Earning the Right to Educate

Finals week at West Chester is just about over. I didn't even start until 8AM Thursday, and my other final is 1PM Friday. One class luckily did not include a final exam, the other class just had a final paper on the September 11th terrorist attacks (which may be posted later). I found out today that my application for Student Teaching is due at midnight. When I worked on it last, I just left one question to answer:

"Describe why I decided to pursue a career in education"


It took some effort for me to come up with an answer that was not generic bullshit. It would have been very easy for me to just say that I need a job, this is what I have spent my money learning how to do, and I want to do it and get cash. However, it would have also been easy for school districts to say no.

Somehow, in this brain dead state that I am in, I managed to come up with four main goals to accomplish while teaching, which I shaped into a comprehensible response. I am a little worried that some of my goals may be too vague though. These goals address the problems I had with high school. The answer I submitted is below, and I would appreciate any feedback or things you might want to see in a high school social studies classroom.

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My experience in high school left me desiring more knowledge and practical experience. I wanted more group learning (without group projects) and an education that embraced technology as an integral part of lessons, not as a separate class. I very often felt restricted by narrow viewpoints and topics that were difficult for teachers to relate to students. I have decided to pursue a career in teaching in order to bring what I wanted out of my education to a new generation of students. I hope that I can create a positive influence on students. I believe that with a proper and motivating education, students are able to achieve their maximum potential and accomplish great goals. I hope that by pursuing a career in teaching, I will be able to accomplish my goals and revitalize an interest in education for young students.

In order to accomplish this goal, I plan on teaching in non-traditional ways that will better engage students in lessons and activities. In order to create students with a better world view of social studies, I aim to accomplish four main goals. As an educator, I plan on entertaining the students while informing them. I believe that this will help students retain and recall information easily. Part of this entertainment will come from the next goal – an interactive education that utilizes technology to help students learn. Approaching lessons in multiple formats will make a quality education more accessible to students. I would like to have a classroom without the barriers that restrict learning. By drawing on a cooperative education between multiple educators, guest speakers, educational tours, as well as student experience, students will be well rounded and better prepared for life after high school. The final goal I hope to accomplish as a teacher is to help students understand how the past and the present relate to form a world view of social studies.

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Educate me with your feedback

I apologize for the font switching, Blogger was reporting HTML problems that I attempted to resolve.

It's Time to Time

Continuing with more information about this roadtrip (starting in less than 2 weeks), it's important to plan on how long specific drives might be. I got all of this information from GoogleMaps so be sure to blame them for any problems and thank me for anything good that comes out of this. Time was rounded to the nearest quarter hour and mileage was rounded to the nearest multiple of 25.


I hope you like my attention to detail with the fonts. Moving on then, onto Good News and Bad News:

Good News!
One other thing that can be done in California now. Karen discovered that the San Fransisco International Film Festival ends around the same time we will be leaving the state. I saw a few films that looked neat. City of Borders is about the sole gay bar in Jerusalem, one was about children learning multiple languages (Speaking in Tongues), The Immaculate Conception of Little Dizzle promises humor in a tale about janitors and male pregnancy. My Suicide follows a boy who announces he will film his own suicide.

Bad News!
I like to think of this is more of an opportunity for good news to develop. I got an exception made for my summer class, so it looks like I will be able to stay enrolled. However, the classroom observations begin on May 18 and extend through May 19 and 20. So that "day of fluff" I added to the calendar will actually be used for...schooling.

Don't Lock Your Keys in the Car...

Links of a Calendar

These are the other two possibilities that I could think up for the drive from California to Pennsylvania. I spent a little more time on these with clever clip art from Word. Version B, immediately below, skips Colorado entirely and instead has a long drive from Salt Lake City straight thru to Omaha....nearly a 13 hour drive. Instead of spending a day looking at the Red Rocks ( I was inspired to go there by some decent concert DVDs).

The final proposed itinerary I created includes less spent time in California - two days instead of the three originally planned upon. Of course, this may create more pressure to buy a car, but that's why this is a possible plan, not the definitive one.

It seems to me that the most fun will be had on the 2nd half of the trip, no matter which route we take. I think I am just more interested in Cleveland, Chicago, and Omaha.

About a week ago I updated the weather app on my iPod to display the weather in the places we will most likely visit. I was hoping for warmer weather, but it seems that all the weather we experience will be similar to the weather going on in PA (45 degrees) right now.

It has been difficult to figure out specific stops and sleeping arrangements due to not have a strict schedule. In Reno, I expect to stop for food, if at all, so picking a restaurant won't be too tough. In Salt Lake City, the LDS Church History Museum is open 7 days a week and is free! That should also be a good cultural experience. If we had stuck to the original plan and gone to Mitchell, SD, we would be able to bask in the glory of the Corn Palace. If you ever travel in that area, take an hour out of your day and visit. Omaha seems really exciting, for being in the middle of nowhere. The Henry Doorly Zoo there seems to have some more impressive exhibits than the San Diego Zoo, including a shark aquarium that you walk under in a tunnel, a Bio-Dome housing a rain forest, and an underground nocturnal environment. In Chicago, I'm pushing for a return visit to the Museum of Science and Industry (the historical aspect) and if the weather is nice enough, the Navy Pier. The main destination in Cleveland is the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Since I got into some (better) music a few years ago, I am interested in the cultural phenomenon of Rock and Roll. During the final stint in PA, I want to try to stop in State College (Penn State main campus) for a meal. Dinner somewhere in downtown, ice cream at the Creamery, and Stickies at The Diner. After that, its back to the monotony of summer classes.

Another update in the next few days with driving times and maybe other interesting places to stop along the road.

Lists and Lists and Dates

My girlfriend and I have been planning a road trip for this summer for a while now. We are going to fly from Philadelphia to San Fransisco, buy a car, and then drive back just prior to the start of Summer classes and projects. Above is a map I drew on the back of some classwork (if you look closely you will see text on the other side of the image) with several different possible stops marked in green.

The bulk of this roadtrip will take place on Interstate 80, which runs from San Fransisco to north New Jersey. With luck and strategic planning, we should be able to make it from California to Pennsylvania. As of now, the planned stops are as follows:
-Tiburon, California
-Reno, Nevada
-Salt Lake City, Utah
-Morrison, Colorado
-Omaha, Nebraska
-Chicago, Illinois
-Cleveland, Ohio
-State College, Pennsylvania
-West Chester, Pennsylvania

I'll be posting updates on this trip as well as blogs from the actual roadtrip which commences within the next month. Below is the first of 3 different possible calendars we mayfollow on the trip. This one has us hitting each destination (excluding Seattle, Yellowstone, Mitchell, and Minneapolis) but for rapid fire visits at each location. The others have different advantages.

Safe Travels...