." Oh, yeah, and thanks, Jodi, again for taking such a great picture. It sums me right up.

What do you know about Tooele?

Per your request, I'm posting details about my first job offer.
I originally saw the position listed on Teachers-Teachers. I sent my application to the school and even followed up with an email address that I found on the school's website. I heard nothing.
I saw that this school was scheduled to be at the teacher job fair at BYU. I circled it on my map, but when I went by there was no one manning the booth.
After three hours of being charming, I was exhausted. I called my friend, Eliza, to hit her up for lunch plans. She said that she was waiting on Annie who was in an interview and then would be heading around the corner to eat in the cafeteria.
I decided to walk the floor one more time, with intentions to stop by the booth for Vista School to remind them that I was amazing. (Vista was my first interview and my number one preference as of right now.)
All the reps from Vista were tied up with other candidates. (Why bother looking elsewhere? You've got what you need right here.)
I circled back around and saw that someone was finally at the booth for Excelsior Academy. (There. I finally divulged the name of the school.)
The gentleman was interviewing a girl with gorgeous red hair but very little to say. He did far more talking than she did. I waited patiently, even after Eliza, Annie, and Eliza's friend, Holly, stopped to tell me their search for swag was a fail. I told them that I was going to at least introduce myself since I'd already sent my application in to this school and that I'd meet them in a bit.
When the red head finished up, I immediately took her chair and introduced myself. The gentleman doing the interview was Ernie Nix, the director (or in other words sole administrator/principal) of Excelsior.
I explained that I had already applied and he admitted that he was behind in looking at those applications.
He offered an interview right then and there. I took it.
I interviewed well despite the chaos around me at this teacher fair. He practically offered me a position at the end of my interview. He said that he wanted to make a couple phone calls but that he'd get back to me in a very timely manner.
I went home that night back to St. George. I stayed up for a couple hours looking into the Tooele area, trying to imagine if I could live there.
The next day, I went on an adventure with a friend of mine to Grafton and Silver Reef, both ghost towns in the local area. As I was about to leave the dirt roads of our adventure, I got a phone call.
It was Ernie Nix extending me a job offer. I was surprised with the timeliness of his phone call. He stated several times that I was a great match for the ideals and philosophy of this school.
I told him that I would have to think about it and would get back to him. He gave me his home and cell phone numbers.

What do I know about Tooele? It's about a 35 minute drive from Salt Lake City on the west side of the Oquirrh Mountains. The population is about 40,000. It's elevation is 4923 feet. The average summer high is 91. The average winter low is 20. The lowest recorded temperature was -16 set in 1990. (I experienced -27 working at Togwotee Lodge in Wyoming.)
There's more interesting city data here.
The local paper, the Tooele Trascript, is only printed twice a week. The local library seems nice. After two months of having a library card, a patron could check out 30 books at a time and keep them for three weeks.
The cost of living is lower than the US average. Housing seems not too difficult to come by.
If I find a potential husband, getting a marriage license is rather simple. I can even schedule an appointment to get one after business hours. They support marriage in Tooele.
They have county fair. They have an arts festival. They even have a simple recycling program.
I'm not sure what'd I'd do for a musical outlet since the only choral group I can find is the Tooele County Choral Society which seems rather elitist. They are made up of only 20 members. Oh, wait. I just found a news article in the Transcript that mentions the yearly Messiah performance. Thank goodness.
The Salt Lake City Astronomical Society hosts star parties in Stansbury Park on a regular basis. That brings joy to my heart.
There is at least on YSA ward. That's a good sign.

What do I know about the school's director, Ernie Nix? A quick Google search tells me that he used to weigh almost 400 pounds. When his wife had a cancer scare, he decided then and there he had to do something about his health. He's now a marathon runner.
His son was shot while serving in Baghdad.
He's served as principal at two elementary schools and two middle schools in the Salt Lake area with over 12 years of experience at these schools.
One of these schools had a student body that was made up of 95% in poverty and over half learning English. Within one year, their achievement scores jumped from 56 to 80, easily meeting AYP.
He seems like a decent enough guy to work for.

What do you know about Tooele? Would it be a good move for me?

I'm in love

...with a new website.

alphaDictionary

Our first date was the link to an article originally printed in The New Yorker. How I Met My Wife caused this geeky girl the giddiness to commit to a serious relationship. We've been together ever since.

Thanks, Amy, for introducing us.

