Frida Kahlo Pedi

I always think about Frida Kahlo's portrait What the Water Gave Me after I get a pedicure. Bizzaro.

So I shot my own:

That's ok, I think my cankles and leg fracture bruise are hot...

can't wait until December to eff it up even more.

Sexy Protein

Well, I'm back on the bacon and eggs wagon... screw you cholesterol. Rubin I hope this crappy shot of my breakfast is sexy enough for your discerning photographic eye (hastily taking these from my 3.2 mega pix LG Dare cam phone probably doesn't help the quality.)


GOOD MORNING BOWLING GREEN! All I'm doing is finishing up my teaching plan for manana and then I'M LEAVING YOU FOR THE DIRTY D!

xoxo BA

Mein Teaching Philosophy Courtesy of the B.S. Guru Extraordinaire

"By learning you will teach, by teaching you will learn." - Latin Proverb

Oh yeah! Someone is about to unload a bunch of her recently crafted beesh upon the alter of knowledge... prepare yourselves for nausea and drowsiness! Following is a little pile of poop that I've so lovingly rewritten with all my previous teaching experiences in mind. I've even included a considerably boring monochromatic picture to help alliterate this masterpiece even more accurately....

discontinue reading if you're uninterested...

no seriously...

you should stop now...

you'll only be mad at yourself for reading this...

also, for those of you that think you're stealthy enough, don't even think about plaigarizing me. I'll shank you in your sleep.

Ok, without further ado, MEIN TEACHING PHILOSOPHY:

As a future faculty member, it is vital for me to be able to reflect upon past and present experiences to contemplate and process how said encounters shape my teaching philosophy. With this in mind, it is my intention to examine a few detrimental examples as well as several positive instances from past classroom experiences which I currently draw upon to assist in augmenting my career pedagogically. I used to think that a teacher could hardly ever have a significant affect on a student—after all, they are just one of many instructors that the student will have over what could be a lifetime of learning experiences. Then, over the past few years of my graduate work, I saw the affect that one good professor can have on her or his students, and I knew I had found my life's career in teaching. By teaching others, I am able to combine my fascination with communicating effectively with my enjoyment of helping others and interacting interpersonally. Becoming a professor will also enable me to pursue research in whatever aspect of the field I enjoy the most; yet through it all, I will be able to help others develop their most important attribute: the mind.

All of the above objectives can be further investigated through one’s personal teaching philosophy. To be clear, a teaching philosophy can be conceptualized as a beneficial tool for self-reflection. A philosophy of teaching will explain my reasons for teaching, descriptions of how I teach, and justifications for my beliefs about teaching. Naturally, my teaching philosophy will likely evolve as I gain even more experience and place myself in new and different situations. With these premises in mind, my main concern involves piquing students’ interest without being an entertainer. I find it extremely gratifying to be able to offer lectures, concepts, and examples to students who may have never contemplated the basic theoretical frameworks of communication studies. At the basic introductory level I remain enthralled with potentially illuminating the “building blocks” by which so many students can base much of their interdisciplinary endeavors.

As a teacher, I am comprehensive in my approach. I have a versatile stance on the process of gleaning knowledge while teaching. My primary passion is working and effectively communicating with people; hence my extensive education within the field. I am an individual who helps students through listening, learning, and leading. By way of the written word, lecture, alternative media, and various other impactful examples, I have helped to convey corporate messages, resolve conflicts on various levels both scholastically and commercially, and have contributed to various team-oriented environments. For example, my work as a former Teaching Assistant effectively showcased these initiatives. I was able to enact many of my personal objectives in-class and out-of-class. I began to realize that the majority of my teaching skills were absorbed in face-to-face conversations or meetings beyond the classroom where pragmatic lessons were learned in personal settings. Being able to reach students almost always occurred after class.

To augment my unique approach to teaching, I am also a viable adherent of and for communication studies. For various epistemological assumptions I am adept at providing a link between scientific research and practical application with a rare dual perspective combining academic expertise and pragmatic experience; this enables me to bring authority and compassion to my classroom. Additionally, I am a dynamic role model for the ideas that I present. My personal life experiences and auto-ethnographic familiarity within various interpersonal and small group settings provide an important perspective and inspiration for my teaching.

While currently serving as the Assistant Basic Course Director (ABCD) for the introductory speech course on the campus of BGSU, I have learned many lessons regarding the world of academe and have realized that I have two sets of people to whom I must report to and be accountable. First, I have to be sure to fill the expectations of the department and the Course Director for whom I’m working. Composing exams, responding to emails, serving as a first line of response for student's and teaching assistant’s questions, or performing simple administrative tasks keep the Course Director from becoming overwhelmed by the demands of the course. It can be very hard on everyone when things get out of order therefore I realize that this experience allows me a beneficial practice in time management and foundational familiarity with a large course made up by a myriad of sections. This is the business side of the job that can be challenging, but I find that these types of coordinating skills and structured conversations with a diverse amount of perspectives (students, faculty, staff, and teaching assistants alike) will only prolong my growth as a flexible and organized teacher. The second group to whom the ABCD is responsible is clearly the students. There are several things, I think, students need from me and the teaching assistants that I coordinate.
Taking precedence over the administrative aspects of the profession, as any teacher will quickly understand, one must have a solid understanding of the course material and/or conceptual/theoretical frameworks that will be covered as well.

