A Reading Teacher Should Read, Right?

     I haven't written a post in this particular blog in quite some time. Since it's called The Wordeling Reader, and I'm planning to write about reading, this seems to be the best place to add my thoughts.

     I'm a reading (and writing) teacher, and my students range in age from 18 on up. Every time I get the chance, I tell my students to read just for the pleasure of it. Many of my students hate to read, which saddens me because reading can broaden horizons. At the beginning of my lecture periods, my students and I read for 15 minutes. At the beginning of the semester, 15 minutes seem like a lifetime to those who do not read (who do not take the time to read). As the semester progresses, that 15-minute time span seems to be too short for those students who have become hooked on reading. That amount of time is always too short for me.

     That 15-minute moment is very tiny for me because I love to read. Usually, I am reading more than one book. In the classroom, at the moment, I'm reading Sole Survivor by Dean Koontz. At home, I'm reading The Wurst Is Yet to Come by Mary Daheim. I'm a sucker for those cozy mysteries [Other cozy mystery authors I like are Joanne Fluke, Rita Mae Brown, Lilian Jackson Braun, Blaize Clement (RiP), and Janet Evanovich.] The Daheim book is via the Kindle app on my computer and iPad. I am also reading a couple of nonfiction books: Beyond Belief: My Secret Life inside Scientology and My Harrowing Escape by Jenna Miscavige Hill, Calling the Rainbow Nation Home: A Story of Acceptance and Affirmation by E.T. Sundby, and A Perfect Mess: The Hidden Benefits of Disorder by Eric Abrahamson and David H. Freedman.

     I have several fiction and nonfiction books in my Kindle library. Some are for the sheer pleasure of reading, and some are for my teaching profession (for both reading and writing classes). I also have several hard-copies of fiction and nonfiction books. I guess several would be an understatement if you saw how many actual books I possess. I've been reading for a few decades, and I've collected quite a few books along the way. These days, when I finish a book, I bring it to school and give it away. I can practically hear the book lovers, now, knowing that one of their own gives her books away. Would they be just as equally horrified to know that I consider books to be just books? Why should I keep my books after I finish reading them when I can give them to someone who has never read them.

     When I tell my students to read, they often tell me they don't have time to read. I tell them they do not make the time to read because only a small amount of time can be allotted to reading, and they would still have time to do other tasks. Their favorite excuse for not reading is, "Reading makes me sleepy." I tell them that they are already sleepy and that reading relaxes them so that they can sleep. I tell them that, sometimes, when my mind is full of thoughts, and I cannot go to sleep, I read because reading relaxes me so much that I can go to sleep.

     When I read (especially fiction), I am whisked away to the place where the story is taking place. I'm in that story, mingling with the characters. My mind is not thinking about anything else other than the story. Gone are my busy thoughts that were interfering with my ability to sleep. Occasionally, I become so enthralled in the story that it wakes me up, and I will read for several hours past my bedtime. I will happily deal with the next day's tiredness because I chose to keep on reading the story.

     I hate when sleepiness interferes with my reading. Sometimes, I will pick up a book and start reading it only to put it back down again to catch a few Zs. Then, upon awakening from my nap, I will read a bit more, and, as if I wasn't yet done napping, I fall asleep again. On those kinds of days, I will read and nap and read and nap, etcetera, throughout the day. Thankfully, I do not often come across those kinds of days.

     My students are surprised to know that sometimes I fall asleep while reading. I guess they think reading teachers never go to sleep while reading. It's like a student who sees her teacher at a store. There is surprise in that student's face, as if to say, "Why aren't you at school?" Isn't that how we thought when we were kids? Our teachers could not possibly be anywhere else but school because that's where we have always seen them.

     Reading goes beyond the pleasure mode of it. I want my students to take initiatives to go beyond the textbooks they are required to read for their classes. I do a great deal of research for my lessons, as well as for anything that piques my interests. I tell my students not to settle for just what's in their textbooks nor in their teachers' lectures. I tell them to read more about the topics they are studying. Most students, unfortunately, are satisfied with simply reading their textbooks and listening to their teachers (some students do not even read their textbooks nor listen to their instructors - tell me, again, why those students are even in college?).