A year of great potential

Happy New Year!
It's 2009.
This is a year of great potential and quite a bit of change. I'm excited for what is in store.

Weighing heaviest on my mind is that 2009 is the year I graduate and get a real job. Finally.
I have three weeks of course work and then I'll do my student teaching. I graduate on May 1. I can hardly believe it. It's been a long time coming.
I'm excited to graduate, but I'm also a little overwhelmed. I thought that when I figured out what I wanted to be when I grew up that the ambiguous nature of my life would dissolve and plans for the future would solidify. However, I feel like that I have opened millions more doors. I know I'll be teaching elementary school, but I have no other details figured out.
I'm almost certain that I won't be staying in Washington County.
I was sold on the thought that I was going to move some place smaller, but then I went to a professional education conference and that thought floated away. I was so enthralled by the knowledge and experience that now seems within my reach. Despite my disgust for the city life, higher education is so charming and now perceived as very much accessible.
After a conversation with my friend's mother, I was made aware of great opportunities if I would just humble myself enough to relocate to the Wasatch Front. One of my goals is to get a Math Endorsement. My friend's mother, who happens to be a professor in education at BYU, gave me the contact information for Dr. Monroe, another professor at BYU. She works with the Alpine School District in developing math education and has established a cohort of teachers to work together on their math endorsements, effective teaching strategies, and the like.
It sounded so appealing, perfect even. I would teach in the Alpine School District, get my math endorsement, and then go to graduate school at the Y after two or three years of teaching. (I would go to the Y, becuase by then I would have established good relationships with at least a couple of professors there.)
I made an appointment with Dr. Monroe for Monday, December 22. Our conversation was amazing! I gained a lot from the meeting.
Yet, I did leave a little discouraged. The grant money that was used to establish this math endorsement cohort runs out this year. The Alpine School District really wants to continue the program, but they might not be able to without secured funds. This program may be moved to another school district entirely. Or it may not happen at all.

My perfect plan is unravelling.

While I was in Florida, I was talking with a family friend. She says that there are quite a few school districts in Florida and other places down South that are hurting for teachers. They are offering all sorts of incentives; one common incentive is to pay for graduate school for interested teachers.
That sounds enticing. I had considered for a brief moment moving back to Florida. Now, I'll have to give that much more thought.

I sit here confused. I don't know where I'm going. I have a good idea of what I want, but I can achieve those goals most anywhere. BYU and the Provo area may not be so ideal any more.

I have no idea what life will be like come August. Will I be in St. George still? Will I be in Utah? What grade will I be teaching? Will I be living with roommates? Will I opt for my own place? Or might I be renting a room from family or family friends?
Right now I have too many opportunities and all seem to be positive and none seems to be better than the rest.

This is when I wish I had someone else (read: a husband) involved in the decision making. I don't need him to make the decision for me; I just need someone else's complicated life to narrow the possibilities. I need conflict. I need him to refuse to move to a certain part of the country or to have limits on where we could live because of job prospects. I need him to have ambitions and goals that may only be achieved by living in the city or the country. I need his preferences to affect my choices.

I'm excited to enter the real world and get a real job. I just never thought I'd be doing it alone. It's not that I don't think I can handle the world alone. I just fear that I'll get too accustomed to living independently that I'll miss out on the blessings of interdependence.
I do want to marry. I want to raise a family. I want all the challenges and blessings that come with those things. I want to experience that part of life. I want the joy that only comes through marriage and parenthood.
Maybe that'll happen in 2009.

Only one more to go...for now

This felt like the longest and sometimes worst semester of my life. Even the time it took to post grades felt like an eternity. I am glad to be through with this semester. I can't believe I am finally entering my last semester of my bachelor's program. It has been a long time coming. I still don't know for sure where my future will take me. I have so many dreams, but at least I'm establishing a gateway to many of my dreams. I graduate May 1. Count the time down with me.

Front page news

Recently, I planned an activity as Vice President of Dixie Education Student Association. The club presidency wanted to encourage reading by bringing in role models to share their passion for reading with the students. The Dixie State College Athletes joined with us for a previous service activity where we repainted playgrounds at three local schools. I decided to maximize the athletes' desire to help us by arranging for them to visit two other local schools.
A reporter from the Spectrum covered the activity and we made it onto the front page of the newspaper. Read the article. My name isn't mentioned despite the fact that my advisor, Nancy Hauck, repeated over and over to the reporter that I had made the arrangements. I like it better that way. The service is about reading and about the kids. I'm glad that it was such a great success! Many thanks do out to Professor Hauck. She was a great support and was the contact between our club and the athletes.
The athletes I talked to in the hallways seemed to love it. Elmer, a yell leader, even showed off a few stunts and spotted a few third graders through some flips.
Yippee for reading! Yeah for amazing athletes!

