Reaching Out III

You would think asking people that's doing the thing you want to do for interview's would be easier by now. I can tell you it is not and it generates some anxiety on my part.
Nevertheless, I asked another one of my son's teacher's for an interview & he was very happy to know that I wanted to teach.

I can tell you though teachers want students that are serious about their success. I did interviews with teachers from a College Preparatory and they all mirrored that they wanted students that were focus, and attentive.

Mr. L'Aku' interview was motivating & I learned that if students are not serious with their success it is a hard and long tasks to get them there.
I really would like to thank all of my Interviewers it really has been inspiring for me & I look forward to working with 12th graders.

I can definitely tell you that with these interviews; I have decided I want to teach 12th graders. I believe I can offer more to the students who have decided or planned for their success. Not that they want change their mind in the process but they have some clarity of what they want out of life!

Here's Mr.A'ku Interview:

Hi, Ms. Dade.


Here are my answers to your questions.


Who would be in your perfect class?
Only attentive, studious, focused, well-behaved pupils.


What would you want them to know?
Coming into my class they should know how to clearly express themselves in writing. They should also have strong algebra and reading comprehension skills.


What would you want to share with them?
I'd share the topics of Environmental Science and Physics. I'd also try to encourage them to be patient and to remain focused on scholastic achievement.


Were there any moments where you may have felt discouraged, encouraged, or unsupported and how did you overcome the challenges you faced?
During times when I feel discouraged I recall that there will be low moments in the workplace just like there will be high moments. The low moments are changes for self-improvement, so I just try to stay positive and remember that these times are only temporary. Usually things end up not being as they seem, and people often make things worse by dwelling on what worries them and making mountains out of molehills. Lastly, I leave work at school. I don't carry too many things home with me to think about or to actually do. I am pretty successful at keeping my professional and personal lives separate. It helps if you know how to manage things and keep them in perspective.


Finally, do you have any advice about what my next steps should be to accomplish my goals in wanting to become a teacher for children from 7-12th grade?
I'd start by talking to children about their perceptions and expectations as far as school is concerned. You can learn a lot by listening to the children and I think that adults generally assume that the perceptions, expectations, and concerns of children aren't worth considering. Certainly, we have to provide for the children but, at the same time, we need to address their wants and needs.


I hope this helps! Good luck!


Mr. A'Ku

Reaching Out II Part 2

These are the hands of my (2) football players! They were'nt so happy in posing for me but we got the job done after (5) takes.

I asked a friend of mine Professor Walker to grant me this interview on short notice & I really appreciate her giving it to me. I had almost forgot that she use to teach elementary students.

Trying to beat Cinderella’s clock sometimes is a little stressful. The problem is you think you have all this time & when you look up & your homework is due @ midnight. Kudos Professor Walker!

Thanks Professor Walker,
I really appreciate you giving me this interview on really such notice. My assignment was to interview someone that's doing the thing you wanted to do. However, I forgot you use to teach grade level & only remember that you were a college professor. That meant I couldn't interview you. However, since you did teach @elementary level & I began to think to myself with excitment you are re-qualified to give me this interview! I really appreciated that.

In addition, my goals when I graduated are to teach either 7th thru 12th grade. The Early Outreach program where my kids use to go has given me an opportunity to teach for 1 hour whatever level I choose. First, I need to shadow or observe the classrooms to give me a feel of which level I could better serve. Nevertheless, I need to come up with a lesson which is pretty scary for me.

Professor Walker’s Interview:
) In a perfect class, my students would be able to work independently.
-They would be excited about learning
-Their parents would be supportive partners in the education process
2) I would want them to know the foundational skills for the core subjects-i.e. reading/math
-they would need to know what is expected as far as appropriate behavior in the school environment
3) I would want to share with them a lifelong love of learning
- a desire to reach each individual's full potential
- a goal of completing college
4) I have felt supported when students learn and are able to apply what I taught them. Also, I have experienced students who I seen many, many years later and remember the good learning experiences they had in my classroom and thank me for them.
I have also been discouraged - After 13 years of teaching grades K-8, a career I have wanted since I was in 7th grade, I found myself burned out. The last year that I taught in elementary school was very stressful. Administrative demands, 32 second graders- 2 with special needs and no aide, parents with issues and three small children of my own all added up to burn out. My way of coping was to leave teaching and devote time to my family. This was the best decision for me and I have never regretted it. I didn't want to continue teaching if I could not give it my best.
8 years later, I returned to teaching at the college level. I now teach beginning teachers and am able to share my years of experience to help prepare them for their careers. I love teaching at this level and feel as though I am making a worthwhile contribution to the field of education.