For a number of students, especially in communication studies, coursework might be extremely challenging, and in some ways seem completely unrelated to their plan of study. If the teacher doesn't thoroughly grasp the material, she or he has no chance to convey the key points to the students. Conversely, other students might find that communication studies and particularly the concepts covered in a curriculum similar to the introductory speech class at BGSU are very basic and overly simplified. Students may not feel challenged or find that basic communication skills are “common sense.” It is a teacher’s job to bridge this gap, maintaining student’s attention while also emphasizing content which may illuminate vital application opportunities. I would argue that good teachers consistently seek out and practice innovative means by which they can appease all types of learning styles.

With this in mind, the most vital aspect of effective teaching, in my opinion, is to motivate students, allowing for them to develop an affinity for the subject. Some students will become excited by envisioning the future, others will express eagerness to learn with their potential for service to society, and finally some will be motivated by the prospect of a challenging career, or perhaps a rewarding career. A teacher must utilize various methods to make it possible for students to connect with the content which they are being presented. Rarely do we have the pleasure to witness a teacher that has elevated this knack to an art form, but I can say that I personally strive to accomplish this goal.

To further characterize my teaching philosophy, I will say that I try to address the students’ aforementioned learning styles while also alliterating the teacher’s mind set. For the well-informed teacher, there is a wealth of material with vast theoretical foundation which has been developed over years of studying a specific topic. For the student, depending on the interest level in the course, the approach can range from matching the professor's interest, to a sort of bottom line approach: “How do I do my homework, what will be on the exam, and what do I need to know to succeed in this course?” A good teacher must be able to understand the theory and the students well enough that she or he is able to teach the topic in a way that parallels the student's interest level. For the most dedicated students, I must be able to nearly match their abilities and explain even the most complicated theoretical issues (or at least be able to acknowledge when to say that I don't know something and seek another teacher’s help or consult another source.) For students whose interest lies elsewhere, I must discern what she or he wishes to take away from the course and offer that expectation accordingly.

I think it is equally important that a teacher be available to their students. Office hours should be scheduled for both the student's and teacher’s convenience, and said hours should be designed to supplement the time that the teacher is available during the week. I think it's also essential to note that availability isn't only measured by time. It has been my observation that students want to (but often don't) feel comfortable approaching teachers if it has been conveyed to them that it is inconvenient to meet or more work to schedule a time to sit down and talk than what is expected by both parties. If students don't feel as though they are able to call upon you even for the simplest of questions, they probably won’t turn to you for help. It's somewhat of a cliché to say I've always tried to be here for my students, but I believe they've never hesitated to approach me due to my desire for a genuine rapport and empathy that I have for each of them personally. I can say with relative certainty that no student has ever left my office hours feeling like they had been unwelcome or that their questions were insignificant.

In this vein, I believe very strongly that prospective instructors should only teach if they enjoy doing it. This is a difficult epistemological stance to hold in a time when there is a technological push for learning via the internet and other alternative forms of media. Yet I still feel it is better to allow students to congregate in a classroom with a teacher who cares and who is interested in teaching, collaborating, and having face to face discussions. When instructing various lectures pertinent to interpersonal communication theory, I find that my energy, style, creativeness, and attention to detail allow for my students to engage in various concepts in a positive and open-minded manner. Furthermore, in remembering the various techniques that I utilized to gain my classroom’s attention, I recollect that my organizational abilities and consistency in reminding the students of various deadlines and assignment requirements were absolutely vital in meeting the class’ objectives.

I can say that the key to my teaching philosophy is laughter and the realization that life (as well as the classroom) is a comedic stage on which we are destined to make mistakes. We can laugh off even the most complex of issues; we can continue to strive for new alternatives no matter how many challenges may arise during our teaching careers. I have seen the difference between teachers who enjoy what they do and those that do not. A good teacher is able to “roll with the punches” while also advocating for ethical conflict resolution.

My consideration for ethical practices and my knack for problem-solving/conflict resolution have bolstered my position as a personable, interesting character that many students enjoy working with. For example, when given the opportunity to lecture to a group of inmates in a low-level prison setting in Freeland, MI regarding basic level interviewing skills, I was met with positive feedback of my originality, style, and understanding to the details of their unique situations. Various types of students with different backgrounds (such as the inmates) have been able to identify with my imaginative examples and empathetic illustrations because I have given a lot of thought to their individual learning requirements. Many of the prison inmates that I taught were reentering society after long prison sentences. Ethically speaking, I was able embody a good teacher by being honest and tackling sensitive questions (e.g. “How does a person address her/his absence from the workforce for the past twenty years?”) with tactful and constructive responses.

