Mark's good news

For those of you who might not be checking Mark's blog regularly, he's posted some good news there. I'd rather let him tell you, so just click on "Whatever..." (on my blog list, to the right) and read his update!

Last first class

Last night I finally went to my Language and Culture in Education class. This is the third week of the semester, but since the semester started on a Wednesday and last Monday was a holiday, yesterday was our first class. It was pretty strange feeling like I was starting to get adjusted to my schedule and everything and then just start another class. But, I think the content will be really interesting, so I'm looking forward to it. (Actually, the classes themselves better be interesting--the class is from 7-9:30pm and I think I'll have a hard time concentrating if it's not very interactive.) My first impression of the professor is hard to describe. It was kind of like we weren't sure if we could take him seriously. For example, on the schedule for next week is a "Symposium." "Symposium Participation" counts for 35% of our grade (and next week is the only one). So when someone asked him what the symposium was, he said, "well, it's a party." And I'm thinking, a party--could he be serious? We were all doubting him, but then he passed around a sign up sheet for us to put down what kind of food we'd be bringing. So, if my understanding is correct, I'll get 35% of my grade for bringing in some banana bread and getting to know my classmates next week. It'll be interesting to see how this class goes, but I did hear good things about the professor from some classmates last semester, and I know about half of the people in this class, so that should be helpful.

That brings me to something I noticed yesterday--a big difference between my experience at UNM and things so far at UA. At UNM, it was very rare for me to have classes with people I knew. I guess by my senior year, I had maybe 1 or 2 people in 1 or 2 classes that I already knew. And, my Russian classes had a lot of the same people in them, but that was it. So I didn't really know that many people from school. Maybe in other departments there was more overlap, but I think since Latin American Studies was interdisciplinary, I didn't run into the same people because I took classes in several departments. Anyway, here, I know people in all of my classes. The other GATs and I are in about 3 out of 4 of the same classes (including Preceptorship). I had met all but one of the students in my Contrastive Rhetoric class already. There are people I don't know in the Monday class, but, like I said, I know about half. I think this is really nice, especially since there seems to be lots of group work in a couple of the classes. It makes it easy to ask questions about assignments and share resources. So I'm enjoying that difference.

One more tidbit about classes--my Tues/Thurs class with Dr. Troike is worrying me a little. The main reason is that almost every day I hear a 2nd year EL/L student make a comment to the effect of "Troike's class is the hardest class I've ever had in my whole life" or "oh--you're in his class this semester--good luck." Not very inspiring. So, I'm trying to approach the class without letting this all get to me--trying to be objective. Reminding myself I've taken hard classes before and done fine. But it's hard not to be apprehensive. I'll see how today goes and just try to stay on top of the content, one class at a time...

The last thing I'll mention is that DR observed my class yesterday. I felt a little nervous about it, which was silly, because last semester she was so encouraging; and I'm sure I'm doing a better job now than I was then. But, besides a few constructive suggestions (mostly having to do with the room, actually), she was very positive. Of course, she noticed a student who was really not on-task, but she seemed to think things are going well overall. It's also nice to have some time to talk with her one-on-one about teaching issues after she visits the class.

Well, I think I've gone on long enough. Back to work...

Time flying by...

On one hand, it's really hard to believe it's Friday again already. On the other hand, I'm glad to have made it to another weekend. Really, the weekend is just time to get more work done around the house and work ahead on my reading for the week, but it's nice to be at home.

I feel like my 102 classes went really well this week (Wednesday and Friday). On Wednesday, I based the lesson on President Obama's inaugural address. About half of them had watched it and I recorded about 5 minutes of excerpts from the evening news that we watched in class. I gave them a transcript of the address and we analyzed the speech rhetorically (that's our focus for this unit). They did a nice job discussing it and seemed pretty involved. Today we discussed three speeches given by three different presidents of the UA to incoming freshman classes. The discussion activity I did went over really well and they seemed to have good insights on the texts. So, overall, I feel more confident in the classroom, my planning is going a little easier, and I think my students are pretty good. It'll be fun to get to know them more as the semester goes along.

