word up

Hey there I am back from Spring Break and things are pretty crazy. I am super busy with school projects and just trying to keep it together. I still have a couple weeks left of fire crew training, so hopefully I can get er done and do school and work at the same time. Blah blah blah, not sure what to say. I have been checking out blogs for one of my classes. We are all considering a different cultural group and the information out there is pretty intense. Some groups of students have the odds stacked against them to the core. How are we going to help these marginalized groups while serving the entire student population? There is not enough time or resources to reach out to everyone it seems. I have spent a lot of time in the schools in the past year and it is a daily struggle for teachers to get through all the curriculum let alone take time to help out trouble kids. If only we had 36 hours in a day maybe there would be more time. Money is probably one of the largest obstacles for students in tough situations. I don't mean because they don't have money, but there isn't money out there to help them get out of their situations. At some level there has to be some self determination and good things for marginalized students to look up to. I think that I can provide a good example for students and hopefully be real with them so they realize that effort has to be put out on their end for them to ultimately be successful. It seems that teaching is sort of a tight-rope walk where one side is all the bureaucratic bullshit while the other side is the students their needs. Can we walk the line and still be successful on both ends, no idea at this point? I will find out when I get a job and I am going to carry my motivation with me. Everyone tells me that I will become jaded or whatever and that teachers can't keep it up. I think that if you let yourself get bogged down and do not have any outlet to free yourself from frustration then yeah you can get stuck in pessimistic thinking and a negative attitude for teaching. TEachers with a negative attitude about adolescents and the education system should take a seat and let, young motivated teachers take the stage and move society forward in the 21st century. I hate to get down on those who are teaching now, but it is part of the problem. There are so many obstacles to success that we just try to do what we can, but we must always strive to do more. Getting complacent is going to bring everyone down. I think a large portion of society is complacent with the way they live their lives and change seems too difficult. We don't have any options other than to strive for progress on many levels. Obama is out there doing his best and we should as well. People are so critical of him and his policies, but at least he is trying other than the "war president' before. All Bush wanted to do is fight and let the free market run itself. Well the trickle down theory is debunked for the fifty-thousandth time and people are struggling around the US and the world. We all need to do more and step up... the issues facing society today are greater and more complicated than ever before in history. We created global warming, yet folks out there still think it does not exist. Fuck, how can we get everyone on the same page? not likely, but I am going to try with the most effort I can give to do good in this world. Everyone should do this in their daily lives, I am not saying to become consumed with the lives of others as we all have basic needs we have to take care of, but think of those who have it worse and set an example. Teaching is a profession that is highly complicated, so how could we simplify it while addressing everyone's needs, not sure. I am going to set out to become part of the next great generation of teachers and help students of all types succeed as citizens in the 21st century... whew!

almost spring break...

Hey people whats up? I am just about to go to class and I thought I should write some stuff on my blog. I have been super busy lately and it is exhausting. I have been substitute teaching a lot and training for fire crew on the weekends. I am excited for this summer, but still I am stressed to the core. School is going well, but there are big projects looming that I am nervous about. The major source of my stress is financial. I am working my butt off, yet the way my pay schedule works I can not seem to support myself. My financial aid money is gone and subbing is not cutting it. Fire crew will net me a good pay check for training, but not until mid-may at the earliest.
My mom is back in Visalia which is really great. I think things are going really well with her and I wish I could take a more active role in her recovery. It seems that each day is better, I hope she gets more speech therapy so she can gain back what was probably her most valuable asset. I am going to visit Visalia for a week soon, so that should be a nice break.
I got pretty under the weather this last weekend because allergies hit me real hard in Sacramento. The grass and pollen does not agree with me. Hopefully I have this under control and I'll start feeling better. I am tired.