Blog Post #1

About Me

 My name is Angela Marie Van Vliet and I was born and raised in Mobile, Alabama. I recently lived in Oklahoma for a few months, it was horrible. Then I moved to Colorado Springs, Colorado. I have every intentions of moving back to Colorado once I graduate. It is the most beautiful place I have ever seen. I am a huge fan of the mountains. Hiking and camping are two of my favorite things to do. There was never a dull moment while I lived there, you have so many options of things to do.
 I came back to South because I had already finished two years of school here and it will be the best track for me in my pursuit of obtaining a Bachelors Degree in Elementary Education.  My husband is still in Colorado serving in the Army. The main reason that I want to become a teacher is to help students learn. I want to make a difference in the school system. Whether it be through helping kids or maybe one day fixing the problems in the school system here in Alabama. Education is not something that should be taken lightly. HELLO! Alabama and Mississippi have the worst education systems in the United States.

My Future Classroom

I plan on teaching anywhere between grades one through three.  I am a big fan of books and reading them to the class. Students love to be read to. Children's books can be quite inspirational and can even crack open their shells. Reading books to students makes them actively participate in what is going on in the story. It is a simple and fun way to make them think deeply into the book while still enjoying the story. They do not even realize that they are learning in these types of activities. Simple questions about the illustrations can be brought in from the curriculum or what they have covered recently in class, for instance "What type of animal is this?" or "What color is this?".
I like to make my students think deeply about things, especially in groups. I hated group work when I was younger. Group work would be a great way to bring the class together and let the kids brainstorm on a good idea to work on. For instance, I would make my students organize shapes at their tables. They would distinguish which shapes have 3 sides, 4 sides, or no sides. Then, they would distinguish which shapes were triangles, squares, rectangles, or circles.
I hope to have a SMART board in my classroom but I understand that not all schools or classrooms have the luxury of expensive technology as the SMART board.

Dr Pausch and Time Management

His video really hits key components of time management and organization. I especially liked Randy Pausch's statement and key point "Failing to plan is planning to fail." This is true in everything you do. You can not just "wing it" every time or put things off until the last minute.
On a side note, Randy Pausch wrote a book called "The Last Lecture" that he wrote for his kids so they know how to achieve their childhood dreams.

Time Management-Penn State Learning

My issues are with external distractions or time wasters. I like to watch television and study during commercial breaks. Which obviously doesn't allow my focus to be on studying. I tend to have too many goals I try to accomplish in a short period of time. I need to start cutting out some things and moving them to a later "to do list" so I do not become overwhelmed with tasks.