I am not sure what your next steps are as I'm not sure where you are currently in the process. I can generally suggest that you map out the steps that you need to take to reach your goal and follow them. It also helps to share your goals with someone who can encourage you as you move towards your goal.
I hope that this helps.
Donna

Reaching Out II

I am really grateful to Ms. Clark for giving me the opportunity to interview her for the class. She was extraordinary in her advice & giving me a chance on short notice to grant me this interview. It really says something about a teacher character to always be willing to help her students & especially students that are not in her class. She has given me some concrete advice about my future. What’s really great is she says the older you are going into this profession the better. This was a concern of mine & she did not even know it. So, I thank her for this most AWESOME interview and the tools I need to be successful in my career.
Here’s her response:
No problem! If someone else is interested in undertaking this wonderful profession...I would recommend the older the better...I love to teach at the high school level. Students are always willing to learn more. They have a lot of issues and concerns and most of them have nothing to do with my US History class!!

So, let me try to answer your questions...
1. Who would be in your perfect class? My perfect class would be any set of young adults who come to school. I know I could say all students who love history would be the perfect class but I love any student who comes to class each day and ready to learn. I appreciate the students who have to struggle to get here are live a very difficult life but still come each day to learn.

2. What would you want them to know? I would like for my students to know how to find the answers to their questions. I want my students to be critical thinkers who know that the only difference between an educated and an uneducated student is that an educated student knows where to look for the answers. Students who just sit and wait for the answer to be given them are not going to be successful

3. What would you want to share with them? I would like to share with my students the love of history. I would like them to see that each day they create their own history and what they do today will impact their future. I would also want to share with them that they can do anything if they are motivated to make a difference in their lives

4. Were there any moments where you may have felt discouraged, encouraged, or
unsupported and how did you overcome the challenges you faced? The only times I get discouraged are when other teachers give up on students or who don't do things that would benefit the students. The other times are when a student dies by the violence on the streets and then I wonder what good I am doing for them if this is their reality. The only thing is that I know that they need a solid education to make it past the harsh life that they are faced with each day. I am encouraged when students say, "I never knew that" or "that was interesting"...little things make teachers feel appreciated.

Final advice for you...you MUST love teaching in order to do this profession...you need to be able to make fun of yourself (because they do it for you anyway and if you can't laugh at yourself that it will be a long road!)...ALWAYS be prepared for each day you teach (they can sense when you are unprepared!)....GOOD LUCK

I hope this helps please let me know if you need anymore

Mrs. Katie Clark

Optional Activity in class:
Our group shared hard times & we really bonded. We all came away with it's ok to have hard times & you know what? We all felt better after we all shared in this feeling!

Reaching Out

I interviewed Clyde Pickett, a Director for Multicultural Development from Ohio Northern University . He is really someone I look up to & cherish. He puts my mind at ease with the loving and fatherly care he gives to the students. My daughter & so many other students go to him for advise, strength, encouragement, motivation, and he is an inspiration to parents as well as students. My mind is at ease while my daughter is @ONU. I have not seen a University where this type of loving care & nurturing is given the way he & the Multicultural Development has expressed it! Here is my interview with him.

If you had a choice:
1) Who would be your perfect students?
2) What would you want them to know?
3) What would you want to share with them?
4) Were there any moments where you may have felt discouraged, encouraged, or unsupported and how did you overcome the challenges you faced?
5). Is it more rewarding do you think to motivate and groom students’ vs. teaching them in the classroom?
6).Finally, do you have any advice about what my next steps should be to accomplish my goals in wanting to become a teacher.
Mrs. Dade,

Thank you for the e-mail. I’m sorry I missed your visit to Ada this weekend. I was actually out of town. I’ll make sure to look into Professor Rockquemore. You will find my answers to the questions below. Please let me know if you need any other information.


