This week in class we participated in a free write and I'm choosing that as my school reflection.
In class tonight we went over our weebly website. I feel as if I'm in a computer class and struggling big time. I just want to write papers and hand them in to the teacher. I'm not feeling confident about this whole school thing at all. I should just give up and be happy with where I am in life. I can't wait to get home to Nick and make sure he is safe and sound in bed. We have another early morning tomorrow before we can enjoy our weekend off together. I'm guessing we will go to freedom park so he can play in the sand. Our last two classes covered some of the basic content that we will be getting into this semester. We wrote papers on why we write also our process of writing. I found these papers to be helpful because they allowed me to dive deep within to discover what it is that I like about writing. We also discussed the creation our websites. The website will allow us to post our work and truly make it our own. To be honest, I’m a little hesitant about this website. Knowing that my work will be out there for all to see makes me feel very insecure. Call me old fashioned but I like the old school way of papers being between student and teacher. The fact that my work will be out there for everyone to see really freaks me out. We will also be writing weekly blogs on these sites. From what I understand about blogs, they are a person’s opinions about a particular subject, Only time will tell how I do with these assignments. I could either grow to love them or hate every single one of them.
As for home, my son and I are trying to adjust with the new additions to our schedule. Mommy going back to school has really flipped our world upside down. It’s really just a work in progress right now. Today I was off so we got the chance to just relax and enjoy this beautiful day. We made our way to Linvilla Orchards and successfully made our way through a straw maze then we took a ride on the cho cho train. It was a great way to spend such a nice day. In reading “The Banking Concept of Education” by Pablo Freire one almost feels as if he is describing a teacher to student relationship as to that of slave master to slave. Yet when he describes his problem-posing concept one gets the feeling of the two being equals.
My understanding of the banking education is that of the teacher almost being viewed as a puppeteer. The teacher’s words being the strings that connect him to his students. The students being the puppets, can easily be manipulated with what “strings” the puppeteer decides to pull. As for the problem posing education, the roles of teacher to student become somewhat like that of equals. The students being able to voice their opinions, educating the teacher with the knowledge they have acquired through living in this world. Having only known a catholic school education, I find it very easy to relate to the banking concept. Different classrooms but with the same kind of teaching in every one of them. As if the teacher was a preacher who unleashed his beliefs upon you. There is not one teacher who I can say really stood out from the rest. Only when I attended college did I see a different more effective way of teaching. The interactions between teacher and student going tit for tat in discussions about a specific subject. This way of teaching is sure to be more effective and make for a better learning experience for both. In closing, I would have to say that the problem-posing method of education is clearly a wonderful way to get through to the students. Making them feel that their opinion is important too. An education that comes from both teacher and student educating one another in the classroom. Roles being reversed and ensuring both are equal to one another. Last Sunday morning I woke up and decided to go fishing at the local pond. It was a beautiful sunny day with a nice breeze. After I arrived, I headed down to my favorite spot to fish. It was right under a big tree that provided some shade for the trout to hide under. After I cast my first line, some more fishermen started to surround the pond.
As we settled into our fishing holes some introductions were being made. Sitting to my right was Maria Popova “The Daily Writing Routines of Great Writers”. Maria pointed to a woman sitting beside her and introduced her as Anne Lamott “Bird by Bird” Some Instructions on Writing and Life”. On my left, positioned by the waterfall was Ray Bradbury “Zen in the Art of Writing”. They seemed like a friendly group of fishermen to me. After our introductions were completed, we started to talk about why we liked fishing at this particular pond . I explained how I come to this pond to relax and let my mind wonder. I also told them about a paper that I have to write by Thursday. The conversation really picked up after that. Me - I haven’t written a paper in years. I just don’t know where to start. Anne – So I’d start writing without reining myself in. It was almost just typing, just making my fingers move and the writing would be terrible. Ray – The faster you write the more honest you are Maria – Well Susan Santog resolves in her diary, I write in spurts. I write when I have to because the pressure builds up and I feel enough confidence that something has matured in my head and I can write it down. Me – I’m worried my writing isn’t up to par with everyone else in my class. Anne – Almost all good writing begins with terrible first efforts. Ray – You stumble into writing, mostly, you don’t know what you’re doing, and suddenly, it’s done. Maria – Ernest Hemingway once said, “You write until you come to a place where you still have your juice and know what will happen next and you stop and try to let live through until the next day when you hit it again” Me – This is some amazing advice that you all have given me. It’s making me feel much more confident with myself. I’ve been doubting my capabilities on writing a great paper. Anne – What I’ve learned to do when I sit down to work on a shitty first draft is to quiet the voices in my head. Ray – I began to put down brief notes and descriptions of loves and hates. Maria – E.B. White said it best when he said, “ A writer who waits for ideal conditions under which to work will die without putting a word on paper”. Me – Who knew my fellow fishermen held such great knowledge about writing? I can’t thank you enough for your advice. I may not have had any bites on my line today but now I have many lines for my paper stored in my head. Nobody caught a trout that Sunday morning. We did however walk away from that pond feeling like we did reel in some new friends. Writing can be very hard to do when faced with day to day distractions. We all have our daily responsibilities that we must tend too. One can only hope that those few hours we get to ourselves at night, if your that lucky, can be used to get some great writing accomplished.
Carolyn Chute “How can you create fiction when reality comes to call” and Drake Baer “6 ways to be a Hemingway-level productive badass” describe perfectly some of the daily distractions that can cause a problem when all one wants to do is write. It can be truly frustrating when you have a good story in your head but don’t get a chance to write it out. As for me and my distractions from writing, well there are many. My day begins with the alarm blaring music at 4:30am. After I hurry to get myself showered, dressed, and finish my hair routine I’m usually running late. I then have to wake up my 4yr old to brush his teeth, wash his face, dress him, brush his hair and get him to go potty. All of this being done before he is completely awake which usually leads to some bickering. Out the door we go after the lunches are packed. I’m usually speeding and praying for green lights the whole way. After all that rushing around we always seem to make it to our destinations on time but without a minute to spare. When we arrive home for the night, I usually jump into my role as housekeeper but I forget that I’m Nick’s personal play mate as well. When I’m finished the major chores, have us all ready for the next day, then I can relax a little bit. After I put my son to bed then I get a few minutes to myself. Unfortunately, it’s around 9:30 and I’m exhausted at this point. Let me start of by introducing myself. My name is Melissa; I’m a single mother who lives in Drexel Hill with my handsome 4yr old son Nicholas. We have been living in our house for 4 years now and we really love our little street. I have been working full time in a local hospital for close to 15yrs now. I’m currently back in school with the hope of furthering my career upon completion.
The topic is why I write. Well when I was younger I wrote all the time. I used writing as a release from stressful situations or just as a kind of therapy. My high school English teacher would act as an editor for the poems and stories I felt were really good. As I’m writing this, I’m remembering how much I used to enjoy writing and wondering why I ever stopped using it as a form of release. When I write I feel as if all of my problems escape me. I feel better with the every word that hits the page. As I start to write, I worry I may never stop because there is so much to say. Writing for me is definitely a freeing experience. These are the reasons I enjoy writing. I’m finding out a lot about myself through this paper. I should buy myself a journal and write a little every day. In closing I would like to point out that this was a spur of the moment writing session. I feel confident in this paper and have learned a little something about myself as well. I look forward to learning more and becoming a better writer. It’s finding the time to do so that will be my biggest obstacle. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
December 2015
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