     Those students who do not reach beyond the textbooks and lectures are the ones I need to reach. Do I have to require my students to read beyond the books and the lectures? I guess, if I want them to get into the habit of learning beyond what's right in front of them, I will have to require them to document the beyond. That is something I will work on this summer and incorporate this coming fall semester.

     As for reading for myself, I will continue on that path, simply, because I enjoy it. What are you reading these days? What authors do you like? What genres do you enjoy? Happy reading!

Pledges and Vows

Ya know, I really need to write in here on a regular basis. I hate having to wait so long between posts. I pledge to make an effort to post on a more regular basis.I wrote a poem. Do you want to "hear" it? Of course you do. Roses are red . . . No, no, that's not it. Let me start again. 

The poem is called,

A Pointless Poem

Cat prints on the wall,

Shattering every aspect of reality.

Everything we know is just an illusion.

Stare at the cat prints on the wall.

Observe the pattern.

Meow!

I wrote it on a piece of notebook paper. I was playing around with a gift I have - writing words from the right to the left (starting with the last letter in a word or sentence and moving backward to the first letter). Every once in a while, usually in the classroom, I write one or two words from right to left on the board. A few weeks ago, for example, I wrote the reading course and section number on the board for my students to write on their syllabus. I had forgotten to write "Course Information:" in front of the course name/section number, so I wrote the words, starting with the colon to the left of the course name and wrote the words. That is, I wrote the n to the left of the colon, the o to the left of the n, the i to the left of the o, the t, the a, the m, the r, the o, the f, the n, the (capital) i(I). Then, I wrote, after allowing for a space, the e to the left of the I, the s, the r, the u, the o, the (capital) c (C). When I finished, I had written Course Information:.

If I practiced this technique every day, I'd be able to do it without much thought. I don't do it every day because average people do not write their words from right to left, well, not in the U.S. anyway. I only do it when I need to add information to the left of something already written on the whiteboard (or Smartboard) or because I want a sentence or phrase to stay on one line and go to the end of the board's right side. For the latter, I start at the board's right end and work my way backwards. I usually only write the first line that way. Lines two and on are written from left to right.

Aw, heck, this little ditty is just a form of procrastination. I'm supposed to be cleaning my humble abode. I'm a packrat, and if I don't clear out some of the junk in my home, I won't have a place to sit or room to walk. [The photo is of my couch and desk at home.] I confess. I'm a clutterer. I came to the realization after the occurrence of two incidents: I lost my book, Dreamweaver for Dummies, and my best friend threatened to come visit me. The former is something I need to help me navigate through Dreamweaver without getting too bogged down by the technical jargon. The latter should scare me into cleaning because my friend is a neat-freak, the total opposite of me and my way of living. It's hard to believe we're even friends.

When I start to misplace stuff, it's a sign I need to clean and become more organized. Don't misinterpret me; I am organized, and I do have certain routines to which I strictly adhere. Some things I own have their distinct places (e.g. keys on the hook, cell phone in the plastic bowl on a shelf in the coffee table, frozen drink glasses in the freezer's door, etc.). However, not everything has a place to call its own. I need to get rid of the old junk and make room for new junk (what I like to call necessities).

The other week, I found about a dozen novels I still haven't read yet. I put them in a box and put them by the chair. I can't put them on a bookshelf because the shelves I have are currently full and, I don't have another bookshelf (yet). I can't buy another bookshelf until I clear out the stuff in my master bedroom (which I've deemed as my extra large storage room). I will probably take half of those dozen "homeless" books on vacation with me.

So, what do I need to do? I need to clear out the stuff I haven't used in two or more years. I need to take the work stuff (folders, master copies, extra copies, etc.) back to work. Some of it has already been taken to the office, but I cannot take all of it until my new desk arrives (my boss ordered a new L-shaped desk for me in April, and it will take another month to arrive). When the desk arrives, I can file the papers that are sitting on the bookshelves in the office. Then, and only then, I can remove the rest of the work stuff from my home and put it where it belongs.The problem is mostly mental - I start sorting and then think I can't live without my stuff. Then, I begin to ask myself, who am I doing this for? Me? My friends? My friends seem to think I have too much stuff. Most of the time, I don't see it that way. I'm perfectly content with what I have. Occasionally, I think, Wow! I have way too much stuff, and I need to get rid of some of it.

