Reflection 02/16/09

Even though I am majoring in English, I have always had trouble writing. I continue to learn better writing strategies with each paper I complete. Having a blog is a little strange to me. I have never been one to journal every day, and I still struggle with this issue now. As with writing, I am learning the benefits from writing for five minutes every night. I am not a big fan of the blogging idea yet, but I can see how helpful it is for many people. I believe that through practice and self-discipline, I will gain insight on the rewards of journaling and, possibly, blogging.

The book project is kind of fun. I could not decide what to write about, but through the help of several table members, who shall remain nameless, I have a topic. I think writing a book about coming to college as an older student will hopefully give others a look at the obstacles most non-traditional students face beyond the classroom.

Reflection 02/14/09

Oh, where do I begin? I never knew I had a learning disability until I went to marriage counseling with my husband. I was diagnosed with ADHD at the beginning of 2005. Once I was told that I suffer from the combined type of this disability, my psychologist, my husband, and I started to put the pieces together. After this, I was able to look back on my school years to see how it affected my academic and social skills.

I struggled through school with reading comprehension and writing abilities. I was a very friendly person, but I wanted to please everybody. I was eager to have people like me, so I would become annoying. My grades were okay, but I found it very hard to really focus on one thing at a time. I had a lot of energy which caused me to have problems sitting still during class. I also found it very hard to control my impulses. For instance, I would always speak out of turn, or interrupt someone, or show my frustration by snapping at someone. In 7^th and 8^th grades, I was assigned 500 word essays for talking so much in class. Once I had exhausted this punishment, I started receiving demerits. If a student got a total of 8 demerits, she was sent to ISS (In School Suspension). Luckily, I teetered between 6 and 7 demerits. When I started high school, I was able to control some of these urges, but I could not squelch them. Throughout my school years, I was constantly told that I was lazy and was never encouraged to apply for college or anything beyond high school. I worked many jobs after graduation. At every job, I learned to compensate for the lack of control I lived with. I found ways to organize things, even though no one could ever figure out the “method to my madness.” My longest job lasted four years, and these wonderful people learned to live with me. Finally, I felt accepted.

After my initial diagnosis in 2005, I went to a psychiatrist to receive medication. Let me tell you something. This gracious doctor has given me a life. He understands how my mind works, and he helps me find the right medicine and dosage that I need. If I did not have my husband and this doctor in my life, I would not be where I am today.

Because of the issues I continue to face every day in college, I am determined to provide my future students a classroom environment and teaching style for all different learners. I learn new things I can do all the time, and I want to share these skills and advice with my students. No student will leave my class feeling as if he/she did not succeed. I will not give up on my students. I know what giving up feels like, and I do not want my students to feel as if they have failed.

Class Reflection 02/02

Because I am a little older now, I cannot remember too much about elementary school. I will share what little bit I can recall, but I will also share my own children’s experiences too. In kindergarten, I remember the alphabet letter people. They were these inflatable letters, and the class learned a new one every week, maybe? I remember reading from these skinny books about a Panda Bear. I think the Panda’s name was Buffy. I do remember the smell of the books because they were new. Other than that, I can jump to seventh and eighth grades. We still had spelling books and had weekly spelling tests. This is when I found my love of spelling!

For my three children, the language learning has been different. Miranda also had the inflatable alphabet people in kindergarten, but I don’t recall anything else as far as language learning for her. My older son, Tyler, still has trouble with his spelling and language. He originally learned to spell phonetically, and he has never been corrected in school. I get very upset at the teachers who are doing him a disservice by not correcting his spelling mistakes. I worry about Tyler because he is in sixth grade, and he still has spelling problems. I really feel like his teachers are only concerned with his sentence structure, grammatical errors, and etc. When I try to patiently show Tyler his spelling mistakes and help him, he gets mad. He tells me that I should not worry about his spelling because his teachers do not worry about it. What bothers me the most is my youngest son, Kieran, can correct Tyler’s spelling. I admit that Kieran is really advanced for his age, but he shouldn’t be teaching his older brother how to spell!

I really wonder what has happened in Tyler’s education. Did I do something wrong? Did the teachers do something wrong? I question this all the time. Even though I cannot place the blame on one specific person, I am very determined to provide my students with all the help they need in learning everything I can teach them concerning language, which includes spelling.