Thanks Des!

2010-MA Education Administration

We're done! Thanks for being my master's degree partner in crime!

(twice)
2009-MA Education, Curriculum and Instruction

Recent Happenings

Been busy and been lazy--sorry for the dramatic delay in words and pictures.

Here's the happenings in no sort of order:

• I finished my Masters of Arts in Educational Administration. This included finishing fieldwork hours, a portfolio and comp prep class, hours upon hours of studying, and one nasty hand/finger cramp. Des and I studied for three weeks this year (as opposed to the one from last year) and rocked the flashcards, mnuemonics, and hand motions. Last Saturday (5/22), we sat down at 1 pm and wrote! My comps consumed three hours and forty-three minutes of my time and used 38 pages of paper. We celebrated being over with a ice cream cone from McDonalds. Just waiting for the letter confirming that I passed.
• My dad was called as the senior pastor at Faith Fellowship in La Palma (Orange County) on the 23rd of May. It was pretty inspiring to be there, listen to his sermon about trusting God, and then get to watch him and mom walk down the isle with a standing ovation. His first Sunday is this weekend. The moving from San Diego decisions are still in the works.
• Finished up at Liberty as I helped them run their first ever Career Day. The event went well and the kids overwhelmingly loved the experience (thanks Brenda!); I think that they can handle it next year without me.
• Dave has been working at a contract job for the past four weeks (he has a few more to go) setting up a network and computer system for the new Kohl's distribution center in San Bernardino. He's been working 8-5 and coming home tired.
• As you can assume, work on the house has slowed down to a crawl because Dave's been working outside of the house. However, we've been working each weekend and some evenings on the master bathroom/bedroom. I understand why the do-it-yourselfers on TV hire people to come in and tape and mud the drywall. It isn't particularly hard work, but it is really, really, really annoying and time consuming. I think I'd be willing to pay someone the next time. Hopefully by the end of Memorial weekend, I'll be able to post some pictures that include paint color :)
• I didn't get a pink slip this year and I can't be moved because I was last year; so I'll be a lion again. Working with students to get a student spirit club up and running and wishing/praying that Yearbook will land in my lap. Not sure what I'll be teaching next year (it seems to change every time I talk to someone else), but hopefully I'll be in a different classroom.
• Melissa moved in and has taken over the extra space we d idn't know we had. Because of the extra person and the work in the master bedroom, my clothes are on a rack in the living room and the queen bed is sitting in the dining room. A folding table is set up to "hold" stuff. Every nook seems to have something in it. Melissa also comes home to tell some disgusting stories about what she's experienced at work. I keep telling her that she should write about them because they are downright hiliarious--seriously, just ask her about poop, she has about 15 zingers so far :) She bought a car last weekend and will be finding an apartment of her own soon.
• Working with a few WW friends to plan a 5K for June 6th. Super excited.
• Robyn's baby shower is coming June 12th. Elegant and PINK--love this girl thing.
• I'll be teaching ninth grade English in summer school at Poly HS (all summer school is there for the entire district) from June 14-July 16th. Hopefully the extra paychecks will help get the house done!
• Even though I don't teach yearbook this year (sniff, sniff), I'll be teaching at Yearbook Camp again July 26-29th.
• My parents are celebrating 30 years of marriage this August 16th and to celebrate we're going on a family vacation. Much cheaper than the Hawaii trip, we'll be cruising the Mexican Caribbean in August.

Feel updated?

Principalship

In four months, I'll finish my MA in Educational Administration and have a Certificate of Eligibility for my Tier I Administrative Credential. With this degree and credential, I will have all the necessary requirements to apply for admin positions.

When teachers find out what I'm working on and my future plans, I usually get a look of disgust and depending on how blunt the person is I also get comments about "joining the dark side" and "wasting my teaching ability."

There is no short answer to tell these people about my real reasons and I always sort of feel defensive.

In class today, we had a principal guest speaker. Although he was speaking mainly about school budgets, he also presented him overview of being a principal. He made a few comments that struck a cord with me that I want to remember.

