Monday, August 6, 2007
Thursday, August 2, 2007
Which princess are you?
Cinderella without a prince is who I am. Cleaning, washing, cooking, serving, oh my. What will I do with all this work and such little time before the ball? Calgon please take me away! But wait, I have found a way to escape this way of life. I’ll leave the house, get a job that pays and maybe find a prince to marry me. Once I’m married, I’ll contract my sisters to be the maids in my palace.
Coming Full Circle - Ch. 6
More excellent ideas. Having different rubrics (generic/individualized) is great to have on hand. I'm definitely going to have this idea in mind. Ward's idea of giving students workshop time is also conducive to empowering students with their writing--I would have to work on that, though. Last but not least, creating a network of teachers to aid in the grading of writing pieces is a good idea, but I don't know how the teachers in my school would take this type of collaboration. I'll give it a try.
This book was very informative, and Ms. Ward put her techniques and strategies in a very sensible and workable way. I really enjoyed the book.
This book was very informative, and Ms. Ward put her techniques and strategies in a very sensible and workable way. I really enjoyed the book.
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
Sasparillo's Trip
Describe what Sasparillo sees from the bird’s-eye point of view.
Sasparillo is flying high in the sky surprised at the wonder of being able to see everything at the same time. Sasparillo visited San Antonio and saw the people at the River Walk. He flew over the Panhandle, Lubbock and Amarillo where he saw the beautiful, yellow wheat fields. Flying over New Mexico, he saw the adobe houses, cactus and other plants.
Sasparillo is flying high in the sky surprised at the wonder of being able to see everything at the same time. Sasparillo visited San Antonio and saw the people at the River Walk. He flew over the Panhandle, Lubbock and Amarillo where he saw the beautiful, yellow wheat fields. Flying over New Mexico, he saw the adobe houses, cactus and other plants.
Critical Narrative
“Getting to the heart of the matter”
Ramon
The first day of school is always frightening—not only for the students but for the teacher too. I’ll never forget that sunny August afternoon as I was greeting and introducing myself to my students when all of a sudden in raced this tall, rough-looking boy into my classroom like a horse without a harness. He was in his worse stage of puberty, had a voice like thunder and a mouth that out ran a motor vehicle. In the years that followed, I would witness this mouth to never stay shut. No, I’ll never forget Ramon. He was in my class from hell which consisted of 45 students, most of them his buddies, and English class was in the afternoon right after gym. Imagine the energy!
Because of the way Ramon behavior and academic status, he was not a favorite among most teachers. He was loud, considered to be dumb, should have been placed in special education, and many teachers considered him to come from a dysfunctional family. He had a tuff-guy image with the street-wise knowledge that would not let anything get passed him. Therefore, his impenetrable knight’s amour was worn to school everyday. It wasn’t easy for Ramon to sit with a teacher and talk things out because he was as tight as a clam when it came to discussing any behavior, academic or personal problem. God save you if you tried to stop him from engaging in any of his mischievous rampages when playing pranks on other students.
How I could teach anything to this student, I wondered. Instead of trying to teach him English, I decided I would make friends with him first. I learned everything I could about him, his sister and parents. Although he had a dysfunctional family by the school standards, once having met his family I found them to be a loving and caring family.
Once I really got to know, understand and gain his confidence, we became good friends. Ramon changed attitudes and would enter my room ready to start working on whatever I had on the board. I taught Ramon 7th through 9th grade. I have to say that they were three good years for Ramon and me. After 9th grade his sister, who was my son’s friend, kept me tuned in to Ramon’s new endeavors. Years later I found out that Ramon had gone on to the University of Puerto Rico and had received his BA. Today, Ramon is a bank manager for Banco Popular of Puerto Rico.
Did I make a difference in this student’s life? I really don’t know, but I do know that many things changed for Ramon. No, I’ll never forget Ramon.
Ramon
The first day of school is always frightening—not only for the students but for the teacher too. I’ll never forget that sunny August afternoon as I was greeting and introducing myself to my students when all of a sudden in raced this tall, rough-looking boy into my classroom like a horse without a harness. He was in his worse stage of puberty, had a voice like thunder and a mouth that out ran a motor vehicle. In the years that followed, I would witness this mouth to never stay shut. No, I’ll never forget Ramon. He was in my class from hell which consisted of 45 students, most of them his buddies, and English class was in the afternoon right after gym. Imagine the energy!
Because of the way Ramon behavior and academic status, he was not a favorite among most teachers. He was loud, considered to be dumb, should have been placed in special education, and many teachers considered him to come from a dysfunctional family. He had a tuff-guy image with the street-wise knowledge that would not let anything get passed him. Therefore, his impenetrable knight’s amour was worn to school everyday. It wasn’t easy for Ramon to sit with a teacher and talk things out because he was as tight as a clam when it came to discussing any behavior, academic or personal problem. God save you if you tried to stop him from engaging in any of his mischievous rampages when playing pranks on other students.
How I could teach anything to this student, I wondered. Instead of trying to teach him English, I decided I would make friends with him first. I learned everything I could about him, his sister and parents. Although he had a dysfunctional family by the school standards, once having met his family I found them to be a loving and caring family.
Once I really got to know, understand and gain his confidence, we became good friends. Ramon changed attitudes and would enter my room ready to start working on whatever I had on the board. I taught Ramon 7th through 9th grade. I have to say that they were three good years for Ramon and me. After 9th grade his sister, who was my son’s friend, kept me tuned in to Ramon’s new endeavors. Years later I found out that Ramon had gone on to the University of Puerto Rico and had received his BA. Today, Ramon is a bank manager for Banco Popular of Puerto Rico.
Did I make a difference in this student’s life? I really don’t know, but I do know that many things changed for Ramon. No, I’ll never forget Ramon.
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