Let's See Who Views/Follows ME....just because. *curious*. What's my WHY??

Today is the LAST NYS Spanish Regents Day in NYS according to Gov Hocul;. My EQ for y'all today is..... Have you found your WHY?? I have: I would like to introduce you to TWO of my Special Friends::

Meet Jett Black and Gilligan (aka Dufinsmertz) They were BOTH Service Animals and trained by me for use in the classroom. I lost them many years ago and they currently have their place of HONOR at the top of my staircase at home!! They are there to REMIND ME....I can DO THIS!! Just Like Rosie the Riveter!! What is YOUR WHY? How do you feel about Dogs in the Classroom? Who helps YOU stay Focused in class/Feel SAFE in the classroom/Helps YOU when you get Test Anxiety?? Where do you Find YOUR WHY? In School? At Home? When you are out and about, you get a random lightbulb moment? When do you look within/Self-Reflect to find your WHY? Is it when you only "need" it? WHAT'S YOUR OPINION.....We'd like to know?? I'm currently looking for a new pet to "train" too BTW Please add your opinion/thoughts in the comments section

I'm BACK!! #HappyRegentsWeekinaHeatwave or is it #BonneChanceTLM ??? IDK!!!

It's been so long that I've posted that I forgot how to post a link.....WTF?? Kinda cracks me up that they BLEEP out the swear words that earn a CUSSJAR contribution nowadays!! ROFL Heres Hoping this works. #DIGITALNATIVELOVE

por Diós...is it Spring Break yet??

Midterms taken, leaves me a pile of your brainwork to interpret and see if you guys really get it or not. Or is it that I have to see if I am getting it across to you or not....beh...¡Vemos!

¿Se quedará enfadada la Profe o orgullosa de sus estudiantes?

Hacía mucho que no os hablaría...

Lo siento mucho...but like a bad penny...I AM BACK!!! Working at SUNY Cortland ROCKS...almost Spring Break and I am making my midterm exams and my blueprints for my "puppies" they are so much fun to be with and around...that teaching makes me feel like playing with puppies!! Thus that is why I call my students puppies...with all endearment in the Universe!! I hope you all are doing as well as I am!! Well I am back and gonna keep ya posted on "stuff" as well and as much as time allows!! Os extrañáis montones...

happy Camper??

well after a second week at PBL Camp...I must say this is proving interesting.

The task at hand now is to partner up and work on essential questions for the project.

One idea that has been floating around that I find interesting is...Follow the food. How will the spill impact the food chain?? Let's just say...Blue Fin Tuna??? Sushi anyone?? Will the spill cause the extinction of an already disappearing breed of fish...contaminated breeding grounds...shift in migratory patterns?? Time will tell.

This idea intrigues me because of the global nature of our economy. There are folks from all over the world participating in this virtual "Camp" and they are perplexed at how they can incorporate the Deep Water Horizon tragedy into their lessons in a meaningful way for their students. How does what happens on this end of the globe impact people on the other end of the world?? Is it our duty as educators to close this gap and make our future generation of leaders realize that we are all connected...no matter the distance between us!! If one good thing comes out of this tragedy...let it be that our kids realize we are more interdependent than we want to admit!!

Just my opinion!!

So last night I did all my homework for Summer Camp at Edutopia..and now I think I am good to go. We as a group of educators are learning how to incorporate Project Based Learning into the classroom. Our "topic" is the oil spill in the Gulf. I need to think about how I can bring this idea into a LOTE classroom. I think the best way to do this may be to do what we did in Spanish IV a few years back for our final project and make Public Service Announcements in the target language bringing "hot topics" to the world from your perspective.

So homework for next week...how can I teach what may be the worlds largest ecological disaster to the LOTE classroom.

Time to poll the mob!!! What is your opinion....we'd like to know!!!!

Talk about being on Jamaican Time...

SInce I decided to stop the world and get off for the Summer, I thought I should at least sharpen my saw while I get a mean tan. I was planning on taking 9 more credits of coursework but life overwhelmed me (as it can at times) and I thought it best to just take a break...blesssed be the opportunity to even have that luxury.

In a nutshell I am going to "Virtual Summer Camp" with the George Lucas Educational Foundation!! Yeah the Star Wars guy has this cool education community called EDUTOPIA! So I am joined by over 1000 other teachers from around the country learning how to integrate project based learning into the classroom.

The Harvard Business School model in High School...how cool is that. And I get to do it in foreign language!!

I can't wait. We meet on Mondays and it lasts a month.

I will create a wiki and link it here when it passes muster!! YAY!! I love my job.

