Blog Post #1

About Me

My name is Jennifer Whitley and I am twenty-two years old. I live in Hurley,Mississippi. I have worked at Magnolia Blossom's Daycare for four years. I am currently majoring in Elementary Education. I began my college life at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College in Gautier,Mississippi. After graduating with my Associates Degree, I transfered to University of South Alabama. I am the only one in my family to have been to college more than three consecutive years. While I am going to school, I am living with parents until I graduated and find a job. I have a brother,Jarrod, and a sister,Amanda. My sister is married with one child. Thankfully, she lives twenty minutes away so we can visit often. Unfortunately, my brother and his wife live in Texas,ten hours away, so we don't get to visit with them often. We only see them twice a year.
Ever since I was a little girl I have always been obsessed with office supplies,played teacher with my friends and said I would be a teacher when I grew up. As I got older I wanted to be a counselor. After working at a daycare for a year and going through my first year of college, I changed my major to Elementary Education. I just love working with children because they are so loving, energetic, and eager to learn. I absolutely love having fun with the kids and acting just as goofy,singing and dancing as they are sometimes because I am truly a big kid at heart. I love finding things that will keep the kid's attention and cause curiosity.

My Future Classroom

I am the type of teacher that expects alot out of her first grade students because I know they are capable of more than they realize. In my class I will encourage them to do their absolute best in every subject, taking into acount that every student learns at his or her own pace. Sometimes it may be challenging but in the end they will be proud of what they have accomplished. Learning will be reenfored by giving homework because it is a reflection of what students have learned at school, but this work is not only sent for the students. Homework helps to involve the parent in the the learning proccess.
Coming up with fun ways for the students to learn is my goal,it may includes songs, games,or dancing to help students learn. I believe if you make learning fun students are more likely to remember what they learned and will want to continue to learn. The students will learn by working in groups to improve their skill of working together with people with different ideas. They will work together as a class to answer questions. Students will also work individually to show how much they have learned without depending on help. Students will learn by asking questions and working together to problem solve.
I will use a large whiteboard or a smart board to teach on. The classroom will have small,portable whiteboards, dry earse markers,colored markers, crayons, work books, reading books,and learning centers for all the students to use. Learning centers are used to help students learn to work together or individually. It also helps them get away from their desks and get into a less stressful environment. Students will also learn by singing songs together, such as School House Rock. Fun games will be played with the class to encourage them to enjoy math. Science allows us to explore the world around them with experiments, explorations,and projects.
I will use Pinterest, other internet sites, ideas from other teachers, and ideas from my prior teaching experience to find fun ways to make my class room more comfortable for the new students coming in my class. Before the students even come in the classroom, they will be greeted with a fun decorated door to makes them feel more at ease about coming in to my classroom. The classroom will be colorful, fun, and inviting. Fun facts will displayed for the students to have a little laugh to start of the day. Music will be played for a transitioning que so the students will hear the music and know what is next without the teacher having to say a word. Yelling for the student's attention will not be allowed in my class. Time will fly in this class because every subject of learning will become fun for everyone.

Randy Pausch On Time Management

I think time management is a very important. Randy Pausch's video can be very helpful to someone that has problems with managing time, figuring out priorities, and having a plan. To-Do Lists can be very helpful when managing what needs to be done.I have recently had to start writing down to-do lists to be able to keep track of what needs to be done. These lists can be very helpful when there is so much going on in our lives. Dr. Pausch says, after you realized what all needs to be done, then figure out which ones are more important and why. When you figure out why then you can know how important it really is. When you do the bigger one first then the smaller ones can be handled earier.
Procrastinating is one of the main reasons my life has been so stressful in my life. I wait to the last minute. I think I have plenty of time and I end up stressing out because I am rushing to get finished last minute. Having a plan is very important. When you have a plan then stick to it until it needs to be adjusted. I must have a plan for classes, work, class work, remembering due dates, what is due, when work it due,and making time for spending time with family and friends. If I don't have a plan set ahead of time then it will be complete chaos. having a plan and making a to-do list prevents so much chaos. It causes me to be less stressed and makes my life so much more. This video has reminded me to get back on track with my organizational skills.