Today is Friday and I am actually sitting at a computer here at the college center (should be getting my stuff ready for Monday's class). This has been the weirdest four weeks thus far since the beginning of Spring Semester. Maybe it is a cycle every so years that I get sick right during the first week of school and right now trying to play catch up on any late late assignments that has been piled on my lap.
What are my reflections so far?
1. The idea of looking ahead (my college career) to know that my graduation deadline is fast approaching and I am gearing up for what is in store for me afterwards. Do I stay in college and continue on with my B.S. Tract OR do I quit with my AA in Elementary Education and find a suitable job for awhile?
2. What is the purpose of being respectful to people in your surroundings? So far, I have noticed that some of the workers here at the college centers are pointless group of gossiping hens.
3. I am at the stage in my life where I want to settle down and start a family. You see, here I am 32 going on 22 (around May) and I am at the point in my life that being SINGLE is not fun anymore. Go figure, I have seen many of my brothers with their families. I often think about the time when we were all young and having fun. Now, they matured and have kids and women to think about.
With these three attributes, I am just plain getting old and wondering why I am still single and why life is full of shit (all of the time). I am happy to say that I am that type of person who help others in need (family feeds, funerals, etc...). I guess it is my way of giving back to the Lakota Culture. Before, I was this person who was afraid to go out and be a respectable person with the knack of being helpful and generious. But now, I am at that AGE where I could leave this earthly place and know that in my life has been blest with people in my surroundings.
What a way to point out my life. Especially in my AGE. 32 years old and I feel like an old man at this moment. I think my twenties went by like light speed. I didn't have the chance to experience it. That will be for the next blog. (My twenties are gone).
Friday, February 15, 2008
Friday, January 18, 2008
Becoming a teacher
Since I love to write about things that make me wonder how my future will be like. I was pondering about the idea on how close I am getting my degree in Elementary Education. I have several friends who are teachers and I do learn from about their mistakes as well as how they react to each child.
As an example, my good friend is a 2nd grade teacher and he tells me that there are couple of his students who seems to push his buttons no matter how he tries to be friendly with them. After hearing stories like that, I wonder if I would be an effective teacher that will make a last impression in each child's ability to learn. I sometimes get scared about hearing from the first year teachers that it is tough and what they have learned from their studies that it is totally different from what they have expected. One of them even remarked that all of the mock classroom managment plans and classroom safety plan doesn't really work out during their first year teaching.
Of course, I have been thinking on how I am suppose to deal with parents who will find anything to bitch and moan about when it comes to their children.
Right now, I am glad that I am taking a course that deals with issues of parents, bad students, and/or bad administration.
Wish me luck.
As an example, my good friend is a 2nd grade teacher and he tells me that there are couple of his students who seems to push his buttons no matter how he tries to be friendly with them. After hearing stories like that, I wonder if I would be an effective teacher that will make a last impression in each child's ability to learn. I sometimes get scared about hearing from the first year teachers that it is tough and what they have learned from their studies that it is totally different from what they have expected. One of them even remarked that all of the mock classroom managment plans and classroom safety plan doesn't really work out during their first year teaching.
Of course, I have been thinking on how I am suppose to deal with parents who will find anything to bitch and moan about when it comes to their children.
Right now, I am glad that I am taking a course that deals with issues of parents, bad students, and/or bad administration.
Wish me luck.
Thursday, November 29, 2007
end of the semester and a recap
Well, another semester has ended and what a good way to write about what I have done so far in my field of education. After several years of attending school, I finally realize that I am not too far from obtaining that degree that I so desired. There are some times when I feel like giving up but every time when I do see my status sheet, I know that I can keep on going until my life is fulfilled with the doors being opened for me.
This past semester was an eventful one for me. Couple of my classes aren't that great. For one, my math class is harder than I expected because me and numbers are like water and oil (don't mix well). In my Music and Culture (BORING). Should have been an alright class but the instructor (how can I put it) well, every light in the house is on but no one is home. Sounds kind of harsh doesn't it. But hey, that is how my feelings work these days. She is an alright lady but (can't really describe her).
My Applied Information and Processing is awesome. The assignments are great to work on because of the hands-on details that each section of the book gives out. But I am still working on the EXCEL thingy. Other than that, it is great.
What's in store for after this semester? Well I know I have to take Foundations of Education (different story on that). Oh yeah, even Lakota Language II (sorry to say that I am barely learning the language of my people and culture) and yes, Lakota Tribal Laws and Treaties (I bet that class is interesting). Will keep you inform.
This past semester was an eventful one for me. Couple of my classes aren't that great. For one, my math class is harder than I expected because me and numbers are like water and oil (don't mix well). In my Music and Culture (BORING). Should have been an alright class but the instructor (how can I put it) well, every light in the house is on but no one is home. Sounds kind of harsh doesn't it. But hey, that is how my feelings work these days. She is an alright lady but (can't really describe her).
