I have to say that so far, I am not very impressed. I'm really hoping that I just got stuck with a bum class. It's more than a bum class. It's shocking beyond belief, is what it is.
I'm a little limited in my choices of what I can take this summer. I got a late start getting the registration and admittance process going and as a result, wasn't able to get into the class I wanted to this summer. There was a class called "Understanding Reading" that was available. I already have my reading endorsement so I didn't really need to take it, but I thought it might be some good review. Heck, I might learn something I could apply to the content areas that I teach. It was advertised as a grade 6-12 class, so I thought it would kind of fit. Did I mention that was the only class that available? (...with the exception of the other class I signed up for that should be starting next week, but got cancelled.)
I got to class, and the professor started talking about a reading "program" we will be learning. Okay, I guess. Sometimes one specific program doesn't meet all of my needs, but I was willing to keep an open mind. By the end of Day 2, I realized that any time she used the word "program", what she really meant was "a script that you will be memorizing verbatim to teach rote memorization of vocabulary".
On Wednesday, the teacher informed us she would be showing us the "program" for teaching vocabulary. She then proceeded to drill and kill the word "helping" to us by breaking it into parts, having us write and spell each part, read, sound out and spell each part ad nauseam. By the time she was done, I thought she had gone a little whacky. It also gave me the urge to do things and say things I would probably regret later. (Teacher: Think of a phrase that uses the word "helping". Me: "Bob was helping Tom bury the body of the dead man in his backyard.) A few minutes later, it dawned on me that we would be memorizing that same asinine script. The line on the syllabus under assignments that reads: Teach a word lesson" means "Memorize my script that I wrote for you."
Aside from the annoyance of memorizing a script, the other thing that totally bugs me is that teaching vocabulary has its place, but if we pre-teach every word that might be difficult for the students, how will they learn the strategies they need to figure out what words mean on their own? Do you really go running for a dictionary every time you come across a word that is unfamiliar? I would hate to read if I had to do that. I could rant on this one more, but I'll refrain.
I'm really hoping this isn't what the rest of the program is going to be like. This might be naive, but I thought that in a master's program, I would be doing things like, I don't know...thinking and solving problems? Reading current research and discussing it with others? I want to pull my hair out and scream. This is NOT what I signed up for.
On the brighter side of things, we finally painted our deck. Remember the project that my dad came out last fall to help us do? The rest of it is finally done!
Before
After
And, lest you think I have run out of time-consuming things to do with the deck, I want to pull all of the weeds out of this part, add top soil to the whole area around the deck, and put in an herb garden. Oh, and don't forget the gutter I need to put in on the end of the deck so the ground below it doesn't get pounded to smithereens.
And as long as I'm giving a tour of the yard, the tree that we planted four years ago for Carrie has grown quite a bit. When we first planted it, it was just a little taller than Ryan. It's become a real tree since then, and actually creates a little shade now. I think the only problem with planting that tree is that I would be devastated if anything happened to it.
Carrie, I miss you. May our memories of the happiness you brought to our lives live on in the kindness we show to each other.
4 comments:
Great post Amy. The deck looks great as does "Carrie's" tree.
P.S. I could have told you that school stinks! (I am a college dropout!)
I'm sorry Amy your class is soo frustrating! I interpreted some master classes at SUU and they were a lot more instructional than that. One was extremely rote in it's teaching but the others were great. I hope it improves for you.
The deck looks great!! The tree is beautiful and thriving!
That class sounds painful. Maybe you should skip class to plant your herb garden.
Do they take roll at said lame-o class? I'm not one to consider ditching...but desperate times call for desperate measures, right? On the bright side, at least it can make you feel a WHOLE lot better about your own teaching skills.
I have the same problem with attachment to meaningfull plants. I have a stack of dried roses above my sink that were given to me (before they were dry) when Elizabeth was born. I can't bring myself to chuck them, even though they're withered and ugly and falling apart. We planted 5 bushes in the back in her memory as well, and three of them promptly croaked. I knew that was going to happen, which is why we planted 5, but it still makes me sad.
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