So...just because it is Summer...never stop LEARNING!!

¡Os quiero bien mi gente!

Feliz Verano todos

Oh my...it has been too long since I posted here!!  I completed 21 Graduate credits at Utica so far.  I decided to take the summer off.  Well needed brain rest.  Officially laid off from S-E, I interviewed at my alma mater last week and am waiting to find out if I made the cut.  

I watched my kids graduate this year!!  My Spanish 4's from last year all went off to higher education....I am so proud of them!!  

As for me this summer I am attending the Summer Institute at Oneonta this August and enjoying reading for pleasure!!  Mario Vargas Llosa is my first.  A politically charged work of fiction based on historical fact...kinda cool!!

Oh yeah...and SPAIN WON THE WORLD CUP!!!  ¡Viva España!  

Hasta pronto mi gente...

Pheww...is it Friday yet??

It is unforgivable to have let my blog sit untouched for so long....and for that I am sorry!! The school year has begin, both at S-E as well as at Utica College...and I am running as fast as I can...and I LOVE IT!! Yes, it is busy....but it is all so worth the effort I can't begin to describe it.

The enthusiasm in my classes is evident and it makes burning the midnight oil worthwhile for me. Seeing your faces light up as concepts make sense is great...I look forward to moving into making you bilingual by June!!

Workin' for the weekend...and never forget....MONOLINGUALISM CAN BE CURED!!

getting ready to run....

I am so happy I could just scream.....I am getting ready for Freshman Orientation tonight and after spending the afternoon in my classroom yesterday I am felling the excitement of "back to school". Today is also the first day of Fall classes at Utica College, but since I have orientation to attend I am allowed to miss class, the Director of the Program told me so.

It has been a fun-filled Summer after all, between the broken ankle, Graduate School four noghts a week and thyroid surgery..I think I packed enough to do into my break, and now am ready for the Fall.

Can't wait to see you all!!

Happy 4th mi gente

If there is anything I have learned so far in teacher school it is that I do like the long weekends with no homework. This program has been the most challenging thing I have ever done. I am so glad that it is almost over and I will soon have reached the first of many milestones I have been reaching for...for a long time. I always have to remind myself that anything worthwhile is hard work!! But I sure am glad the end is in sight!!

Independence Day ROCKS!!

Hope you all had a safe one!!

brushing off the cobwebs

Well after a long hiatus I am back...life happens I guess and time flies by and before you know it months have passed!!

Since I fell and broke my ankle I have had more of you guys checking in on me than I could have ever imagined!! Thanks for that.

So I suppose that in all now that the school year is over (at least for me) I have to thank you all for helping me break through into teaching. It has been a long year, full of challenges as well as personal triumphs. I am excited to get planning for next fall.

I want to thank each and every one of you that I had the pleasure of meeting throughout the course of the school year...in LOTE class and outside of it!! I love the new career I have chosen for myself and it is thanks to you that I have the courage and energy to hobble around and "Get 'Er Done"!!

Happy Summer All!!!

Way cool "schoolie-duty!!

So today was the first day of the Northeast Conference!! All I can say is WOW!!

It is such a small world...why you ask?? Well of all people to meet on the escalator of the Marriott Marquis between the fourth and fifth floors...but a girl who lives in Harlem, teaches in Brooklyn and grew up in a small town upstate...named SHERBURNE!!! Can you dig it?? It blew me right away I tell ya!! Psyched for tomorrow :)

Happy Sunny Monday...

...I am sitting in my mom's room, enjoying another cup of coffee and piggybacking on a neighbor's wireless internet...listening to all the city noises outside...I am glad to be back for the break and am soooo looking forward to the Northeast Conference of Foreign Language Teachers that begins on Thursday at the Marriott Hotel in the city. It is going to be way cool because I am taking a workshop on differentiation!! I hope to be able to bring back what I learn to you all and incorporate it into my classroom teaching as soon as Monday.

I am also heading out soon to the Teacher's Warehouse...to look for some Spanish and French props to help you guys make the concepts I try and teach you more concrete.

If I haven't said it enough....I love being your teacher!!

¡Gracias por todo!

Here comes Peter Cotton Tail....

...well it is finally Spring Break and I find myself back in the hood. It is nice to be back I must admit!! I am especially psyched because I am going to the Northeast Conference of Foreign Language Teachers next week. I am going to spend a whole day learning how to teach toward your needs. I guess by that I mean that we all learn better in different ways, some are lookers, some are listeners, and some are doers...so I am going to learn how to adapt my lessons to your learning style. I am pumped!!

It is raining down here so we stayed in and colored Lithuanian Easter eggs all day...it was fun...reminded me of when I was little!!


