I have a lot of pet peeves: plastic bathtubs, hair (not attached to the head), bath rugs (disgusting to think of bath rug hair and lint all over clean feet), immaturity (though I admit, I can be pretty immature myself at times, and immaturity in general can be subjective), backstabbers, whiny children...the list is long. Anyway, the sight/site spelling error is fast becoming a big problem for me. I can't count the times that I've seen professional organizations and newspaper reporters use the word "sight" (as in "It was a sight to behold", or "Her sight was almost gone") and and spell it "site" or vice versa. I don't get it. Really, some of the only times "site" should be used is in reference to a website ("the article appears at the following site...") or a location ("Construction is almost finished at the building site."). The sight/site problem is on par to become another "affect/effect" problem and I've noticed it getting worse over time as people see the word "site" on the internet and just assume that is the only way to spell it. I will admit, my spelling and grammar (especially my grammar-see the post below this for some fine examples) are FAR from perfect, but there are a few things that really bug me when I see them. This is one of those things.
-Me
P.S. A third spelling of the word is "cite" as in: "The police officer cited her for reckless endangerment." or "Don't forget to cite your sources." I have seen writers use "site" in place of "cite" but this error is made far less than the other.
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
student teaching: what i'm learning
I do realize it's been more than two months since I've posted...and I apologize if anyone still reads my blog (not that anyone ever did). I guess I've just been plagued with a lack of inspiration...spending a good deal of time writing each day will do that after a while...and none of my writing has had anything to do with what I wanted to write about. That's the worst kind of writing.
The last two months have passed quickly, in part because I've been keeping busy with student teaching. I received my assignment at the end of July and am in a class with 10th graders all day. "Our" kids are really great kids and I've been enjoying getting to know them, but getting used to being back in high school full-time has been difficult and a little weird now that I'm on the "teacher" side of things. My observations and practicums over the last two years have done a lot to prepare me, but there were still things that really shocked me during the first few weeks of school...for one, the meetings. I don't understand the need for so many committees and teams...I realize a lot of it has to do with all the standards: district standards, state standards, and national standards, but these meetings usually consist of one person orating for a long period of time about nothing in particular...well, sometimes the news is important and in which case the speaker usually takes full advantage of the opportunity to speak, and what could take 10 minutes usually lasts about 1.5 hours. So anyway, the number of meetings teachers attend when you add standards meetings to IEP meetings, and parent conferences, and data team meetings, and department meetings, and staff meetings-it's a little overwhelming.
Another surprising facet of teaching has been the grading. I realize that as an English teacher, I will have more grading than probably most, if not all, other subjects, and by the nature of what I will be teaching, the grading is going to take longer (research papers, essays, etc.), but when each assignment given yields 130 papers to grade, one can see how grading takes up and immense amount of time. One night, I graded 350 papers and over 3,500 individual sentences (I was grading grammar assignments.)!
Needless to say, I've learned a lot about teaching and just how demanding it actually is. I won't lie, the thought of leaving teaching before I've even begun has crossed my mind, but after realizing the need for good, committed teachers, I've promised myself that I'm going to stick it out and do something with everything I've learned...after all, what good is anything I've been through if I don't use it to help someone else? I'm learning what teachers mean when they say that you have to be "called" to the profession...it is not for the weak. I'm learning too, that teachers (in general, and specifically high school teachers) are some of the most cynical and jaded people you will meet-not that that is a bad thing. What teachers see and deal with every day is enough to make a lot of people run, so developing a perservation tool like cynicism is only natural. Because my nature is more disposed to sarcasm and cynicism, I'm realizing that one of my biggest battles within myself will be fighting the urge to categorize people and events, and focus on the negative. I owe it to those I will be teaching to have a positive attitude and I will have to spend considerable time resisting the urge to take part in "negativity" sessions with other teachers.
On a lighter note, some of things kids say and do are hilarious, and make me wonder if they think at all about what's coming out of their mouths...but then again, that's what makes teenagers so unique....they can understand and process "adult" concepts, but a lot of kids are lacking any kind of "thought filter" that keeps what they are thinking from coming out of their mouths. In any case, it is highly entertaining and I'm quickly amassing a collection of interesting stories!
The last two months have passed quickly, in part because I've been keeping busy with student teaching. I received my assignment at the end of July and am in a class with 10th graders all day. "Our" kids are really great kids and I've been enjoying getting to know them, but getting used to being back in high school full-time has been difficult and a little weird now that I'm on the "teacher" side of things. My observations and practicums over the last two years have done a lot to prepare me, but there were still things that really shocked me during the first few weeks of school...for one, the meetings. I don't understand the need for so many committees and teams...I realize a lot of it has to do with all the standards: district standards, state standards, and national standards, but these meetings usually consist of one person orating for a long period of time about nothing in particular...well, sometimes the news is important and in which case the speaker usually takes full advantage of the opportunity to speak, and what could take 10 minutes usually lasts about 1.5 hours. So anyway, the number of meetings teachers attend when you add standards meetings to IEP meetings, and parent conferences, and data team meetings, and department meetings, and staff meetings-it's a little overwhelming.
Another surprising facet of teaching has been the grading. I realize that as an English teacher, I will have more grading than probably most, if not all, other subjects, and by the nature of what I will be teaching, the grading is going to take longer (research papers, essays, etc.), but when each assignment given yields 130 papers to grade, one can see how grading takes up and immense amount of time. One night, I graded 350 papers and over 3,500 individual sentences (I was grading grammar assignments.)!
Needless to say, I've learned a lot about teaching and just how demanding it actually is. I won't lie, the thought of leaving teaching before I've even begun has crossed my mind, but after realizing the need for good, committed teachers, I've promised myself that I'm going to stick it out and do something with everything I've learned...after all, what good is anything I've been through if I don't use it to help someone else? I'm learning what teachers mean when they say that you have to be "called" to the profession...it is not for the weak. I'm learning too, that teachers (in general, and specifically high school teachers) are some of the most cynical and jaded people you will meet-not that that is a bad thing. What teachers see and deal with every day is enough to make a lot of people run, so developing a perservation tool like cynicism is only natural. Because my nature is more disposed to sarcasm and cynicism, I'm realizing that one of my biggest battles within myself will be fighting the urge to categorize people and events, and focus on the negative. I owe it to those I will be teaching to have a positive attitude and I will have to spend considerable time resisting the urge to take part in "negativity" sessions with other teachers.
On a lighter note, some of things kids say and do are hilarious, and make me wonder if they think at all about what's coming out of their mouths...but then again, that's what makes teenagers so unique....they can understand and process "adult" concepts, but a lot of kids are lacking any kind of "thought filter" that keeps what they are thinking from coming out of their mouths. In any case, it is highly entertaining and I'm quickly amassing a collection of interesting stories!
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