Today is a personal blog day - the kind of day when I like to think I have something profound to say, but when, in reality, I really just need to sort something out for myself.
Today is the day of my first teacher interview of the season. I need a job. I want a job that will make a difference, not one in which I sit around and answer phones all day. I want to do something meaningful in my life.
The problem is, ever since I got married and moved away from nearly everyone I know and all the connections I had formed, I feel like I've been separated from the real world. I love my husband and would follow him anywhere, but I am really beginning to feel a need to branch out on my own and have my own reason for getting up every morning (and as much as I love grad school, studying is just not cutting it anymore).
And yet I feel anxious, too. Is this what I'm supposed to be doing? Why hasn't anything happened sooner? I've become so caught up in the short-term that it is difficult for me to look at the long-term again.
So, anyway, today at 3:15 I will have my first of hopefully several interviews for a position as a secondary English teacher. Wherever I end up, I hope it is because I am supposed to be there and not because I made it happen when it wasn't supposed to. I just want some meaning back in my life!
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Why Write?
To continue the English-themed blogs, I thought I'd ramble about the difficulty I have been having writing my latest paper.
Writing is always difficult for me. Some people can sit down and spit out a 3-page paper in 30 minutes, but I simply cannot do that. I have to agonize over my subject for a while, then gather information, then agonize some more. Then write an outline, with a vague thesis and a detailed body (including every quotation and main point and sub point). At some point during this outlining it will all suddenly click, and I will sit down and write the rough draft from start to finish, then go back over it for the next few days, paragraph by paragraph, to make sure everything lines up, connects, and says what I want to say.
True, I have produced some positive-remark-earning papers over the years, but recently I can't help but wonder why in the world I go to such lengths and through such anxiety just to produce one paper. It doesn't always seem worth it to me. I feel like there are so many other things I could be doing with my time, so many other things I could be writing - things I actually care about. It's not that I mind writing the paper, it's just that for me, personally, I cannot write a good paper unless I do all these things, and I am enough of a perfectionist not to do them. Ahhhhh! Is it REALLY worth it????? I know, just ranting.
Writing is always difficult for me. Some people can sit down and spit out a 3-page paper in 30 minutes, but I simply cannot do that. I have to agonize over my subject for a while, then gather information, then agonize some more. Then write an outline, with a vague thesis and a detailed body (including every quotation and main point and sub point). At some point during this outlining it will all suddenly click, and I will sit down and write the rough draft from start to finish, then go back over it for the next few days, paragraph by paragraph, to make sure everything lines up, connects, and says what I want to say.
True, I have produced some positive-remark-earning papers over the years, but recently I can't help but wonder why in the world I go to such lengths and through such anxiety just to produce one paper. It doesn't always seem worth it to me. I feel like there are so many other things I could be doing with my time, so many other things I could be writing - things I actually care about. It's not that I mind writing the paper, it's just that for me, personally, I cannot write a good paper unless I do all these things, and I am enough of a perfectionist not to do them. Ahhhhh! Is it REALLY worth it????? I know, just ranting.
Friday, April 17, 2009
Why Read?
For you fellow English majors, this question may seem ridiculous, as life would seem incomplete without books and the experiences they have to share. But what about the rest of the population? How do we share our passion for literature with those less-passionate? How do we convince them of the importance of the written word and, more importantly, of the story that may or may not be set in real life?
Reading is good for the brain. Good reading, the close, critical kind, teaches us how to analyze what people say, whether orally or in writing, and makes us better-equipped citizens, ready to take part in the civic realm. This is a good argument for why we need to keep literature in schools, but surely others would agree with me that the true reward to be found in literature goes far beyond this.
The best explanation I have found is here.
Reading is about more than simply learning to sound out new words and evaluating the effectiveness of a social argument. It is about life. And without it, that life is sorely incomplete.
Reading is good for the brain. Good reading, the close, critical kind, teaches us how to analyze what people say, whether orally or in writing, and makes us better-equipped citizens, ready to take part in the civic realm. This is a good argument for why we need to keep literature in schools, but surely others would agree with me that the true reward to be found in literature goes far beyond this.
