Time is Ticking Away
Last weekend I was in St. Louis. I flew in on Friday and that night Ben and I went out for Valentines in the Hills at an Italian restaurant. On Saturday, I met with a principal from a high school in the Rockwood School District. Although I am seeking employment in a middle school or elementary school, it was nice to talk to someone about the district and learn more about the area. The school was beautiful and the students were very impressive. As part of the application process I had to complete a teacher insight test online. The test was made up of essay and multiple choice questions as well as questions which required me to rate my answer from strongly agree to strongly disagree. I found the process quite frustrating. The questions asked were not difficult but it was hard to choose an answer with limited time and unable to explain my selection. For instance, the test asked if I considered myself a competitive person and I was to rate that statement on a scale of strongly agree to strongly disagree. Well, if the question was asking about my performance in sports, I'd probably say I believed it was more important to develop a sense of team and then set a goal that your team will work to achieve. For me, competition in athletics is playing and performing your best as an individual on a team and if that results in a win, so be it. If they were asking if I competed with my peers on an academic or social level, I would answer strongly disagree because I believe it's more important for me to set goals for myself and create a sense of internal competition. So yes, I'm personally competitive, but no, I am not necessarily competitive with others. How do I explain all of that when I have twenty seconds to answer strongly disagree, disagree, neutral, agree, or strongly agree. You might be saying I should have chose the neutral selection, but I felt if I did that I would sound indecisive and I didn't want that to come across on this online extravaganza. The test also asked for my opinion on the role educators played in our society and left me with multiple choices. One of the selections was to answer that the profession of an educator was most important in our society, another option was to respond that all professions played a specific role in our society. The other two said something like, educators were not a primarily important profession in our society. So with thirty seconds ticking away, I reflected on this loaded question. Here is an example of what was running through my mind. One. If I choose the first selection I'm going to sound arrogant and they might think that I am way to proud of becoming a teacher. Two. If I pick the second one then they might not know that I think without educators our society would not be able to develop the astronauts, doctors and lawyers in the world. However, I do believe that in order for our society to function each profession must be developed. So I made my click and let the computer determine the fate of my hiring process. Hopefully, the results turned out alright. I have no idea what my selections told my future employers so I have to wait and listen for a school to tell me.
On Sunday, I went to the Marriot in St. Louis where I joined UD professors, alumni and students on a panel for perspective Flyers from St. Louis. It was really nice to get to talk to some of the high schoolers. Also, during the hotel session, Dr. Duncan, Chair of the Political Science Department, was our key speaker and spoke with the students and their parents about the education their student will receive if they come to UD. Dr. Duncan talked about how at UD we learn about calculus and history and religion, but we also learn about what it means to be human and how to live, interact and cherish each other as a family. Listening to him talk made me very sad to be leaving in May. The days and weeks and months are moving way to fast for me.
Last week at school was pretty hectic. On Tuesday, fifth grade had a field trip to the Schuster Center where they heard the symphony perform. On Wednesday, Valentines Day, we took another field trip to the Victoria Theater and saw a musical on the Gold Rush which was very entertaining. On that day of love, all of the fifth grade hormones were in full force. There was love in the air and more candy then I ever want to see again floating around the hallway. The teachers all dressed in pink and the Valentine parties were a huge success. Belly aches were felt all through the town that night I'm sure. On Thursday, my cooperating teacher and I brought three fifth grade girls to the University of Dayton to meet with Professor Eggemeier who teaches Language Arts Education classes in the College of Education. The three girls brought samples of the writing and talked about the qualities they thought a good writer possesses. Mrs. Eggemeier gave the girls each two books and praised them on their writing ability. Those three girls will remember that experience for years to come. They were so excited to talk to a college professor and learn about what college students are learning about. When we walked into the school of education, on an end table there were copies of the compute initiative magazine that features my picture on the front cover. It was really cute when the girls turned to me and said, "Miss C, I didn't know you were a model." You have to love young minds. On Friday, we celebrated Freaky Friday at the school I student teach at. The students and teachers could dress up in mix matched clothes if they donated fifty cents to the Pasta for Pennies Fundraiser. We looked ridiculous but I think the kids had a lot of fun. No worries though, Miss C, that's me, gave a spelling test and a social studies quiz on Friday to dampen the mood. Geez, I'm so mean.
I just got back from an amazing weekend in Indiana at Solsbury Hill. Solsbury is a retreat center, lodging area, run by past UD Flyers. Conner used to be a campus minister at UD and helped organize the Metanoia retreat at UD which I am a leader for this year. His wife Bridget was also a past Flyer. They built these beautiful cabins out of wood which are decorated by the stain glass windows and history that is built into the facility. Our team was here this past weekend for our team retreat and wow was it amazing. The land also included a pond, animals, woods, and a sense of serenity everywhere you went. The artic weather with a 10 degree high was a bit challenging and at time I believed I was experiencing hypothermia, but the members of our team and the people that surrounded me this weekend taught me so much. I think it's true what people say about the learning that takes place outside of the classroom is sometimes the most powerful and valuable. I learned a lot about who I was this weekend and about the obstacles I am facing in my life right now and the means by which I am facing these challenges. This weekend brought rejuvenation to my life and has made me believe I am ready to come back now and face the world.
Although it was hard to leave such a loving place, I came back to UD with plans to go over to Shane White's house. Shane works at the Office of Admissions and promised the tour guides a home cooked meal if they won the Marianist Family Feud game. Since they walked away with the win Shane stuck to his word. Although I am not really working there this semester he was kind enough to fill my belly as well. It was so nice to sit around a dining room table and eat real food. My dinner table is in an added on room right next to the bathroom door and serves more as storage space and hairdryer holder than a table. The microwave dinners on a couch just don't give you that family atmosphere that you might think. It was so nice to sit and talk with people that I hadn't seen in a long time and hear about what was going on on campus since I rarely step foot on it now that student teaching has started. Thanks to Shane I will also have yummy lunches all week long.
After dinner, I went to ghetto mass where I saw Dr. Dan. It's so nice to see the President of the University at a student mass at 9pm on a Sunday, I think it really speaks to his dedication. After church I watched Grey's Anatomy on the big screen at Art Street. I'm so relieved that I get tomorrow off from student teaching. Unfortunately, UD students will be learning all day. I think I really needed this weekend to rejuvenate and I'm really excited about the upcoming weeks now.
Feb 20, 2006 12:18 AM
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