If you had a choice: 1)who would be your perfect students? I don’t believe in the concept of perfect students. I think that is the beauty of the work that I do. I have the opportunity to work with students from all different backgrounds and with different skills sets.
2) what would you want them to know? I would want all of my students to know that they are capable of anything. So many of our students limit their expectations. I work proactively to increase the expectations of my students. If they aspire for greatness and understand that it is obtainable, they can do anything.
3) What would you want to share with them? I share with them the awareness of resources to make their journey easier. For my students it means, scholarships, tutoring and other support services, as well as community partnership and engagement opportunities.
4) Were there any moments where you may have felt discouraged, encouraged, or unsupported and how did you overcome the challenges you faced? I have certainly felt all three. I have been discouraged and unsupported at times by the lack of success with some of my student programs and the lack of institutional support for some of my programs. I decided to move forward by focusing on helping all of the students I could to be successful. I am always encouraged by the feedback from my students and parents who openly show appreciation for the support that we are able to provide. I too am encouraged by the academic success of my students.
5. Is it more rewarding do you think to motivate and groom students vs. teaching them in the classroom? I think they are equally rewarding.
I know you deal with a lot of students & their personal issues, but how do you keep them motivated to stay @ONU? ?I keep them motivated by stressing the long term benefits in obtaining a degree from ONU. I also stress the importance of student engagement. If we can keep students involved and engaged in activities at ONU, we will be able to keep them at ONU.
Finally, do you have any advice about what my next steps should be to accomplish my goals in wanting to become a teacher. I would first ask what level you want to teach. Once you have that in mind I would suggest moving towards volunteer opportunities in a class setting to make sure that it was the appropriate career choice.




Clyde

Clyde Wilson Pickett
Director of Multicultural Development

I asked Dr. Urmani Director, of the Early Outreach Program for an interview. She has been a role model of mine for many years. My children used to attend the Saturday College here @ UIC. The program is phenomenon & I recommend it to anyone who has children & want a quality program to help them actually be ahead of their home school. We would getup every Saturday & they would learn math, science, language arts. They would even work in labs for an enriching experience. My daughter was lucky enough to get in the program in 6th grade. She also, was able to one of fifty that was selected across the United States in a program geared towards being a doctor. The Physician Scientist Program housed students all over the country & they were lab assistance in trying to find cures for many diseases. It was great she lived in the dorms @Temple University in Philadelphia for six weeks and then the next year for 8 weeks. She went to Washington, & UIC working very closely with Doctors who were doing research and trying to find a cure. She could say words that I could only dream of. I would always tell her to tell this person & that person what she was working on. I really loved that program it was great! Dr. Urmani was instrumental in getting Denisha (my daughter) in that program. She took her under her wing and groomed her. Not just her, but all my children. Her staff is the greatest they also, are very nurture ring but they don’t accept any non sense.
I asked her basically the same questions listen to her response.
Dear Angela,

Certainly, I will do the e-mail interview:

Answers:

If you had a choice:
1)who would be in your perfect class?
A perfect class for me would have 85% students who are eager to learn.
They would be students who love a challenge and are determined to be
successful in school and in life. Their eagerness keeps the class
interesting. Their self-motivation is the catalyst to improving the
performance of all the students in the class. They would feed off of each
other and strive for excellence and have lots of fun doing it. The other
15% would be a mixture of students who are academically challenged, have
had failures in school, are turned off to learning (because they have had
bad teachers), are handicapped physically and/or mentally, or autistic.
These students would be embraced by the 85%. Because they are in an
exciting learning environment, they would be transformed into excited
learners. The capacity of the 85% to help change the learning environment
would be crucial to making the class perfect.


2) What would you want them to know?
I would want the students to know how to read and perform basic
mathematical computations. I would want the 85% to know that they are
capable of conquering the world and they are born for success, and that
there is no challenge to hard for them to accomplish. They can even
change an individual with a bad attitude toward school into a positive
attitude and help them achieve success.

3) What would you want to share with them?
I would want to share with the students that they are born with the
capacity to be successful. There is nothing too hard for them to
accomplish, if they set their minds to it. They are made for success and
they can achieve it, if they are in the right environment. This would be
an environment that they create first in their minds and then in their
world.

