Did the blog title hook your attention? I hope so because today, in class, I talked about opening and closing paragraphs of a paper and I hit the intro aspect pretty hard. The main thing I talked about was getting the reader's attention. For my example I used personal ads from a newspaper. I put two side-by-side and had the students pick which one got their interest the most. Was it the one whose first line was "SWM, 56, 6'9", 159lbs, w/mustache..." or was it the one that said "IF SHALLOW LUST IS WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING FOR ANSWER THE AD ABOVE,..." They, of course, picked the "lust" one and then I had them pretend everyone in the world is single so they could write the ad for anyone. Obama got an ad written about him, as did Will Smith, some cougar-ish 68 year old woman looking for an 18-35 year old to help her spend her money, and some guy who's "hook" is the title of this blog. I can honestly say when the student shared his hook I gaffawed a huge laugh.
It was a good day in class.
Friday, November 13, 2009
Friday, November 6, 2009
New outlook, New purpose
So I've decided I've kind of been missing the point of this blogging thing. Sure I use it as a tool to let my family and friends know what's going on with me, but what about what's making my laugh, roll my eyes, cringe, gnash my teeth, and generally pique my interest? So instead of seeing my blog as a "chore" I'm trying to view it as an opportunity. I'm an english major, so why does the idea of writing make me sigh? Hmmmm....
In that light, I've been constantly reaffirmed this week. I've gotten positive feedback both from my advisor and students I teach that I'm not completely sucking at this "teaching" thing. This week I've had students asking me what time I'm teaching next semester and what class I'm teaching because they want to, if possible, take another class from me. Yeah! I'm not horrible! Unfortunately for them (insert cackle here) I'm actually teaching the exact same class next semester as I am now--so if I get repeat students...um, can I trade them with another teacher for a different one (kinda fantasy football league-ish)? Because obviously they/I didn't do something right the first time.
In that light, I've been constantly reaffirmed this week. I've gotten positive feedback both from my advisor and students I teach that I'm not completely sucking at this "teaching" thing. This week I've had students asking me what time I'm teaching next semester and what class I'm teaching because they want to, if possible, take another class from me. Yeah! I'm not horrible! Unfortunately for them (insert cackle here) I'm actually teaching the exact same class next semester as I am now--so if I get repeat students...um, can I trade them with another teacher for a different one (kinda fantasy football league-ish)? Because obviously they/I didn't do something right the first time.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
It's Autumn and my Housemate is Driving me Crazy!!!
It's officially fall. The leaves have turned colors and committed suicide on sidewalks, roadways, and yards. I can see my breath puff out in front of me when I walk around campus (which always makes me think I should be in better shape), and I can pull on my favorite hoodie or warm clothing and not worry about sweating up a storm in class.
I love sweater weather!
With that being said, my housemate, a guy by the name of Chris, is driving me crazy!!! "Now Patty," you're probably saying. "He's a guy and you have to make allowances for how dirty guys are." Um, I know this. I shared a house with two guys and a was one of three girls among 14 kayaking/climbing guides who shared the main living quarters when I lived in Valdez, AK. Guys can be dirty, thoughtless, tactless, and rude (and to set the record straight, I had no problem living with the guys in Alaska)...but that's not my problem here.
There are a lot of small things Chris does/doesn't do that annoy me to no end. Along with that are a number of little things I can't quantify to reasonably justify my exasperation with him. Let's just say I won't be sad to see him go, but he's signed a year lease...just like me. I'll learn to ignore, adjust, or stop being passive-aggressive, but so help me!
There's my praise for autumn and my venting for my housemate. Two ends of the happiness spectrum.
I love sweater weather!
With that being said, my housemate, a guy by the name of Chris, is driving me crazy!!! "Now Patty," you're probably saying. "He's a guy and you have to make allowances for how dirty guys are." Um, I know this. I shared a house with two guys and a was one of three girls among 14 kayaking/climbing guides who shared the main living quarters when I lived in Valdez, AK. Guys can be dirty, thoughtless, tactless, and rude (and to set the record straight, I had no problem living with the guys in Alaska)...but that's not my problem here.
There are a lot of small things Chris does/doesn't do that annoy me to no end. Along with that are a number of little things I can't quantify to reasonably justify my exasperation with him. Let's just say I won't be sad to see him go, but he's signed a year lease...just like me. I'll learn to ignore, adjust, or stop being passive-aggressive, but so help me!
There's my praise for autumn and my venting for my housemate. Two ends of the happiness spectrum.
Monday, October 12, 2009
No Worries!
Hopefully this won't become a habit -- only blogging once a month. Needless to say my life has been a bit hectic. I have a newfound respect for teachers. I never realized how difficult it is to constantly be "on your game" as you're teaching classes while staying current with homework assignment, papers, and readings. Sheesh!
Although I feel overwhelmed quite a bit, I also feel blessed. I live with people who I enjoy...for the most part...and teach students I look forward to seeing every other day...for the most part. I can't have everything the way I want it!