My Applied Information and Processing is awesome. The assignments are great to work on because of the hands-on details that each section of the book gives out. But I am still working on the EXCEL thingy. Other than that, it is great.
What's in store for after this semester? Well I know I have to take Foundations of Education (different story on that). Oh yeah, even Lakota Language II (sorry to say that I am barely learning the language of my people and culture) and yes, Lakota Tribal Laws and Treaties (I bet that class is interesting). Will keep you inform.
Friday, November 16, 2007
New England 1990
In October of 1990 (The year I was a Sophmore in HS), I was picked to be a participant of the Crazy Horse/Andover Exchange Program. I was so excited because I was actually heading out of South Dakota and to New England no less. As we approach the Rapid City Regional Airport, my stomach was turning because I knew that I was will be 30,000 ft in the air. Also it would be my first time flying in an airplane. My mom was making sure that my brother and I would be okay and made sure that we call her as soon as we get to our desination.
Over the Great Lakes
Our jetliner was now flying over the Great Lakes and it was an awesome site to see. The captain was explaining to the passengers about the Lakes and which one we are flying over (If I do recall, it was Lake Michigan). Being a first time flyer, I was nervous as hell and every sound that the airplane makes, I was getting worried if the plane was going to fall apart. I made nervous remarks to brother like "what if the airplane is on fire and we don't know about it" or "sounds like the engine has failed". I guess watching way too much airline disaster movies has hit me hard. My brother didn't budge or say anything. Go figure, he was probably tuning me out anyways.
Boston and Andover
Here we are, landing at the Logan International Airport, the site of the Atlantic Ocean was in view and I said to my brother, "Wow, look at the ocean!" My brother didn't say anything but looked straight ahead. The plane had landed and there was our host father and his son awaiting for our arrival. His son we kept the year before. He came down from Massachusetts to stay with us for a month. His experience at our place was great and he couldn't get over sporadic we lived.
His father was a nice fellow, he gave us a tour of the towns outside of the Boston metro area. All the houses were older than dust. Most of the buildings still have that colonial taste to them. We arrive in Andover, an upscale community located about 40 minutes north of Boston. We met our host mother and their daughters. The house was renovated before we showed up. Our parents were a delivery man for Gillette Products and the mother was a cook at Andover High School. Where they lived, was remarkable and their house is nestled near Foster Pond. Didn't look like a pond to me, more like a lake.
The first day of school was a bit nerve wrecking. It was alot of white kids who had no inkling of what Native Americans looked like or how rural we are here in South Dakota. We spent the entire day of talking to our classes about our culture and what it is like to live in a small tiny town. Most of them are intrigue by our appearance. It was cool for me for the first day because I had a two hour lunch period. So, I get the spend those two hours people watching. Like any other school, there were cliques every where. I even spotted some hand bangers, the jocks, the popular crowd, the cheerleaders and their croonies, and the nerds. It felt like I was in some movie.
As the weeks progressed, we had the chance to experience New England life like calling pop, 'Tonic" and went deep sea fishing. It was it awesome to be on the ocean. We went to Boston on the weekends to visit the landmarks like Bunker Hill and Bull and Finch (site of "Cheers"). What was my most memorable memory about my trip? Going to HARVARD. Well for a day to see the campus and visit the Native American House. The lady was nice and she's Iroquois from Canada and we had alot of chats about our cultures. She told us that only about 1% population of the students at Harvard were Native Americans and she would like to see more of us to attend an Ivy League School. That is too far fetch for me to attend a stuffy school. Later on the day, we attend their football game against Brown University. Their football stadium at this Romanesque quality to it.
During our stay, we had the chance to visit another school in a town called Lawrence High. That school was similiar to Crazy Horse School because of their multicultural diversity of students. There were African Americans, Asian Americans, Hispanics, and alot of Immigrants like Hungarians, Africans, etc.... We discussed how they are subjected to racial profiling when they went to Andover for sports events. We agreed in what they are saying. Most of them were intrigued by our schools name "Crazy Horse". Which it was cool and we were likewise about their culture as well.
At the end of our time, we had this huge send off at a local church. All of our host parents were there to review our stay and what not.
In ending, this experience for me was outstanding and I wouldn't have it any other way.
Next time, I will write about my trip to Washington, DC (part of the Close-Up Foundation).