Sometimes, I go hog-wild on the organizing thing and read up on the evils of packratting, but then I realize the books and articles I've read on getting rid of clutter and putting more organization in my life are written by people who have never hoarded anything or never had clutter in their lives. Prove me wrong, people.

I vow, though, to get rid of some of the stuff.

I vow, too, to keep my readers posted on my clutter-filled packrat's life.

Doctoral Decisions

Happy New Year!

Once again, I am pondering going back to school - to get a doctorate in education. Currently, I'm printing essential information from Capella University and comparing it with information I just printed from Walden University. If I want to stay with my current job, I will need to earn a doctorate via distance learning. One disadvantage will be cost. I know that online degrees are more expensive than traditional classroom degrees. I will definitely have to save my money so that I can afford to do this.

I've already researched the universities, checking to see if they are accredited by the Association of Colleges and Schools. They are both accredited by NCACS (North Central Association of Colleges and Schools). Both universities are accredited by NCAHLC, which is a division of NCACS. Attending an accredited school is important because my employer will not recognize and accept my academic credentials from an unaccredited institution.

Another element in looking for the right distance learning school is residency requirements. If I had it my way, I would choose a school that didn't require me to put in any residency time, but that time is needed to familiarize myself with my advisor, my classmates, and the college itself. Walden requires 32 units of residency (I'm not sure what that means: days, weeks, months?), and Capella requires 3 one-week stays at its university - one week per year for the first three years, I believe.

I guess it all comes down to making the decision of whether or not I want or can devote my time to earning a doctorate.  I know the process is long and tedious. I know that a strong mind, mentally and intellectually, is needed for such a task. Am I ready? Am I capable? My students say I'm capable of handling the coursework.

Let me think about it some more. . .

Wordeler, January 11, 2006

I have a decision to make. Should I go for a doctorate in Curriculum and Instruction? A colleague has been trying to convince me that going for it would be beneficial to both of us. She's eager to start working on a doctorate, and, I assume, it's because she wants the status that goes with the title. Another bonus is the extra money it would create because a teacher with a doctorate would definitely make more money (yearly) than a teacher with only a master's degree. If I decided to go for that doctorate, I would have a classmate I know. I would also have a carpool buddy.

My colleague had tried to get into a doctoral program at the university where she and I had earned our master's degrees, but she was turned down because a cohort of superintendents was chosen instead. The program would have been in Educational Leadership, in which she would have excelled. I consider the decision to not accept her into the program as a great loss to the university because she would have been a great asset to that institution as well as to the institution where we are currently employed.

We have since realized that a doctoral program in Curriculum and Instruction will be offered at another local university. We know two of the professors who will be overseeing the doctoral candidates; they used to teach at the other university. Knowing this little tidbit of information moves me forward, somewhat, to maybe making the decision to go for a doctorate. Dr. Wordeler, that has a nice ring to it.

I have to also consider how much time it will take to obtain a doctorate. I won't achieve that regal status of Doctor until I've gone through the program and graduated. Being in the doctoral program is very time-consuming. Do I have the time to devote to such a task?

I need a question, too. The question should be related to my profession, as well as to curriculum and instruction. The two seem to be redundant because I'm an instructor, and I stick to the department's curriculum, so coming up with a question may be my only difficulty. I have been thinking about questions for about a year now. At first, I was worried because I didn't think I had any questions. Then, I began breaking down my instruction, categorizing the topics I teach. In a sense, I was already researching via observation. I was, and still am, paying close attention to how and how much my students are learning. I have learners on myriad levels, so I've been keeping watch over all the levels - all the learners. What I've observed is that the majority of my students have problems with vocabulary as it is related to parts of speech. That is, they have difficulty putting a vocabulary word into a sentence because they do not know the differences between nouns and verbs and adjectives. My question lies in that aspect of my students' learning.