The best explanation I have found is here.
Reading is about more than simply learning to sound out new words and evaluating the effectiveness of a social argument. It is about life. And without it, that life is sorely incomplete.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Uncompromising Faith - Do We Really Want It?
Uncompromising Faith
Every time I hear this phrase, I think, "Yeah! That's what I want to have!" But this article opened my eyes to an interesting point of view on the subject, especially in relation to the economy right now.
Among the several points this article makes, one that stood out to me is that we are all quick to point fingers when the economy is bad. I have to admit, I have been guilty of this myself. I don't agree with massive borrowing when we really have no immediate guarantee that we will be able to pay it back any time soon, and, so, I have been rather embarrassingly hasty to blame lawmakers and big investors for the current crisis.
I have also thought that, because I am a newly-married graduate student still looking to establish myself in the employment world, I am somehow exempt from having to share my wealth with those less fortunate. That is the job of those who own boats and large SUVs and can obviously afford much more than I can even in this money crunch. However, this article states that if you own a house, a car, and a washing machine, you are in the top 2%, wealth-wise, in the world. I have to admit, I fall into that category (well, kind of - technically we're renting a house, but that's another story).
It's amazing to imagine that even I, with the small income that my husband and I share, am called to be an example of kindness and generosity in this present economic situation. Instead of becoming proud in my self-pity, as the article says, I need to push that thought aside, thank God for what He has given me, and be a good steward as a result.
Every time I hear this phrase, I think, "Yeah! That's what I want to have!" But this article opened my eyes to an interesting point of view on the subject, especially in relation to the economy right now.
Among the several points this article makes, one that stood out to me is that we are all quick to point fingers when the economy is bad. I have to admit, I have been guilty of this myself. I don't agree with massive borrowing when we really have no immediate guarantee that we will be able to pay it back any time soon, and, so, I have been rather embarrassingly hasty to blame lawmakers and big investors for the current crisis.
I have also thought that, because I am a newly-married graduate student still looking to establish myself in the employment world, I am somehow exempt from having to share my wealth with those less fortunate. That is the job of those who own boats and large SUVs and can obviously afford much more than I can even in this money crunch. However, this article states that if you own a house, a car, and a washing machine, you are in the top 2%, wealth-wise, in the world. I have to admit, I fall into that category (well, kind of - technically we're renting a house, but that's another story).
It's amazing to imagine that even I, with the small income that my husband and I share, am called to be an example of kindness and generosity in this present economic situation. Instead of becoming proud in my self-pity, as the article says, I need to push that thought aside, thank God for what He has given me, and be a good steward as a result.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Smaller Learning Communities
I am, perhaps, going to become a secondary English teacher someday (I hope!), and as I have been looking over recent job openings for the fall, I came across something new. It is something called Smaller Learning Communities, and, as far as I can tell, it allows students to create a more intimate school experience, much like that of small schools. I, personally like the idea. It seems to have all sorts of great implications, such as allowing teachers to work more one-on-one with students, helping students to feel more cared about at the school (hopefully preventing more Columbine shootings and other such circumstances), etc. I can think of a few negative ideas that might go along with this, too, though, such as the power of smaller schools to create tremendous peer pressure and its tendancy to ostricize outcasts.
Here are some links with more information.
http://www.cnpschools.org/choctawHS/SLC.htm
http://www.cnpschools.org/curriculum/smallerLearningCommunities.htm
Maybe you are a teacher in one of these communities, or perhaps you were a student who experienced it. Or maybe, like me, the idea is new to you. Regardless your situation, what are your thoughts on the subject?
Here are some links with more information.
http://www.cnpschools.org/choctawHS/SLC.htm
http://www.cnpschools.org/curriculum/smallerLearningCommunities.htm
Maybe you are a teacher in one of these communities, or perhaps you were a student who experienced it. Or maybe, like me, the idea is new to you. Regardless your situation, what are your thoughts on the subject?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