Hoppy Easter to all of you and yours!!

what a great day...

I think all my classes enjoyed our scavenger hunts today, and what makes it all even better is that we are on Spring Break!! A whole week off before the final push to the end of the year!

Overall I am confident that you all have what it takes to successfully complete the requirements to pass my class if you just do what is asked of you. The formula for success in my world is a simple one!! Follow instructions, cooperate, hand in the work on time and apply yourself accordingly in order to pass the exams given. I think that is a general overall rule of thumb for any class you take in school. Simply apply yourselves, and follow the rules and before you know it...it will be June and you will be itching for Summer vacation to start!!

I do love what I do...all my kids here in Afton want me back...but I like being among you ALL!!

S-E ROCKS!!

Looks like I made it!!!

SO today was the big day of the admissions interview...and I ROCKED IT!!!

I got up early this morning and well everything that could go wrong did!! Found not one but two doggie pile surprises TRACKED all over my year old carpeting (light colored too) in the living room...then after cleaning it all up and oxi-cleaning all the many stains...I realized that there was no milk in the house!! So no latte just a tall black strong coffee that was enough to sprout hair on any good chest...lol...then I go to pick out what to wear....and guess what...NO STOCKINGS.....so that blew that idea....so I made the best of it and got it together, found a pant suit and hoped for the best. Mind you Utica College is a two hour ride from my house, so rather than take my daily commute and go RT 12 up to Utica I went through Sidney and took Rt 8. Nice ride btw!!

I got there like 45 minutes early so I scoped out the campus and found the place where my interview was taking place. The committee of 5 grilled me for about 40 minutes. I thought I did well because they went from stern and serious to relaxed and friendly after a while.

By the time I got home there was already a message on my answering machine congratulating me and the head of Graduate Admissions said that I did a great job at the interview!! WOW MAJOR VALIDATION.

So in a nut shell...I am one step closer to my Personal Legend!!

search inside yourself

Today a kid I babysat for (who just turned 30 *my age is showing again*) helped me remember why I love what I do. I do what I do because I am a HERO!!

All of us has the materials we need to become a hero too...all you have to do is search deep inside ourselves...all you have to do is look.

What he said today is simply this:

Max Tucci

my new quote that i just made up!!! "Be still and know.. in stillness we find truth.... in stillness we find God.... and in stillness we find Freedom"!!

Happy Sunny Saturday Y'all.....

Ah....still sittin' in jammies and enjoying a second caffe latte!!

What a great week last week guys...when the days fly I think it is a sign that we are doing something right. I hope that next week is just as fulfilling.

In Spanish IV we are reading "The Alchemist", in Spanish I we are finishing up taping spoofs on the Food Network...creating our own instructional videos on stuff like preparing the Killer Sandwich, the secret of fried ice cream, microwave meal making as well as the perfect fruit salad!! French I is just putting the finishing editorial touches on the suitcase song. That project is actually a gift for the MS French teacher to thank her for making them so proficient in French!! Needless to say that the video footage is a bit of a mess, so we are making an IMovie that makes a bit more sense!!

It is all so much fun for me to do with you...and to see you guys finally feel confident enough to use what you have studied all year and succeed!!

Thanks for that!!

daylight savings time funk

Seems that losing the hour springing up has me feeling like I left something behind....lol

I am plugging along here and the year is actually beginning to wind down. I think we have like 12 weeks left if I am not mistaken. How cool is that?? Before we know it we will be ushering in Summer. I hope you all are still chugging through too...we are almost there....PROMISE!!

another week comes to an end...

Foreign language week is over and I think it was fun to inject a bit of bilingualism into morning announcements. Many thanks to everyone who participated.

There always seems to be something fun to create at your school. It is so cool to be a developing teacher in an atmosphere where we are encouraged to be creative and use different ways to help you guys "get" it.

Foreign Language Week begins...are you ready??

There are days that I have to wonder....why?? Then I remember that I am trying to rationalize adolescent behavior with an adult mind. *my age is showing again*

It gets difficult to enjoy the time we spend together when I am trying to convince certain students that it is to their best interests to get the job done.

Like you haven't been doing this since kindergarten...or is it just a matter of feeling the power??

Food for thought

...it is all in how you make people FEEL....

"People won't remember what you said. They won't remember what you did. But they will remember how you made them feel."

As I live among you everyday I have to consider myself very fortunate....everyday, without fail there is always that one particular someone among all of you that ALWAYS succeeds in making me FEEL good!!

Thank you!!

Chilin' with my peeps...