Another thing I wanted to mention is that Arizona is in a major budget crisis which might have some serious consequences for education. Last week, the state legislature proposed cuts of up to 40% to the higher education budget. The university president has been encouraging people "to speak up now and to speak loudly." There have been protests on the mall on campus and in meetings with the regents. Another protest is planned in Phoenix next week. Obviously, if these cuts happen (and it seems likely that some cuts will, even if they're not as dramatic as 40%), there will be major changes at the university, including layoffs and elimination of some departments. If you're interested in more information about all this, I'd recommend reading the Sally Gradstudent Blog (linked on the right). I haven't been able to attend the protests yet, but I'll be making some time this weekend to write some letters. We're hoping to be able to ride out this situation without major changes in our programs, but it's hard to know what will happen.

On a brighter note, I've made all the arrangements to attend the TESOL convention in Denver, and I'm really looking forward to that.

Some thoughts

My only class today was cancelled because of the inauguration, so I decided to stay home today, work from here, and watch it. I don't know if I've really seen any other inaugurations, but it was pretty interesting to listen to Obama's speech and all the stuff before and after it. I think the news people were pretty excited and the crowd there certainly was. I don't really feel like writing a big post on politics, but I think my professor was right to say he cancelled class because what happened in our country today was certainly more significant than reviewing phonetics in class. I also decided to make the inauguration speech the subject of my 102 class tomorrow--I'll be introducing Aristotelian analysis, and analyzing a political speech is a great way to have my students practice the skills. Plus, I do think today was important for our country and it can't hurt to have my students interested in discussing it. (with this type of analysis the focus is on the speaker's effectiveness in achieving his purpose, so we'll focus on what his purpose was and how he achieved it--hopefully not get bogged down in political discussions.)

Some other things I haven't mentioned on the blog yet: on Friday afternoon I went to a panel organized by the EL/L Student Association (ELLSA) on professionalism in ESL. Dr. Panferov (my former instructor and the director of CESL), Dr. Dallas (my current Contrastive Rhetoric instructor) and Dr. Reinheart (another EL/L faculty member) presented some information and answered questions about things like attending/presenting at conferences, getting published, preparing a CV, and finding jobs. It was really good information, including lists of websites to look for work and a copy of Dr. Reinheart's CV from when he had just completed his master's. This is the only thing ELLSA has done since I've been here, but it was certainly worth attending. I think I might try to become an officer next year...

Mark and I also went to the young couples class at EBC on Sunday. It was a nice group of people, although I think we were the only people in the class who don't have kids. They were very friendly, though, and the teacher of the class was really interested in talking to Mark about percussion (he has a high school aged son in the pit). I told Mark he ought to bring his business cards next week! I think we'll keep attending this church. We seem to like the people we've met so far, and there are some couples are age in the young professionals group. (The only problem with that is we won't be able to go every week because Mark has SASO rehearsals some Tuesday nights). But, people there are starting to recognize us, and that's nice.

I can't really think of anything else interesting going on. We're both still trying to get used to our school schedules again, but another week or so and it'll all feel normal.

First Day Success

The first day of class was so much better than last semester. I was able to keep myself from getting nervous during the morning (telling myself that it was just a regular day at the office--sitting in the computer lab, working on lesson plans...). I did start to feel flustered about 5 minutes before class started, but I prayed about it and actually did feel better. It's hard to tell much about the students from just the first day, but they seem pretty good. (Angel, for example, told me yesterday that she could tell already one or two of hers would be troublemakers--I didn't have anyone that stood out in that way). I also don't have 6 girls named Katie this time, which is nice. In fact, I don't think I have any students with the same names. I think I did a much better job of explaining the syllabus, and I had them introduce themselves and do some in-class writing about their English 101 classes. It was interesting to read those and get an idea of what they had learned last semester, what they hope to learn this semester. Overall, I feel pretty satisfied with how the first day went, although there are still things I could do better next time.

