It's Over?!

This semester is finally over, and assignments are piling up and so are finals! One of my professors said an important statement to me this week, "As an educator you will have many deadlines, lesson plans, and paperwork due around the same time. We are just trying to prepare you for that". Now I thought he was being sarcastic and just being difficult, but he is right! This semester has taught me so much about life, the classroom, and myself. A small amount of stress is good, but make sure you do not overwhelm yourself and remember to pace yourself in all things in life. 

www.pvamu.edu

End of the Semester

The end of the semester is fast approaching! I am so ready to be done with semester. I was overwhelmed and overscheduled all semester. Between back to back meetings, projects, homework, visiting my freshmen building, and lastly sleeping, I have had a jammed packed semester. I am so ready for the Christmas break, to be work free and school free seems like a dream to me right now. Not only will I be glad to get a break, but I will be so delighted when I finally get to see my family! With that being said, I am ready to end the semester with a bang! I have never received a 4.0 GPA for any semester that I have attended Prairie View, this semester it is my ultimate goal. I know I am capable of receiving the gpa I just have to put in the work and stay focused. Of course that is hard said than done. At midterms I had a 3.4 GPA, so I am not too far from it! The closest I have gotten is freshman year when I received a 3.6 GPA for the fall semester. So now that I have a set goal I am working nonstop to reach it!



http://www.pvamu.edu/PDFFiles/edu/Degree%20plans%204/2013/Special%20Ed%20Degree%20Plan%20Revised%20Sp%2013.pdf

Stressed

It's registration time in the Whitlowe R. Green College of Education! Which means advisors are nowhere to be found, last minute changes to paperwork, and attitudes. I really think there has to be a better way of handling registration. Having to chase advisors down to get registration pins and sign paperwork is a bit much. I love my institution this is true, but I see so many flaws in the way certain parts of my institution is ran. I have always heard from faculty that students have attitudes or are rude when handling business, because students believe that faculty are suppose to help at a drop of a dime. Now I do not totally agree with that, but I do feel as if that you are my advisor, then you are here to advise and help me, are you not? So why is it such a headache when I actually need you to do your job and advise me? Or what is the purpose of having office hours if you are never there during those set aside times or you are always in a meeting? When are accessible to the student body? These are the many questions that run through my mind every time I have to walk to the third floor of Delco and have to ask any advisor a question. Spring of 2015 cannot come any faster!

http://www.pvamu.edu/pages/156.asp

Kappa Delta Pi

Amongst all that is going on in my little hectic life, I actually got some good news this week! I am now apart of Prairie View A&M University's Mu Epsilon chapter of Kappa Delta Pi! I have wanted to be apart of this organization since my senior of high school. Members of Kappa Delta Pi came to speak to my Ready, Set, Teach class in high school and ever since then I have wanted to be apart of the elite organization. An organization only for education majors that is recognized internationally, perfect for me! I cannot wait for my induction, I am pretty sure my family is going to try to come; they support me in any and every little thing. I could of gotten into Campus Activities Board and they would have tried to come. I am so delighted to see where I can go in Kappa Delta Pi.

http://www.pvamu.edu/pages/6231.asp

Changes to State Exam....Outraged!!!

This week has been a hectic week to be an education major, no matter what your concentration is. Majority of us found out the state certification test for Generalist is changing. Now you may say well you are a Special Education major so this does not affect you, this is false. To be a highly qualified SPED teacher we need Generalist EC-12 certification test passed as well as the ESL certification test. I was always okay with taking the Generalist EC-12 test because I really want to teach elementary school before I jumped in and became a SPED teacher, but these changes are ridiculous. I have heard many people say well the test does not change until Fall 2014 just take the test before then. The problem with that scenario is Prairie View A&M University's Whitlowe R. Green College of Education will not let you. If you are in my boat, saying you are a SPED major or any major other than Generalist, you cannot take any other certification test until you graduate! Which by the way I believe is the most ridiculous thing in the world and Prairie View is one of the few schools that I know of, that do that. I have heard many explanations to why we cannot take the test. Some say it is because you have not take the required classes for that content area, but if I go to the review sessions and study on my own time, who are you to say I am not prepared to take the test before I graduate! This whole situation has stressed me out to a whole other level. I honestly think that is why I was not open to the new TaskStream program; it was too many changes for one week. 

http://www.pvamu.edu/pages/173.asp

Turn Down for What?