A mystique seems to surround the doctoral process. I think that that is what's keeping me from really going for the degree. Therefore, to help clear up that mystery, I will do a little online researching on the process of obtaining a doctoral degree.

Maybe I'm rationalizing why I shouldn't go for my doctorate. Maybe I'm not ready to go back to school and engage in such a tedious endeavor. I will pray about this and save my money just in case my colleague succeeds in convincing me to go for my doctorate.

First Blog

This is my first blog, so be patient with me. I am sitting at the computer, trying to come up with a few pithy statements that will wow my readers. However, nothing as yet is coming to mind. I think it's because I feel pressured to write something - anything.

Why am I doing this? What will I get out of this? God-willing, I'll be able to vent when I'm mad, muse when I'm melancholy, and rejoice when I'm ecstatic. I also want to be able to provide some helpful hints to my students regarding the fabulous benefits of reading and writing just for the sheer pleasure of it.

My "son" is mewing at me; apparently, I'm not paying attention to him, and he feels slighted. To appease him, I've allowed him to lay down on my lap, which makes typing somewhat of a challenge.

I love to write, so on some days I'll write rather lengthy diatribes of what's going on in my life. On other occasions, I'll write just a note that I think is important enough for the world to view.

Before deciding to join blogger.com, I brainstormed a list of topics that I thought might make for interesting writing. I guess these are subjects that have been swimming around in my brain for the past few weeks:

Going for a doctorate in curriculum and instruction,
Scrapbooking,
Journaling,
Packrat Confessions,
Praising the virtues of pleasure reading and writing,
Views on housecleaning,
General likes and dislikes,
The art of computering

Those are just a few thoughts I have at the moment.

I suppose I could get into the heavy duty conversation topics, such as politics in the USA or religious debates, but I don't know if I want to delve too deeply into those kinds of musings. I have my opinions on those two topics, and so does everybody else, so I think I'll just stick to typical stuff (for lack of a better word).

I should explain the title of my blog spot: The Wordeling Reader. Many years ago, I had the opportunity to talk with a person who had a profound impact on my life then and now. She helped me realize how important art, reading, and writing are. I love to doodle, read, and write. Doodling is such a general term. I do not just doodle with color. I also doodle with words, so I thought of wordel. I switched the last two letters because they are the first two letters of the person who changed my life: Eldora, so doodling with words became wordeling. Since I'm also a reader, I thought that The Wordeling Reader would be an apt name for my blog spot.

Enjoy the wanderings and wonderings of my pages!

The Joys of Word

I just downloaded the Word add-in, and I thought I'd try it out. I love working with Word because I can do anything in it. Word has allowed me to do the following:
Create a Boy Scout patch
Design invitations (Publisher is too much of a hassle)
Design bookmarks for my reading students
Create tables (I'm Excel-challenged)

[will these different fonts and different colors be evident on my blog page?]

The Boy Scout patch was tricky because I had to incorporate different shapes and insert some clip-art pics. The hardest part was eliminating the picture outside the circle.

Of course, I also use Microsoft Picture It! That has allowed me to create my own PowerPoint backgrounds. I didn't know I had Picture It! until I went online to check out photo editing software (what I had just wasn't enough). I read a review of the already available photo editing software, and I noticed that Microsoft Picture It! was listed as second best. Of course, I could've purchased Adobe's Photoshop, but that costs an exorbitant amount, and why do that when I already had Microsoft's. When I saw the review, I remembered seeing Picture It! in the Program Files of my computer. Huh! I never knew I had it or what I could do with it.

I'm an amateur digital photographer; I merely dabble in it. I took a lot of pictures of mundane objects: wallpaper in my parents' home, my couch cover, the cat tunnel, my own doodling masterpieces, and the like. Then, I applied various techniques to the pictures (after transferring them to my computer): distortion, fading, etc. I saved them into My Pictures, and now I use them for presentations and bookmarks and whatever else I can conjure.

I have to grade now, but I'll return when other thoughts surface.