Sage (my chocolate lab) has settled in nicely. My roommate Chris brought his dog, Keaton, to live at the house too and generally speaking Sage ignores Keaton. Heaven forbit Keaton gets too close to me or Sage's toys because then she starts growling. Sage is very possessive. Just a few nights ago Christiana (my housemate) and I were upstairs in the hall just sitting on the floor talking about our days and Sage was chillin next to me. The moment Keaton walked to the top of the stairs and Sage saw her, Sage immediately put a paw across my legs as if to say, "MY human." It was the funniest thing. Christiana and I laughed about it for quite awhile. What was even more funny was that after Sage made her move, Keaton turned around and walked back down the stairs. I guess Sage's point was made.
Class-wise things are going good. I'm still struggling in my Grad-level class, but things are starting to click into place in my mind. Now if I can just find a topic for my paper... German is going well also. I tend to stress about the tests and worry I won't remember everything, but when I get into the classroom & look at the test I just want to kick myself because it's never as hard as I think it's going to be. Must be the overachiever in me.
I have to say the highlight is teaching Freshman English 101. The students have loosened up enough now that they enjoy razzing me when I misspell a word on the board (little snots!) and don't get offended when I tell them to stop complaining and suck it up. They honestly make me smile on a daily basis...because I don't smile enough!
Another long post, but hopefully I'll become a more active blogger. I hope this gets you up-to-date on what's going on with me. Feel free to ask questions in the comment section and I'll try to answer them.
No worries!
Although I feel overwhelmed quite a bit, I also feel blessed. I live with people who I enjoy...for the most part...and teach students I look forward to seeing every other day...for the most part. I can't have everything the way I want it!
Sage (my chocolate lab) has settled in nicely. My roommate Chris brought his dog, Keaton, to live at the house too and generally speaking Sage ignores Keaton. Heaven forbit Keaton gets too close to me or Sage's toys because then she starts growling. Sage is very possessive. Just a few nights ago Christiana (my housemate) and I were upstairs in the hall just sitting on the floor talking about our days and Sage was chillin next to me. The moment Keaton walked to the top of the stairs and Sage saw her, Sage immediately put a paw across my legs as if to say, "MY human." It was the funniest thing. Christiana and I laughed about it for quite awhile. What was even more funny was that after Sage made her move, Keaton turned around and walked back down the stairs. I guess Sage's point was made.
Class-wise things are going good. I'm still struggling in my Grad-level class, but things are starting to click into place in my mind. Now if I can just find a topic for my paper... German is going well also. I tend to stress about the tests and worry I won't remember everything, but when I get into the classroom & look at the test I just want to kick myself because it's never as hard as I think it's going to be. Must be the overachiever in me.
I have to say the highlight is teaching Freshman English 101. The students have loosened up enough now that they enjoy razzing me when I misspell a word on the board (little snots!) and don't get offended when I tell them to stop complaining and suck it up. They honestly make me smile on a daily basis...because I don't smile enough!
Another long post, but hopefully I'll become a more active blogger. I hope this gets you up-to-date on what's going on with me. Feel free to ask questions in the comment section and I'll try to answer them.
No worries!
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
What happened to August?
Alright, so I became a little lax for the month of August...but it was busy!!!
I was busy nailing down a place to live in Moscow, ID that allows me to take a dog (the beautiful Chocolate Lab Sage), finalizing moving plans for the drive from Idaho Falls to Moscow, taking classes about teaching classes, and getting all geared up with lesson plans for the Freshman English classes I'm teaching as well as getting ready for the classes I'm taking. Sheesh!
I'm happy to say the move went without a hitch. I live in a three story house which has a basement apartment, so I live in the ground floor and second story. It's completely furnished, so I didn't have to worry about bringing furniture or anything (heaven knows I brought a lot anyway! A whole U-Haul trailer full). For nearly the entire month of August I lived alone because the landlady was having problems finding people to rent the other rooms to, but Sage and I didn't care because, in addition to having the main house to ourselves, Sage really loves hanging out with the two girls living in the basement. She's taken on the role of protector dog and if she hears something out of the ordinary she tends to make her way downstairs to make sure the girls (Grace and Amanda) are alright. It's kinda cute. Actually, I think Sage is trolling for treats because she knows they have some down there for her (I gave them a bag of the "good" treats to help win Sage over).
For about a week I had a roommate (Mohammed) from Saudi Arabia who's working on his PhD in Engineering, but Sage didn't seem to trust him too much. She always barked when he came into the house and he never petted her. He wound up moving out because "the house is too far away from campus" and he was afraid Sage was waking me up. Whatever! I just think he didn't like Sage and that's fine with me. I think he was a little fishy and Sage picked up on that. Good riddance.
Now it's September 1st and I have two new housemates moving in. One is a girl who isn't going to the University of Idaho, but is working at Starbucks. She's signed a year contract with them and will start moving in today. I haven't met her yet, but I hope all goes well. My other housemate actually moved in yesterday and his name is Chris. He's working on his PhD in Mathematics or something and has his office one floor up from mine in the same building. Sage seems to be taking to him pretty well. She barked at him initially when he came into the house, but how effective is her bark when she's wagging her tail? Apparently Chris has a dog as well that may come to live with us so Sage may have a playmate sometime soon. I really think Sage is going to be fine with Chris because she didn't bark at all when Chris came home last night. Yeah!