Once again Prairie View A&M University decides to put homecoming and midterms on the same week! I'm really starting to think they do it on purpose to torture the students! Well not really, in all seriousness, having homecoming and midterms the same week has honestly benefited me. Last year, I thought I was not going to be able to balance both, midterms and partying. What the situation made me do is be a smarter student. If I knew I had a take home 250 question midterm due that Friday after the tent party, which I did, that just meant I need to have it finished by Wednesday night or Thursday afternoon. This way I was still able to enjoy the many festivities of the week. Not only did having homecoming and midterms the same week help me prioritize it also should me I work well under pressure but also that I can have the luxury of both worlds, partying and studying. In saying that there is a fine line that you must not cross. For instance, I knew I had class during the BET College Tour and we were taking our midterm in class, so I only spent thirty or forty minutes at the BET College Tour and I knew I had to go to class, likely for me my class was in Delco, which was right across the lawn. This year I am hoping I stick to the same strategy! I have to prioritize and realize you do not have to participate in every part of homecoming, only the key events!

http://www.thehilltoponline.com/news/midterms-homecoming-mix-like-oil-water-1.462034#.Ula902Tk_Uc

Working on People Skills

These past two years have really been hard for me socially. Not in a sense that I cannot attain friendships, but in a sense that my friendships are not genuine or do not last. I now understand the phrase, “Some people come into your life for a season and some for a lifetime.”  I take my friendships very seriously, so when I feel as if I have been crossed or something of that nature, I take it very personal. Many might say I am short tempered, but I know I have an attitude problem and I tend to say things out loud before I think about them. Something may seem common sense to me and it will make me angry that another person does not understand. I know in the professional world there are going to be times where my principal is going to say or do something I do not agree with nor understand. I cannot get noticeably angry or saying anything to him or her about it.  I am working really hard on that aspect. I have kind of gotten the not saying anything part down, but now it is written all over my face. I wear my emotions and feelings on my face. Even now it is to the point to where when I cannot retaliate I began to cry out of frustration. Biting my tongue is something very new to me, but something I must master before the end of this semester! I know for a fact there will be times during the school year, while I am teaching that things are going to happen that may not be right or fair, but I must remain calm and level headed.  So I have made it my End of the Year Resolution to have my anger problem down and have better people skills for a brighter future!

http://www.wikihow.com/Change-Attitude-at-Work

Where Does My Time Go?

I have always loved the fall semester more than the spring, but I feel like the semester is going by too fast and I have too much to do. Between my fifteen hours, my job, studying, taking practice certification tests, and my multiple organizations, I am spread a little too far. I have been told I need to take breaks on the weekends since I do not have to work, so I can get much needed rest and sleep. Only problem with that is my organizations may require me to do community service on the weekends or attend an event. I have yet to just sit at my house and watch movies all day on the weekends. Every weekend I have somewhere to be or something to do. My weeks fly by! I think it's Monday and look up and it’s Thursday. I'm stressing myself out and wearing myself out. Somewhere in the month of November, I need to carve out sometime for myself. Why November you ask? This weekend is the State Fair Classic and the only time I have to go home, I have not been home since summer school, and the next two weekends are midterms and homecoming, definitely not getting any sleep or me time, the next weekend is Halloween and I have to do community service. Well there went the month of October, so what am I left with, November. 

http://www.nbcnews.com/id/23693229/ns/health-mental_health/t/undergrads-constantly-stressed/#.UkwkY2TXjUc

Changing My Major

I started out as a EC-6 Generalist major, but I had a change of heart, literally. Someone very close to me child was diagnosed with Autism. I was heartbroken, so I could only imagine how that mother felt, but one of my mentors asked me why I was so upset or why I felt as if the child's life was over. It got me thinking, "Why did I automatically assume that the child's life was doomed for or over?" The child is still living and breathing and I was upset as if the child passed away. So it really got me thinking about the world's perception of special needs students. So began to look into different programs and things offered for special needs students and was amazed at the things that are actually out there for them. Last year, my high school asked me to help them with their Special Olympics, and I did. I loved it. Just to see their faces light up and to be having fun regardless of their disability or handicap was an amazing sight for me. The next semester I changed my major to Special Education.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Duncanville-High-School-Special-Olympics/199010510135120

Where I Would Like to be

Becoming an educator has been a dream of mine since I first attended school and became my 1st grade teacher's assistant. Right away I knew this was something I wanted to do. The women I look up to and model myself after them. I strive to be the best educator I know. I plan to graduate from Prairie View A&M University in Spring 2015 with a BS in Interdisciplinary Studies. Who would think that goal would be hard to attain, I did not. In collaboration with my degree, I plan to have at least three certification, Special Education, EC-6 Gen, and ESL.  I feel as if people are still stuck in the early 1900s and not realizing how much my field has grown. We are no longer giving Special Education students arts and crafts projects to keep them quiet; we are far from that. I do not want to limit myself in my career, even though I do not aim to someday reach the administer level, but I do feel there are other ways to reach the top in my career field. I also want to bring more awareness and understanding to the Special Education field.