• The title "Principal" came from the the title of "principal teacher." The principal teacher was a strong, passionate teacher at the school who was recognized by his/her peers as a leader with fellow teachers and students.
• Administration is a calling; it is not for the weak, the one who wants to leave work at 4, or the one who is afraid to make hard (yet creative) decisions.
• Administration is a people business and one that must be always concentrate on the kids and their needs.

Elementary, Day Two

Immediate thoughts after my first FULL elementary day:

• A first grader who I met the first day came up this morning and hugged my leg; surprisingly enough, it didn't bother me.
• Working with teachers to improve instruction using researched-based strategies really is a passion for me; it makes me giddy like a little kid.
• I'm exhausted, more exhausted that I am after a full day of teaching, working out, and cooking dinner.
• This whole elementary school thing is different than secondary, but not completely foreign.
• If I had to and I spent some time learning phonics, I think I might be able to be a semi-effective administator at this level.
• Kids make the same stupid mistakes at elementary as they do at middle and high school, like tagging gang-related stuff on their papers. They get suspended in elementary, too.
• Mr. Shaw (my Central VP) is a kick-butt disciplinarian and I am lucky that I learned from him--came in handy with that gang tagging kiddo.
• I'm jealous that the teachers have over 7 hours of time each week to teach the same ELA standards that I have just over 4 to teach.

I've also reaffirmed my inital thought that the teachers deserve to be paid more!

18 hours done. 32 hours to go.

Student Principal

Elementary school is extremely different than secondary school (no, duh!) and I've gotten a sneak peak at the madness the past two days as a "student principal."

My best observations of the point of view of an outsider:

• Little kids like to move. A lot. They move all over and run into you and other people without a second thought. They move in class constantly.
• Rainy days are not "happy" times for anyone involved at school.
• Kindergartners are so stinkin' cute.
• Dismissal time is incredibly stressful with 900 kids all over the place and late parents... and of course, rain complicates it!
• Phonics are exceptionally confusing to me (which is a completely different issue), but the kids seem to get it and the "sound-spelling" cards are a great visual cue for them.
• Six graders can be annoying just like eighth graders, but they can also be cute and funny like seventh graders.
• Elementary school teachers should be paid more than me!

8 hours done. 52 hours left.

Looking forward to 2010

Exciting things I'm looking forward to, by the month, during 2010

• 1-Class only on Saturdays with my favorite professior
• 2-Reaching 50 workouts at Curves and earning my ladybug
• 3-Dave graduating with his BA in Network Security (God, please make a job for him)
• 4-Hearing the results of the 2009 CSPA yearbook crown competition
• 5-Rachel's baby boy is coming for a visit
• 6-Graduating in June with my MA in Educational Leadership (God, please remind me that I don't want to get a Ph.D during this process)
• 7-Both Dave and I being done with school and home together in the evening for the first time in our marriage, vacation?!?
• 8-Four years of marriage and Robyn's baby is coming (God, please make it a girl)
• 9-Starting back to school with a new assignment (God, please make Yearbook happen)
• 10-Officially being "old" at 27
• 11-Melissa's birthday and...
• 12-Dave turns 29, CHRISTmas, vacations, 2011

Of course, there are some things that don't "fit" into the months because I have no idea when they'll happen;

• Dave getting a good job in his computer field which makes him happy (Selfishly: perferably one making a good salary)
• Dad going to a church that will uplift him and allow his serve God (Selfishly: perferably in SD or closer to me)
• Melissa finding the perfect RN job for her in a place that she'll learn and meet the perfect cute doctor
• Mom getting to keep her El Cap job for as long as they need it and if they do have to move that she'll adjust in her powerful fashion
• Spending time with my friends and being a part of their ever growing families as they celebrate love, pregnancy, babies, etc.
• The house moving towards completion (notice I didn't say "complete," I am not that unrealistic) as the money and time is provided through our hard work

oh my

It just occured to me that I have set myself up for stress over the next week... who knows why it is occuring to me now at 9:20 on Sunday night?!?