Man, this is a long posting!
Classes are going well. So far my German class is pretty easy, but right now we're reviewing a lot of stuff I covered in high school, and luckily I retained most of that. I'm not looking forward to congegations and such! My one grad level class is about Rhetorics in New Media and I'm struggling to keep my head above water right now. The readings are a little crazy as the books are aimed at professors and such so they talk a bit above my normal reading level. My brain hurts when I read them and I struggle to make sense of it...but that's what I signed up for. I'm learning. There are only about 11 students in my class, two of which are working on their PhD's in Philosophy, so sometimes the round-table discussions get a little overwhelming, but I'm learning!
Teaching is going great! At least I think so. I'm really enjoying the experience and I hope my students don't dread coming to class. I try to make it light and fun, but sometimes it's like pulling teeth to get a response from the class. It is getting better as the semester goes on because they're getting more comfortable with me and each other. I think I have found my calling because I'm enjoying it so much. Now I just have to decided (sometime in the next two years) if I want to go on and get my PhD so I can teach college or consider teaching at the high school level. Hmmm....
That's about all for now except for the weather...WHEN WILL IT GET COOLER! I'm definitely a fall kinda gall and love sweater weather. I can't wait for that! Till then I'll just keep sweating away as I walk up and down hills on this beautiful campus!
I was busy nailing down a place to live in Moscow, ID that allows me to take a dog (the beautiful Chocolate Lab Sage), finalizing moving plans for the drive from Idaho Falls to Moscow, taking classes about teaching classes, and getting all geared up with lesson plans for the Freshman English classes I'm teaching as well as getting ready for the classes I'm taking. Sheesh!
I'm happy to say the move went without a hitch. I live in a three story house which has a basement apartment, so I live in the ground floor and second story. It's completely furnished, so I didn't have to worry about bringing furniture or anything (heaven knows I brought a lot anyway! A whole U-Haul trailer full). For nearly the entire month of August I lived alone because the landlady was having problems finding people to rent the other rooms to, but Sage and I didn't care because, in addition to having the main house to ourselves, Sage really loves hanging out with the two girls living in the basement. She's taken on the role of protector dog and if she hears something out of the ordinary she tends to make her way downstairs to make sure the girls (Grace and Amanda) are alright. It's kinda cute. Actually, I think Sage is trolling for treats because she knows they have some down there for her (I gave them a bag of the "good" treats to help win Sage over).
For about a week I had a roommate (Mohammed) from Saudi Arabia who's working on his PhD in Engineering, but Sage didn't seem to trust him too much. She always barked when he came into the house and he never petted her. He wound up moving out because "the house is too far away from campus" and he was afraid Sage was waking me up. Whatever! I just think he didn't like Sage and that's fine with me. I think he was a little fishy and Sage picked up on that. Good riddance.
Now it's September 1st and I have two new housemates moving in. One is a girl who isn't going to the University of Idaho, but is working at Starbucks. She's signed a year contract with them and will start moving in today. I haven't met her yet, but I hope all goes well. My other housemate actually moved in yesterday and his name is Chris. He's working on his PhD in Mathematics or something and has his office one floor up from mine in the same building. Sage seems to be taking to him pretty well. She barked at him initially when he came into the house, but how effective is her bark when she's wagging her tail? Apparently Chris has a dog as well that may come to live with us so Sage may have a playmate sometime soon. I really think Sage is going to be fine with Chris because she didn't bark at all when Chris came home last night. Yeah!
Man, this is a long posting!
Classes are going well. So far my German class is pretty easy, but right now we're reviewing a lot of stuff I covered in high school, and luckily I retained most of that. I'm not looking forward to congegations and such! My one grad level class is about Rhetorics in New Media and I'm struggling to keep my head above water right now. The readings are a little crazy as the books are aimed at professors and such so they talk a bit above my normal reading level. My brain hurts when I read them and I struggle to make sense of it...but that's what I signed up for. I'm learning. There are only about 11 students in my class, two of which are working on their PhD's in Philosophy, so sometimes the round-table discussions get a little overwhelming, but I'm learning!
Teaching is going great! At least I think so. I'm really enjoying the experience and I hope my students don't dread coming to class. I try to make it light and fun, but sometimes it's like pulling teeth to get a response from the class. It is getting better as the semester goes on because they're getting more comfortable with me and each other. I think I have found my calling because I'm enjoying it so much. Now I just have to decided (sometime in the next two years) if I want to go on and get my PhD so I can teach college or consider teaching at the high school level. Hmmm....
That's about all for now except for the weather...WHEN WILL IT GET COOLER! I'm definitely a fall kinda gall and love sweater weather. I can't wait for that! Till then I'll just keep sweating away as I walk up and down hills on this beautiful campus!
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