I also went to my Contrastive Rhetoric class in the afternoon and I think that will be really interesting and applicable. It's about the way writing in a first language and second language interact with each other (in terms of linguistics, style, organization). Since I expect to teach an ESL section next semester, this class should be helpful preparation.

Also, I wanted to mention that the new bag Grandma and Pop-pop got me for Christmas is great--I was able to put all four of the textbooks for English 102 and my folders and my lunch in it yesterday. (That all would never have fit in my old bag.) The downside is that it was really heavy, but it was nice not to have to carry extra books in my arms. (I also won't have to take all four on the same day again, but yesterday I needed to show the students all the required texts). So, thanks again, Grandma!

I think that's about all there is to say about yesterday. Mark and I were both really tired when we got home, probably because neither of us has been that active in one day since last semester. It's going to take some time to re-adjust to this schedule. Today I'm going to Modern English Grammar, the class taught by the EL/L director which is supposed to be so hard. I'm eager to see how that goes!

Countdown

I'm counting down the final hours of the break. I had meetings at school this morning about English 102 and have been making some adjustments to my syllabus this afternoon. Tomorrow's the big day! I teach from 1-2pm, so I'll have to find a way to pass the morning while (hopefully) keeping my nervousness at bay. (We'll be on campus because Mark has class at 9.) I feel much more confident and in control than I did going into last semester, so that's really good. I just want to keep feeling that way and not get stressed before class. Our meeting this morning was with the librarians. I learned about all kinds of tutorials they have on the library website that I can assign as homework for my students. I have also scheduled a day for my students to meet with the librarian in the computer lab; she'll go over research strategies with them. I think that's a really great opportunity--I think I learned what I know about research by trial and error, so I'm even learning a lot from planning the course and working with the librarian. Today I discovered the button on the Academic Search Complete database that provides the citation for the source in multiple formats--saves me from having to type it out myself! Overall, I feel pretty ready for tomorrow (although I will miss my relaxed schedule!). I'll let you know how it goes.

Making Progress

I finished my syllabus today! Yesterday I spent several hours working on it, feeling discouraged for much of that time, because I thought I had already done a lot, but there seemed to be such a long way to go. Finally, my persistance has paid off. I have scheduled readings and assignments and some class activities for the whole semester. I am waiting to hear back on a few things, and I've sent it to my advisor to look over, but I expect the changes to be minor. Now I have to get serious about planning the lessons for the first few days of class. But, I have sketched out an outline at least, and I think I'll wait until Monday to finalize those details (class starts on Wednesday).

On Wednesday, Mark and I went to the university so he could meet with his advisor and register for classes. Right now he's signed up for something crazy like 18 hours. Something's going to have to go! But, as he said, it's easier to drop them than to get registered (since the advisor has to do some of these classes herself), so he'll adjust things before next week. We also went by the bookstore and bought my books. I really enjoy getting my 10% off discount as a GAT, but it was still expensive. The books, at least, look interesting. I keep checking D2L (the online course site) to see if any syllabi are posted for my classes, but there's nothing yet. (Of course, if my students are checking, theirs isn't there either).

Also, on Tuesday, Mark and I visited Fusion, the "Young Professionals Group" of the church we've been going to. They meet each week at a different restaurant to hang out and either discuss Sunday's sermon or talk to "guest speakers" from the church. There were several couples close to our age and we had a good time. One of my classmates, Sei, was there visiting for the first time, too, so that was fun. I only saw her once a week last semester, but we'll have another class together this semester, so I hope to get to know her better. Anyway, we liked the group well enough that we'll go back next week.

The church is also focusing this year on "serving the community" and as a part of that, they are planning some mission trips. I went to a meeting about that on Wednesday night, but they are really just starting to make plans. A group is going to Peru sometime in the summer, which I would love to do, but don't know if it'll be possible since my summer job situation is up in the air. They also plan to do some weekend trips nearby, though, and I think I can manage to participate in those. I've suggested going to Nogales, but there's really no plan yet. So, I think we might keep attending this church, especially now that we're starting to meet people.