Over the Great Lakes
Our jetliner was now flying over the Great Lakes and it was an awesome site to see. The captain was explaining to the passengers about the Lakes and which one we are flying over (If I do recall, it was Lake Michigan). Being a first time flyer, I was nervous as hell and every sound that the airplane makes, I was getting worried if the plane was going to fall apart. I made nervous remarks to brother like "what if the airplane is on fire and we don't know about it" or "sounds like the engine has failed". I guess watching way too much airline disaster movies has hit me hard. My brother didn't budge or say anything. Go figure, he was probably tuning me out anyways.
Boston and Andover
Here we are, landing at the Logan International Airport, the site of the Atlantic Ocean was in view and I said to my brother, "Wow, look at the ocean!" My brother didn't say anything but looked straight ahead. The plane had landed and there was our host father and his son awaiting for our arrival. His son we kept the year before. He came down from Massachusetts to stay with us for a month. His experience at our place was great and he couldn't get over sporadic we lived.
His father was a nice fellow, he gave us a tour of the towns outside of the Boston metro area. All the houses were older than dust. Most of the buildings still have that colonial taste to them. We arrive in Andover, an upscale community located about 40 minutes north of Boston. We met our host mother and their daughters. The house was renovated before we showed up. Our parents were a delivery man for Gillette Products and the mother was a cook at Andover High School. Where they lived, was remarkable and their house is nestled near Foster Pond. Didn't look like a pond to me, more like a lake.
The first day of school was a bit nerve wrecking. It was alot of white kids who had no inkling of what Native Americans looked like or how rural we are here in South Dakota. We spent the entire day of talking to our classes about our culture and what it is like to live in a small tiny town. Most of them are intrigue by our appearance. It was cool for me for the first day because I had a two hour lunch period. So, I get the spend those two hours people watching. Like any other school, there were cliques every where. I even spotted some hand bangers, the jocks, the popular crowd, the cheerleaders and their croonies, and the nerds. It felt like I was in some movie.
As the weeks progressed, we had the chance to experience New England life like calling pop, 'Tonic" and went deep sea fishing. It was it awesome to be on the ocean. We went to Boston on the weekends to visit the landmarks like Bunker Hill and Bull and Finch (site of "Cheers"). What was my most memorable memory about my trip? Going to HARVARD. Well for a day to see the campus and visit the Native American House. The lady was nice and she's Iroquois from Canada and we had alot of chats about our cultures. She told us that only about 1% population of the students at Harvard were Native Americans and she would like to see more of us to attend an Ivy League School. That is too far fetch for me to attend a stuffy school. Later on the day, we attend their football game against Brown University. Their football stadium at this Romanesque quality to it.
During our stay, we had the chance to visit another school in a town called Lawrence High. That school was similiar to Crazy Horse School because of their multicultural diversity of students. There were African Americans, Asian Americans, Hispanics, and alot of Immigrants like Hungarians, Africans, etc.... We discussed how they are subjected to racial profiling when they went to Andover for sports events. We agreed in what they are saying. Most of them were intrigued by our schools name "Crazy Horse". Which it was cool and we were likewise about their culture as well.
At the end of our time, we had this huge send off at a local church. All of our host parents were there to review our stay and what not.
In ending, this experience for me was outstanding and I wouldn't have it any other way.
Next time, I will write about my trip to Washington, DC (part of the Close-Up Foundation).
careful what I write
Well, it has come to my attention about my blog. My blog is how I did things in the past and a good friend has emailed me just recently and told me that I have to be real discrete in what I write. At first I was kind of pissed at him but then again, I have to respect any privacy of the people whom I mentioned. I didn't mean no harm but rather, just an idea in how I write things in order to share my experiences on anything.
I guess the pen is more powerful than the sword (figuratively speaking). Next time, when I want to write something personal, use my journal and if I want to share what I have down, use the blog. I get the picture.
So, with that, my blog entries will be based on what I have down to make to my life eventful (excluding the bar scene).
I guess the pen is more powerful than the sword (figuratively speaking). Next time, when I want to write something personal, use my journal and if I want to share what I have down, use the blog. I get the picture.
So, with that, my blog entries will be based on what I have down to make to my life eventful (excluding the bar scene).
Monday, November 12, 2007
new people.........
This past Friday, I had the chance to socialize with some new people in my hometown. It was great because of our social interaction was in a setting that we feel it was comfortable. I went with Jesse and his wife Tara (Jesse is working at the school that I went to and his wife is a waitress/bartender at a bar 30 miles away), Noah (HS English teacher) and Kathy (HS Science teacher). Jesse introduced his brother and his girlfriend to the rest of us.
We sat at one place (where Tara worked) and shoot the 'shit' and basically chatted. After that, we went to another bar and seen alot of hunters (must be hunting season). Jesse and his brother played a round of pool and seeing Jesse getting his butt whomped was hilarious (considering that fact that he beat me and Tara the Thursday of last week). After that, we went to one of the booths to sit and BS some more. Here comes Tara and her boss come walking in the bar. By then we decided it was time to come home and get ready for Saturday. I had to babysit for Jesse's Siberian Husky named Sky (another blog on that). Jesse and his entourage hit the city of SIN (Deadwood). As we were leaving the bar, Tara wanted me to stay there and drink some more, but I decline the offer because I had a duty to fulfill.