I am smarter than a 5th grader

On July 26, I took The PRAXIS Series test for Elementary Education: Content Knowledge. That night I had a dream that I got my results back and found that I had aced the test. I had a perfect score.
Since then, I've had a whole string of dreams about my results. I dreamed that I opened my scores in front of a whole lot of people anticipating a passing score only to find that I had failed. I had to lie and make up a passing score and pretend I wasn't bummed.
Well, the day finally came. After 4 weeks and 6 days, my results came in the mail. Not only did I pass, but my first dream came true. I got a 200--the highest possible score on the test! I qualified for the Recognition of Excellence, meaning that I scored in the top 15% of all people who have taken the test.
For you skeptics out there, I didn't believe it either. I was certain that they hadn't printed my score or that I was reading the results wrong. You can see the results yourself below.

So long, farewell, auf Wiedersehen, adieu

Today was my last day of Practicum at George Washington Academy.
Three of my classmates and I were assigned the two fifth grade classes there. Today, the four of us taught the entire day. We had to go out strong. We split the classes into groups and rotated them through spelling games. Mine was a team spelling game involving a Scrabble board and tiles.
I also taught an amazing lesson about the Underground Railroad. The students went on an adventure outside doing numerous team-building activities.
For PE, the students voted on their two favorite activities that we had done this semester, and so we played Front of the Boat/Back of the Boat and Reverse Charades.
My favorite part of the day came at the end. My Practicum class always ends their Wednesdays with Show and Tell. We decided to combine the two classes and have the college students do their own Show and Tell. Jodilyn drew an amazing picture on the white board (since her Photo Story of her artwork wouldn't play). Jana read two of her favorite poems. Ashley, who had a hard time coming up with something despite being ridiculously amazing, stood up and let the students ask her 10 questions. They wasted most of them by asking things like, "Do you want to be a teacher?" and "Do you like pickles?"
My Show and Tell was sharing my love for singing--especially karaoke. I busted out my karaoke machine and sang "That's What Friends Are For" by Dionne Warwick. I encouraged the students to sway their arms and join with me on the chorus. They loved the karaoke thing so much that they requested an encore. As a class, we sang the sappy Celine Dion hit, "My Heart Will Go On." The students took turns with the microphone while the rest busted their chops singing this song with so much passion. I wish I could post pictures or a video--but posting pictures of other people's children without their permission is CREEPY.
It was such an amazing day. I was definitely tired at day's end, but it was well worth it.
To my dyad partner and the neighboring dyad: Thanks for a rockin' Practicum experience. I had so much fun every week.
To all the fifth graders at George Washington Academy: I had such a wonderful time in your classroom. You are all amazing kids. I got tickled every Tuesday night thinking about going to your class the next day. I was sad to leave. I hope we cross paths again in the future.

The Great Race

The Great Race took place at Dixie State College last week. I participated with other Education Majors. We didn't win, but we didn't lose. We had a good time for sure.

Why I want to teach

I figured out today why I want to teach.
I stopped by my Practicum class this afternoon, because I had the desire to teach math tomorrow. I walked into the classroom. My mentor teacher had her back turned to the class. She quickly whipped around to figure out what was happening in the classroom, because all the students were gasping and whispering.
I walked into the classroom and all eyes were on me. There was another visitor in the classroom who was fighting for the attention of the student she was there to see, yet I only had to walk through the door.
This is why I want to teach. I enjoy the spotlight.

My Classmates

These are my amazing classmates. We all graduate from Dixie State in Elementary Education next year! Woo-woo!
I love my classmates. Scratch that. I love my friends who happen to go to class with me.
It looks like a bunch of girls, but I promise we do have two boys in our cohort. Jerry missed the picture, and we tried to hide Bruce in the shadows.
I'm not going to lie, I was incredibly nervous to accept the offer to be a part of this cohort. All of my life, most of my friends have been boys. I have two sisters, but they aren't super girlie. I get uncomfortable thinking about attending Enrichment night. I didn't know if I could handle classes all day with all girls for the next two years. I am glad I was courageous enough to accept the position, because this has been so much fun. My new friends have blessed my life in so many ways. I love all of them!