I think that's just about all the news I have today. Oh--one more thing: we'll be watching the last James Bond (Casino Royale) tonight. Maybe I'll finally get the theme song out of my head!

One week left!

A week from today, I have to report back to "work" for the pre-semester GAT meetings. In the meantime, I'm reading* through the textbooks for 102 and trying to put together my syllabus. I'm not sure if I have to turn it in on Monday or not, but I think it would be better for me to have it mostly done. I do want to make sure I can make adjustments if I need to, though, after getting more information during the meetings. But, I'm getting closer and closer to having a plan as the days go by. My hope is to do everything I can by Friday then take the weekend off.

*An interesting tidbit--one of the articles I read in the anthology we use written by the wife of the director of the EL/L program, who is also a prominent figure in linguistics and second language teaching. In the article, she mentioned that she is friends with the linguist who developed the Klingon language for Star Trek. I thought that was pretty cool! (Her point was to show one of the unexpected ways linguistics can be used in our society.)

Mark and I are about two-thirds of the way through our new complete James Bond movie collection. We're watching them in chronological order--next is The Living Daylights with Timothy Dalton. I also finished reading the most recent of the Codex Alera books (the one Mark got for Christmas) and started re-reading the first in The Ellie Chronicles so I remember what's happening when I read the second one (which I got for Christmas). I've watched the first few episodes of Full House Season 4, too.

One of my other "to-do's" for the break was to find more information about possible summer jobs, and I've complied a pretty good list of possibilities. (But, it's really too early for me to apply for them at this point, which means we can't make any plans for the summer yet.) Here's my list so far:

• Teach summer session English 101 or 102 (I would have to apply, but the decision is really made based on a ranking given to me by the EL/L Director, which is based on input from my TEAD; and the availability for these jobs is slim. I would also only be teaching during one of the three summer sessions, which would give Mark and I some flexibility in terms of leaving town for a while, but might not provide enough income.)
• Teach in the New Start program (a special writing program at UA with a separate hiring process, but I can't teach both summer 101/102 and New Start.)
• Teach for the Institute of Reading Development (this sounds interesting, but the schedule could be tough and would prevent us from really being able to leave town. It would probably be good experience for me, and the pay is certainly better than the UA jobs.)
• Tutor at CESL (very appealing--I have already applied and been added to their tutor list, but still need to meet with the tutor program director to find out how much tutoring work there is and whether or not it would be enough to support us over the summer.)
• I can also look into tutoring and/or substitute teaching at the local community college.

So, having a nice list of options has made me feel more optimistic about the summer, but I may have some not-so-easy decisions to make when it's time to weigh the pros and cons (should I be offered more than one of the above jobs). I'll keep you informed as the job search continues throughout the semester, and, of course, appreciate any input you might have.

Before I stop writing this post and get back to work, I did want to mention that the door handle on the driver's side of the Focus broke yesterday. I was just pulling it to get out when I heard this funny snapping noise, and then the handle wouldn't do anything. So, all day yesterday I was getting in and out of the car by climbing across the emergency break and stick shift from the passenger side. The door has stayed locked, but won't open from inside or outside. I imagine we'll need to take off the inside door panel to see if we can figure out what happened and fix it; but it also happened to drizzle all day yesterday, so it wasn't a good time to check it out. I'm thankful that if something had to break on the car it was this, which, while annoying, is not critical.

Happy 2009!

While I don't have anything terribly interesting to say, I did want to wish everyone a Happy New Year! Mark and I had a very quiet New Year's Eve at home--we watched a couple of James Bond movies and caught the last 10 minutes of the Dick Clark show with the ball dropping. We used our fancy crystal glasses to toast with some horrible grape soda (it was cheaper than sparkling cider), then went to bed. I'm finding it hard to believe that it's 2009 already!