The whole idea of my blog for today is that these people are new to my hometown and what a perfect way for me to make new friends and enjoy their company as they continue to be part of this little town. They are teachers and when they are in school, they respect for their professionalism with the children and outside of the school, they are just people (like me) living paycheck to paycheck.
With that, some one has to be friends with some one.
We sat at one place (where Tara worked) and shoot the 'shit' and basically chatted. After that, we went to another bar and seen alot of hunters (must be hunting season). Jesse and his brother played a round of pool and seeing Jesse getting his butt whomped was hilarious (considering that fact that he beat me and Tara the Thursday of last week). After that, we went to one of the booths to sit and BS some more. Here comes Tara and her boss come walking in the bar. By then we decided it was time to come home and get ready for Saturday. I had to babysit for Jesse's Siberian Husky named Sky (another blog on that). Jesse and his entourage hit the city of SIN (Deadwood). As we were leaving the bar, Tara wanted me to stay there and drink some more, but I decline the offer because I had a duty to fulfill.
The whole idea of my blog for today is that these people are new to my hometown and what a perfect way for me to make new friends and enjoy their company as they continue to be part of this little town. They are teachers and when they are in school, they respect for their professionalism with the children and outside of the school, they are just people (like me) living paycheck to paycheck.
With that, some one has to be friends with some one.
Friday, November 9, 2007
Small town life.........
Here I am living in a small town in rural South Dakota. How much of small town this is? So small, that you can actually see the Badlands from my back door.
Wanblee has a population of 700+ people and many of them I have known since my family moved here back in 1979 (when I was four years old). I attended Crazy Horse School from Kindergarten until I graduated in 1993 (I sound like an old fart). Did you know that this town was actually thriving back in the early to mid 1900s? Sounds very interesting huh. I remember hearing from many of the elders that Wanblee had many amenities like a grocery store, cafe, hotel, black smith shop, and a movie house. Now, this town is dead. Only thriving thing that Wanblee has a small grocery/gas station.
As I do my evening stroll aroudnt won, I can picture how the town was once was. Nice homes here and there with nicely fixed yards. Now, we have a cluster of homes called "Old Housing". These homes were built like in the 60s (due to housing shortages). Many of the homes are now in shambles. There are several of them that are abandoned and every now and then, the local teens will use the houses as their place to drink and carry on. Sad isn't it.
With the townsfolk, funny I should mentioned that like any other small towns, we do have quite a few characters. As an example, we have the people who wants to be prominent but they are doing it all wrong (in my opinion). Of course, like other small towns, GOSSIP is every one's past time favorite. People will be saying things like "Did you hear......." or "She told me....." I find that very funny. Where I work, Gossip is on everyone's mind. I think the Boss is getting tired of it.
Also, in this small town, when there is a function at the local school, be prepared to every one there. I think it is a place to meet up and socialize. OH yeah, and GOSSIP as well.
Nice to know that maybe someone will read this and reflect what their hometown will be like.
Wanblee has a population of 700+ people and many of them I have known since my family moved here back in 1979 (when I was four years old). I attended Crazy Horse School from Kindergarten until I graduated in 1993 (I sound like an old fart). Did you know that this town was actually thriving back in the early to mid 1900s? Sounds very interesting huh. I remember hearing from many of the elders that Wanblee had many amenities like a grocery store, cafe, hotel, black smith shop, and a movie house. Now, this town is dead. Only thriving thing that Wanblee has a small grocery/gas station.
As I do my evening stroll aroudnt won, I can picture how the town was once was. Nice homes here and there with nicely fixed yards. Now, we have a cluster of homes called "Old Housing". These homes were built like in the 60s (due to housing shortages). Many of the homes are now in shambles. There are several of them that are abandoned and every now and then, the local teens will use the houses as their place to drink and carry on. Sad isn't it.
With the townsfolk, funny I should mentioned that like any other small towns, we do have quite a few characters. As an example, we have the people who wants to be prominent but they are doing it all wrong (in my opinion). Of course, like other small towns, GOSSIP is every one's past time favorite. People will be saying things like "Did you hear......." or "She told me....." I find that very funny. Where I work, Gossip is on everyone's mind. I think the Boss is getting tired of it.
Also, in this small town, when there is a function at the local school, be prepared to every one there. I think it is a place to meet up and socialize. OH yeah, and GOSSIP as well.
Nice to know that maybe someone will read this and reflect what their hometown will be like.
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