Ah...I am sooooooo glad that they invented Energy Conservation week....at least that is what they called this week off in February when I was a kid....mom came up for the weekend too!!

The snow is almost completely melted away from my lawn...that makes me happy too. The thought that Spring is coming is a huge relief!! Just think I used to live for winter in my youth and now I can't wait till Spring springs.

Another thing that makes me happy is that you guys appreciate what I do...between the great Valentine's gifts I found on my desk, to the notes on my blackboard from you guys, to an email (in Spanish) from you letting me know that the Costa Ricans are replying to your letters....PRICELESS!!!

Gettin' late....

just realized that it has been a while since I laid down some of my pearls of wisdom for those of you who care to read what I have to say!! I had someone tell me they can't wait to "get out of here"....well guys my pearl for today is that it isn't the here that is the problem....I ran out of Afton so fast I didn't even take the time to wave good bye. The thing I learned from that is this...wherever you go, whatever it is that you are trying to run away from....it follows you. Why is this?? I believe that it isn't the place that you want to escape from that is the issue...it is YOU and where you find yourself....again that darn P word...PERSPECTIVE!!!

You sometimes feel like you know it all, that you have all the tools necessary to live your lives....well sorry to be the bringer of bad news, but YOU ARE NOT!! You can run away from it all but mark my words....it will find you wherever you run to....so DON'T RUN!! Relax and take a good look around you....even if you don't see it, there are people around you that only want the best for you...all you have to do is look!!

I believe in you....ALL OF YOU!!
Just ask me...I'll always call it like I see it!!

I can only wonder when it will happen for some of you....so often I hear kids say "Why do I have to learn that" or "When will I ever use that in my life".

My wish for you all is that you will never think that what I have to teach you is only useless information. Is Spanish really just something you will never need in your adult lives.

Becoming bilingual is one of the few things that we as a society do not take seriously...but again this is ONLY my OPINION...do we only want to know enough of anything we learn to pass a test and that is it?? Dunno...can't say!! What do you all think?? I would love to know!!

reaching out

You all are so amazing...I hope you do enjoy getting to know the Tico's that were in Afton last month. I hope that you find common strings of interest that will weave you together as global citizens that have the future in your hands.

It is all about connections.

...new quarter new rules...

Ah the beauty of a fresh new start!!

You all seemed to enjoy the new furniture arrangement!! When I told you all that you can sit where you want to...the looks on your faces were priceless...but sadly the grupo de cuatro came together like a drop of mercury would after you try to squish it!!

We have to remember that in my world, it is all about YOU....I am here to be your teacher, to share with YOU the things I learned in college...it is up to YOU to open your minds enough to let me in...not to have a discussion on how you don't NEED to hear anything about what I know...N'est pas???

So that being said let's use this calendar moment to make a fresh new start and Strive for Excellence!!

All I am asking you to do is try...be open minded....shift your perspective....hey, ya never know, you might like what you see!!

Super Bowl Sunday

What a weekend...flew so fast I can't believe it!! My Costa Rican exchange student is leaving tomorrow and I am trying to not be SAD...hard but I will cope!!

We went shopping to Bingo again today, then snow tubing, and once we got home I had to make a dish to pass for the "Tico's" going away party tomorrow. Since all the kids were gathered together I figured I would ask them what they wanted me to make for them...see Melina has been ranting about my cooking....so I figured ot only fair to ask them if they had anything specific they wanted...half wanted lasagna (my lasagna ROCKS!!), and the other half voted for rice and beans. Needless to say I made both...and a chocolate pie.

I also have more house guests today than I have children...lol!! One of the Tico's asked if they could sleep over, and one of Alexa's friends had already made arrangements to stay over last week...so they are "camping" in the girl's room....OY!!

Well the student world has a day off tomorrow...but us in the teacher world have Schoolie Duty tomorrow....hope they keep it down long enough for me to fall asleep without having to go in there and force lights out on 'em....ROFL!!

¡Hasta el martes mi gente!

...happy hump-day...

kind of a weird day, being on campus and not teaching....seeing some of my students through the window of a closed door, laboring and toiling away at the English Regents, hoping in my heart of hearts that my review of English grammar or my shpeil on how to take a standardized test may be resounding in the deepest fathoms of your minds....I could only sit back and watch.

I spent my day preparing to move furniture around in my room so having nobody to teach was a bit of a welcomed reprieve for now. As I get used to this whole teacher thing I think my methods will work better if I made my room a bit more Feng-Sui for you guys.

After all it is all about YOU!!

I had my day in the sun...now it is your turn....will you shine?? Make me proud mi gente....I dare you!!