Sunday, February 12, 2006
Oh...future.
So I have to fill out my application for student teaching soon. Like, as in, by next week. And I've been holding out on filling it out because I'm unsure of what I want to do. I have a few options. I can student teach in a Spanish immersion program, which, according to the teacher who is the head of the program, is "very good for the resume". I have been in this program for 3 semesters now, and I love it there. But I'm not quite confident enough in my Spanish speaking abilities to know whether I will be able to handle student teaching in this location. So I have the option of doing two different placements, one at the Spanish immersion program (Our Lady of Guadalupe), and one at an English speaking Catholic school in the area (undecided as to which school at this point). With this, I get the opportunity to see the different styles of teaching, see the difference in how students learn in English vs. Spanish, etc. It would be pretty neat. The downside of this is that I have less time teaching on my own, since there would be two "phase in" and "phase out" sessions because of the two placements. Yet, this is what the Early Childhood majors have to do anyway (with one placement in Elementary and one placement in Preschool). So it's not like this is that much of a downside, since it is the only way for the Early Childhood folk. And the third option is to just teach in an English speaking setting and not use my Spanish as much as I should, but be comfortable and really take in the methodology of teaching.
So I have a lot to think about in the next week. And I don't know what I'll decide. I would like to use my Spanish, but I am not really very confident in my Spanish speaking abilities. I have expressed this to my teachers before, and they say that that is definitely a legitimate concern; however, when you're in the classroom and hear/speak it all day long, and all the textbooks and teacher's manuals and whatnot are in Spanish, it makes it a little easier than having to just "wing it", so to speak. So there's always that. Right now the two placements option seems like a nice middle ground, but I don't know if I should go middle ground. Go big or go home is usually the motto around these parts. Who knows? Pray for me, dear bloggers.
So next week my cousins Clare and Colette are coming up to visit (which is exciting!) and then the week after that we're going to the Here I Am, Lord conference, which is really really exciting. I don't know that I'm specifically excited about any of the orders that will be there, but I am excited to see all the religious. And the Fathers of Mercy will be there, so that'll be good for my dear friend, Maurice. :)
Well, that's all I know for now. I really should attempt to write this paper on why we fight wars even though we know they cause suffering for my War and Pacifism class. Should be...interesting.
So I have to fill out my application for student teaching soon. Like, as in, by next week. And I've been holding out on filling it out because I'm unsure of what I want to do. I have a few options. I can student teach in a Spanish immersion program, which, according to the teacher who is the head of the program, is "very good for the resume". I have been in this program for 3 semesters now, and I love it there. But I'm not quite confident enough in my Spanish speaking abilities to know whether I will be able to handle student teaching in this location. So I have the option of doing two different placements, one at the Spanish immersion program (Our Lady of Guadalupe), and one at an English speaking Catholic school in the area (undecided as to which school at this point). With this, I get the opportunity to see the different styles of teaching, see the difference in how students learn in English vs. Spanish, etc. It would be pretty neat. The downside of this is that I have less time teaching on my own, since there would be two "phase in" and "phase out" sessions because of the two placements. Yet, this is what the Early Childhood majors have to do anyway (with one placement in Elementary and one placement in Preschool). So it's not like this is that much of a downside, since it is the only way for the Early Childhood folk. And the third option is to just teach in an English speaking setting and not use my Spanish as much as I should, but be comfortable and really take in the methodology of teaching.
So I have a lot to think about in the next week. And I don't know what I'll decide. I would like to use my Spanish, but I am not really very confident in my Spanish speaking abilities. I have expressed this to my teachers before, and they say that that is definitely a legitimate concern; however, when you're in the classroom and hear/speak it all day long, and all the textbooks and teacher's manuals and whatnot are in Spanish, it makes it a little easier than having to just "wing it", so to speak. So there's always that. Right now the two placements option seems like a nice middle ground, but I don't know if I should go middle ground. Go big or go home is usually the motto around these parts. Who knows? Pray for me, dear bloggers.
So next week my cousins Clare and Colette are coming up to visit (which is exciting!) and then the week after that we're going to the Here I Am, Lord conference, which is really really exciting. I don't know that I'm specifically excited about any of the orders that will be there, but I am excited to see all the religious. And the Fathers of Mercy will be there, so that'll be good for my dear friend, Maurice. :)
Well, that's all I know for now. I really should attempt to write this paper on why we fight wars even though we know they cause suffering for my War and Pacifism class. Should be...interesting.
