Starting to attune ourselves to working on curriculum - our program shall have a purpose!
Good morning. This is me. I was up late last night so I’m up late this morning. It is already 6:30 am. Ok, not up real late – and maybe we’ll take a nap later, but for now we’ve eaten and just gotten our first cup of coffee. Today is the day that fishyman comes home. WOOHOO!!!I think by now he is already up fishing. He said that he was wearing all his clothes, because it was so cold in the morning. Here it is 50 degrees. Next month he has one more trip – supposedly further south, but I’m not sure if it is south enough to stay wam. Ahh that reminds me … football today and we’re thinking we’re going to be out with Joe maybe? Better get a call and check that out … have to check out the money too. We still have to deposit our check too. Better get that done if we’re out. I think we were going to meet later like maybe even 1 pm.
Really need to check that out. I think though it sounds like we might be missing football and some of the stuff we’d planned to do yesterday. I would like nothing better than a visit with sons though so seeing Joe a pretty big deal. Chicago is favored to win pretty good … we’ll skip the part where they are looking for “good Rex” to play today … hmpf!
Oh man … we’re pretty blown away here. It is now 11 am. We ended up taking a three hour sleep and then when we got back I finally got my password information for ASCD. It is just blowing me away the amount of information out there. Officially ASCD means “Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.” It has a web site that is so deep its unbelievable. Ok, yes there is the bad part there is always time and money involved in these kind of decisions. But ASCD is supposed to be the world’s premier education organization with its goal to ensure the success of each learner. The biggest majority of occupations of those involved (38%) are principles, teachers, and administrators. The organization goes back to 1943 and publications dating back to that time that are available to members. I went back and read an article from a couple of months after I was born. It was pretty cool … it was a principal talking about how he’s worked through saving face amongst his staff and encouraging them, handling obvious problems, but becoming in actuality more a facilitator to their “representative genious.” That seems pretty amazing considering it was 48 years ago that he wrote the article. The general sense of the reading was a little different, because he barred so much on the line about his insecurities, and the conclusion was relatively weak – but, might have been inspired at the time, because he ended it asking for others to collarborate their stories, which was a main premise of his article – groups need leadership, but leadership needs the groups and individuals involved in teaching to make a difference.
I think the reason that we are using to add validity to our purchase ($89 for comprehensive membership) is because the reason that I started school was because I was interested in developing programs. Programs are supported by leadership and curriculum. When I found Capella I was interested because they offered educational psychology. I have just this week had contact with Capella and they are pushing that by September 28th, I could make a choice to enroll again, but there is too much against that decision at this time, mainly because of my inability to withstand and be committed to one thing. Each course dropped costs me money that I have to repay. I thought at first after hearing from the advisor, “hey, I have another chance because I want to be educated.” But, then reality sunk in and just after a day or two holding those thoughts, I realized that I was still coming home and floundering in tiredness, where I was again just playing around instead of developing my mind. I risk that too here with ASCD, but it is available to me for a relatively low cost and I can tune into as I choose not on demand. I was frustrated too with Capella that there was so little to be said for teaching. The teachers monitored the room, but that’s about it. The people I was in the room with were handing in inferior work, but because they could continue the program handing in that kind of work they would become graduate students, where I would flail, even though my work was better and more involved. I still like student directed learning, but there has to be a dialogue with someone about the work. In that respect Capella was weak. I think the other sister at the center was in a program where people met up and collaborated on-line and that was something missing from this program.
Ok, I don’t want to get into bashing Capella, because the bottom line was that I couldn’t pull together being dedicated enough to do the day-in day-out grind of reading and writing necessary to make the grade. I can still hold onto when I handed in work, it was always 100’s, or almost always, but it is heart-loss to know that the papers being written did not make a difference to anyone in my life, but me. And, at that there were too many times, I wanted to go back and reread – or get into things more in-depth, but the machine of duo papers a week and a final was always pushing us forward … sometimes too fast. And, is well-stated, I work in too much detail than is sometimes good for me. But, I couldn’t let go of doing quality to my standards, even though that wasn’t required in the program of mushing forward.
WooHOOO … its now 12 pm and I just talked to Joe … he says that he’s hungry now and just got out of church. What a good boy he is. I’m already showered and dressed, though my hair is still wet. We’ll have to drive with the windows open I think. I told him I would leave in about 10 minutes. We want to post this first and gather ourselves for going outside. Getting dressed is part of that, but then we have to leave our beloved computer. I’m so glad that Rich has a laptop that connects to the Internet independently. It allows me for the most part to be using my computer as we do. OOHHHH there is one more thing I want to remind you of. Next Sunday we will be on vacation. WOOHOOO Saugatuck, MI!!!
Ok, that’s good right … we’re making progress … have to leave the house? Ok, then let’s think what has to be done. I should take my phone … a hair thingy, my purse … better check the bank account. Ok, good … theoretically it still has money in it … better be careful though. Ok I need to bring my purse AHA and my credit card that I’d taken out. I’m good with gas. What else … Think that’s about it … the cane is in the car. Ok, then let’s say bye for now … good morning of working out in reading if not the writing. We need to be doing that more balanced, and WE HAVE to start reading seriously at night either the curriculum or the grant. AND, I think we really owe Rich on the grant work. Ok, ok … shhh … reading afterward … well, maybe after mentioning the Joe. Ok, you … let’s get to it!
posted by Ann Marie @ 9/16/2007 12:11:00 PM
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