4) Were there any moments where you may have felt discouraged, encouraged,
or unsupported and how did you overcome the challenges you faced?
There have been times when I have felt discouraged and unsupported, but
the moments when I have been encouraged have far outweighed those other
times. Every time I see the light go in a child's eyes, or see a child
loving learning, or help a child achieve a particular learning goal that
we have set, I feel so very excited. I feel invincible. This is what
encourages me and helps me overcome the challenges that come with being an
educator.

Finally, do you have any advice about what my next steps should be to
> accomplish my goals in wanting to become a teacher for children from
> 7-12th grade?
My advice to you would be to begin hanging around good teachers, who have
mastered working with adolescents. You need to be around teachers who
still believe that children can learn and want to see them achieve. You
need a mentor who is not afraid of teens. You need a gifted educator to
shadow who can show you how they do what they do so very well. First, get
yourself a mentor. Second, begin looking at the kind of school in which
you would like to serve as a teacher. Begin helping out at the school.
They may have extracurricular activities in which a teacher could use some
support. Third, begin tutoring a child who needs help. Fourth, shadow an
exceptional educator.

You are on your way to achieving your dream at the highest level of
perfection.

Be blessed.

Deborah Umrani, Ph.D.
I have to say Dr. Urmani has given my a chance of a life time. She has agreed to let me observe classes
Nov. 12th & she has also agreed to let me teach for one hour in Dec. I am excited & afraid @the same time.
I want to say Thank You Dr. Urmani, & I love you for believing in my children & ME!

Plotting A Path

HARD TIMES...................

I wanted to start my blog with Hard Times (Chapter 5) because this has been a very challenging week for my family, particularly my SON! Last week my son Getzman was playing in his high school football game hurt his ankle (so, I thought). When he got home he told me he heard something crack!

I can't tell you how mortified I was by that simple statement. His ankle was swollen & he limped something horrible. So, my husband & I told him to ice it. So, the next day, he got up to go to Church & it had really ballooned. So, I asked my husband to look it at & he determine he might have something broke, & that he should probably go to the hospital.

So, we discuss that maybe if he iced it a little more he would be OK. Well, the swelling did go down a little he said," he felt OK".

Now, I did call the doctor & he just happened to be closed on Monday & he told me if I was really uncomfortable take him to emergency. Well, Monday came & he wanted to go to practice, now his ankle is still swollen & I'm thinking it should have went down more by now. Of course, I told him no & we had his ankle x-ray & saw something that didn't look good. We had to wait until the next day for the report.

My heart fell to the ground when they told me he had a fractured ankle. My husband told my son the results, & you know what....He cried so hard, and for so long because he can't finish out the season. My heart just ached to see my son cry like that. I don't ever think I saw my son cry like that. It was horrendous! I felt so helpless there was nothing I could do for him. My husband, 21 year old daughter & I tried to console him. He is so depressed & I weep silently for him.

I was sent to a specialist & of course he needs a MRI, and crutches & I have to wait for a referral before I can do either. I am so upset that my son is in need of crutches & I have to wait for a referral! This is one of things President Obama is trying to eliminate.

The bright side is he can still walk, & we do have health care. Maybe in his senior year he can play again. (APPLAUSE)

I just needed to blog about hard-times because when you love someone & they hurt you hurt too!

Goal 1

My first goal is get the Director of the Early Outreach program to let me observe 7th-12th graders in her program on Saturdays.

This will enable me to conclude @what level of students I am passionate about teaching.

I started this process last year & had to wait until the program began again.

I am excited & frighten at the same time. My kids are motivating & afraid for my students.

Can you imagine that??

Exercise 2

My five contacts are:

1. Dr. Urmani

2. Ms. Bacia

3. Ms. Richards

4. Mr. Mitchell

5. Mr. Pickett

6. Mr. Aku'

7. Ms. Gill

8. Ms. Gardner

9. Ms. Henson

10. Ms. Henderson

Optional:

I really enjoyed the Success Team. Everyone had wonderful ideas & they were thoughtful, and compassionate in helping other students with other careers that fit into their touchstone.

However, some were a little confused about their targets, & I am sure that they have re-read GoalSearch page 68-80 in their WishCraft books and are on their path to their targets!

Remember, Barbara Sher says "The way you go about actually choosing your target will depend on what your touchstone or dreams that are your passion".

Also, don't forget it depends where you are in your life. Please review this section it will help you establish your TARGET!