Not only did I not finish grading all my students' papers (still have 140 business letter packets that have to be graded on a rubric), but I have my law final on Saturday!

My week off was productive for non-school things; everything Christmas related is done (decorating, shopping, wrapping, crafting), my house is relatively cleaner, several house projects are completed, and I was able to spend some quality time with my parents.

This weeks holds...

• a new week at Curves (goal is 4 visits)
• girls' night to the Mission Inn for the Festival of Lights
• massive amounts of law reading
• flashcard making and memorization of law
• Grade Business Letter for at least one period
• the first of three weeks school craziness before Christmas break
• clean the guest bedroom and make it liveable again for my parents for this weekend

Midterm: Check

For the last two weeks, Des and I have been studying like mad women for our Law midterm! Following our own advice (you know we teach students how to study and how to learn, etc), we made flashcards, mnemonics, make believe stories, hand motions and practiced over and over again.

Saturday morning we took our midterm. All the studying really paid off--we started at 8:40 am and finished by 9:15ish.

Now we wait to see the score...

Putting the time in...

Part of my masters degree is spending hours watching and learning about the ins and outs of being administrator. Tonight I am spending time in a Board Study Session (about test results) and Board Meeting. Although I am bored enough to write a blog during the meeting, I am super impressed by our new superintendent, Rick Miller.

Next time I see him at church, I may just say 'hello' to him.

Masters Degree

After many hours of class, even more hours of homework and "reading," and three essays for our comps, Desiree and I are finished with our first MA degree!

Although the ceremony was on Father's Day, my parents, grandparents, and Aunt Luanne came to support me. The ceremony started at 2 pm inside the giant gym. My mom was happy because they had comfy seats and air conditioning!

We are known as the twins at CSUSB because we're always together and look similar (so they say). Some of our professors don't know who is who for awhile, but they always LOVE us. These two professors were our favorites in the program. Dr. Jindra (red cap) and Dr. Groen (blue cap) made live wonderful in our program. Dr. Jindra actually convinced us to do the second Masters program and she'll be our professor again :)

Inductee

Yesterday, Des and I went to CSUSB to be inducted into the Golden Key International Honour Society. We were selected because we were in the top 2% of the student population. The ceremony was put together by undergrads who are the chapter officers. As I watched them run around doing the behind the scenes work it reminded me of my undergrad days. At the same time, it made be OVERJOYED not to be in my undergrad days :) It is really hard to believe that it in two weeks, I will have been graduated from college for FIVE years.

The officers looked so little and I felt so old... but after the ceremony was over, I got this beautiful certificate to hand on the wall in my classroom!

Des and I graduate from CSUSB on June 21st with a Masters of Arts in Education, Curriculum and Instruction. Woo-hooo! Too bad out graduate days aren't over after that :)

Wooohhhh

Why is it that some days seems to drag forever and others seem to go so fast? It always seems like the days that you want to go fast, go slow and the ones you want to go slow, go too fast! I made it to Spring Break, but SB is going soo fast!

Saturday, Desiree and I started our Masters of Educational Administration offically. We're in a cohort group that will be meeting every Tuesday (4:30-8:50) and Saturday (8:30-3:30) for the next five quarters. We are the youngest members of the cohort and appear to be the only ones who've been in school recently. Saturday's class was great, we only have to be there from 8:30 to 10:30 because we took the companion class last quarter. Dr. Jindra is teaching the class and she is my favorite professor I've had at CSUSB. Tonight we had our second class; it will be a lot of work (so much so that I already did my first assignment because I feel a bit stressed by it).

Other than Masters' stuff, I've had a great time hanging out with Tawni and Des. On Monday, I had lunch with Tawni, drove to CSUSB with Des then ate dinner at California Pizza Kitchen and saw "I love you, Man." This morning Tawni, Des, and I walked up Mt. Rubidoux with Sammy and Reese. It took a bit longer than normal, but it was fun.

Tomorrow, Melissa and I will be driving down to San Diego to get ready to go BEACH CAMPING!!