Lesson Planning

I am preparing some lessons for next week.  The essential question for the week is "How can one person change the way you think?"  The intro lesson starts with a picture of Jackie Robinson and a short discussion about him.  Looking through the lessons in the cirriculum, this is the only mention of Jackie Robinson.  I was a little confused on why the lesson would simply introduce a historical figure by simply saying he was brave because he was the first African American to play in major league baseball.  I decided to look for a short video to give more information about him to illustrate his bravery.  While in my pursuit of more biographical information I learned that he had a brother, 'Mac' Robinson, who competed in the 1936 Olympics and finished second place, by four tenths of a second, to Jesse Owens. After returning from the Olympics Mac was only able to find work as a garbage man, something that stuck with Jackie Robinson.  
Another lesson introduced Roberto Celmente, another baseball player.  He was from Puerto Rico and worked his way to major league baseball where he played for the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1955 to 1972.  He worked hard to play baseball better than anyone else and challenged reporters and sports broadcasters to give him credit for his accomplishments.  He worked to help others and was on his way to Nicarauga with supplies to aid victims of an earthquake when his plane crashed.  
There is so much information I learn as I prepare a lesson, most of it I will not be able to share with my students.  I do want to share with them why men and women in history are great leaders, the reasons we remember and celebrate them.  Simply saying they were brave or worked hard does not honor the sacrafices and dedication they had and experienced.   I am spending more time writing the lesson plans because I get distracted by the lives of the individuals I am introducing.  And then I find more to capture my interest. 

I am also teaching about idioms this week.  I cannot tell you how excited I am about this! I love taking language apart and examining it, it has always been something I have enjoyed.  When I was learning to spell I would study the World Books we had to find words, I searched for the longest words and would study them until I had them perfect.  I was the little first grader in the spelling bee with the sixth graders.  And one of my favorite movies of all time is "Akeelah and the Bee."  I was riveted, it made my heart so happy when they showed how words can be taken apart, piece by piece, to uncover the meaning.  I am fascinated by languages and how connected they are. It is another thing that proves we are not all so different from one another.  When we learn about other cultures, about the amazing acts of people around the world we also learn something about ourselves.  That is the beauty in life and in learning, it is endless and amazing.  Each country has its own history, with great things and with terrible decisions.  The more we learn about one another the easier it is to be respectful and work to create peace.

Oh Shiny Syndrome

I have been working on two lesson plans this weekend.  One of them is for my first observation of student teaching on Wednesday and the other is for a lesson on alliteration and similes. As I created the lesson plans, I would regularly get taken away from the task at hand as I searched for specific poems or ideas.  I got pulled into various activity ideas and then have to bring myself back to recording my plan.  This is something I regularly do and have always done.  This is something my sister, Crystal, once refered to as "Oh, shiny!" syndrome.  While doing something, talking with someone, etc. another seemingly more interesting idea or task presents itself.  Rather than staying focused on the initial venture, a veer to a new destination takes place.  It is like going an a long drive, you have a destination in mind but you see a sign along the way advertising a fun attraction.  You take a detour, whether out of boredom or just for a break from the monotony.  You eventually continue on your journey but you have lost time and will arrive later than planned.

I am nearly finished with my degree and will soon be a certified teacher. I have taken many detours to get to this point.  Are they all worthwhile detours?  Most of them, yes.  Others, maybe not.  I try to do my best to focus on the present and not regret the past because ultimately there is nothing I can do to change the past, it is already done.  I can make decisions now, in the present that will change the future but now is where I am.  I have some amazing boys and a little girl I have been fortunate to spend my afternoons and summers with and my life is greatly blessed because of them, their parents and grandparents. I work with some of the most wonderful people, who daily teach me so much about myself, life, and teaching.  We are all on a journey, each navigating the best we know how.  I will try to smile more to those around, offer a hello and listening ear whenever I can, and do my best to encourage others on their journey because doing so enriches my own life.

I hope to make this blog a place where I share my thoughts on my journey through each day.

quotes found on: http://quotesgram.com/live-in-the-present-quotes/