Blog Assignment #1

Life as I Know It

    My name is Carmen Deanna Clark. I was born and raised in Mobile, Alabama. After graduating from Mary G. Montgomery I decide to take a major step out of my comfort zone of sweet tea and yes ma'am to move to Springfield, Missouri, and attend Evangel University as a theology major. I returned back to Mobile to attend the University of South Alabama to pursue a degree in secondary education(history).
     As a freshman at Evangel University I had the opportunity to take a personality test that assessed my top five strengths. These strengths include: strategic, W.O.O.(winning others over), communication, adaptability, and positivity. I truly believe that these adequately describe who I am. My interest include making people laugh, helping people in need, religion, United States history, ancient history, racquetball, human videos, softball, and traveling. I feel compelled to train up, guide, coach, and encourage young students to be the best they can be and to work hard as they achieve their dreams.

The Art of Teaching

     I desire to teach high school(11th grade) history. I feel that the importance of history is often lost through the spitting off of dates, names, and locations. I want to change this. I will create a challenging course that pushes students to not only learn what has happened but also why it happened, its results, how those results effect them, and how to apply the concept into their life and future.
    I understand that everyone of my students will be different. They will all come into my classroom with different learning preferences, interests, and options on the value of history. In my classroom students will have the opportunity to learn through visual, auditory, and kinesthetic styles. They will be able to connect and relate history to things that are important to them and observe the impact history has on their personal future.
    In order for students to have those opportunities I will employ multiple different tools to aid them in their understanding of history. These tools include: SMART boards, powerpoint, Youtube, podcast, student-teacher safe interactives sites, pictures, art, and music. I will incorporate this things into my lessons. and many of them will be available as homework aids and assistances to students who may be falling behind due to an absence.
    My classroom will be held in a very organized and structured manner. Everything moment will be used to prepare students for their future. Students will be expected to come in and get to work instantly on writing down information that I will have up for them. This information includes things they need to know such as homework, today's class objectives, and a few interesting facts in history. My class will be held in a lecture style in which I will teach using many of the above stated tools while students are expected to follow and keep notes.

Time is of the Essence

     In Randy Pausch's lecture on time management he dicusses the importances of creating a plan even if you do not stick exactly to it. Paulsch speaks on the role planning has in setting goals. He also mentions creating to do list and how to get through them.
     As I stated above my top strength is Strategic this means I plan ahead constantly. I have plans, schedules, and to do list everywhere. From my weekly blocked out schedule on my computer, to my summer trip planning list on my desk, to my school work to do list on my phone I have them everywhere. I do not have a problem in this area.
     What I found to be most important in this lecture as it applies to me are Pausch's statements on doing the right thing as opposed to doings things right. I often waste time trying to make things prefect instead of getting things adequately done and moving on to the next thing. If I practice this idea in my life it would allow me to manage my time more effectively.