In my early days as a graduate student I realized that this was my career calling; that this is what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. I genuinely care about the students' success in the courses I teach, and I continue to convey concepts/interests in a way that students can relate to. Moreover, I take my students' grades as a personal reflection of my work in helping them understand the material that I present, and more importantly, I consider my students' success to be a measure of how much they are gaining from being in college. By becoming a professor of communication studies, I have the ability to stay in the field I find to be so vital to social experiences, and at the same time use my career to benefit students in a positive manner. I have been told that I have the ability to explain things in a coherent and understandable manner, and this has helped me with my teaching. In a time when a lot of my peers are unsure what career they want for the rest of their lives, it is refreshing to know what I will do. By teaching I can remain in the communication field, continuing my research, and simultaneously I might also help others to learn while possibly challenge the status quo. As teachers of communication we are truly working with the people who will make the decisions that shape our futures, and consequently, I find comfort in the realization that I might be helping to define which decisions they'll make.

Sincerely, The Bullshit Guru Extraordinaire

Getting Pumped Over Fractured Weather

As many of you may already know, Fall is my favorite time of year. Even though I've heard a lot of whining about the weather, I'm pretty pumped for October. These next couple of weeks will be awesome if I can hang on for dear life with my coursework while maintaining my social status ;-)

Today I'm reminding myself that daily routine stuff and needful pleasures MUST happen before readings, meetings, writings, phone calls, and emails. So, after reading everyone's updates on FB about chili I decided to make a really good meat sauce with spaghetti:

It's always easier for me to cook a large pot of pasta and continue eating it for the rest of the week, storing it in the fridge, and allowing for at least one hot meal per day. It's really quick to warm up too. As you can see, it's a massive portion, but there's several reasons for that (the two main ones being that I'm trying not to eat out and I've quit smoking again.) Nevertheless, I'm glad that I finally took the time to cook another meal at home. I'm going to keep trying to get back to my daily routine as I mentioned before... I mean really, we all know that I prefer cooking and eating over writing silly little documents such as the annoying teaching philosophy!**

As an aside, I also want to highlight the following book Fracture: Adventures of a Broken Body by Ann Oakley. It was practically screaming for me to read it! I'm really excited that I found a autoethnographic piece that is so stunningly similar to my own broken bones. How didn't I know about this earlier?!? As Susie Orbach, feminist scholar, psychoanalyst, and writer of Fat is a Feminist Issue posited that it is: "A new book [that] engages us. Fracture weaves Oakley's personal story with a very fine meditation on the body. Reading it opens up important questions about the meaning of where we live from." It will definitely show up in my reference lists I'm sure (especially now that I'm going under the knife again soon courtesy of my bionic leg.)

(Sorry Rachael... I know I've told you about it twice now.)

**I'll move on to that next as long as I stop procrastinating.

Red Meat & Sox Beat

Well, I'm all out of venison so I picked up a steak for dinner. Sorry to all you vegetarians if this disgusts you. As Anthony Bourdain would say: "It tastes like it died screaming." Yum.

Consequently, on the way I discovered that BGSU is absolutely reigning the football scene as far as their home tailgate tradition. Holy poop! It saddens me that this town, renowned for hillbilly types of activities such as the National Tractor Pulls, has trumped CMU in more civilized pasttimes including the astute, ascot-like tailgate.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA (Even I couldn't say that without laughing.)

Ok, but regardless, everyone should compare these two schools in terms of ridiculous college football traditions. Last weekend I couldn't believe the complaints in Mount Pleasant regarding their new tailgate rules. Undergrads and alums alike were virtually bawling in the streets up there. Here's what the CM Life had to say about the situation:

A whole new look to CMU tailgating
By Joe Borlik September 21, 2009
Tags: Bill Yeagley, CMU football, tailgate, tailgating procedures
New regulations limit tailgating attendance Saturday afternoon in Lot 63. "No one's going to go to the game because of this," said Shepherd junior Shannon Sullivan. "This isn't CMU tailgate." Students tailgating at Kelly/Shorts Stadium Saturday noticed some changes. Clarkston junior Mitch Miller sure did. “I’ve never seen tailgating this empty,” Miller said. “This is terrible. CMU had the best tailgating in the state. Now, it’s below average.” The student tailgating lot, Lot 63, totaled fewer than two full lanes of vehicles Saturday afternoon. Many said it was because of the new tailgating procedures, which include increased security, required parking passes, no external sound systems and an alcohol limit of six beers or one pint of liquor....

Isn't it sad when the middle-class yuppie fraternity boys and girls can't get together for a reasonable display of public drunkenness? It definitely bums me out. Here's what BGSU's lot looked like this afternoon (right across from the intersection into my apartments next to I-75.) This photo only displays a mere portion of the total splendor:

Blah. I can't believe that stuff. Boooooo CMU! Yeah BGSU! My alma mater is turning into the proverbial "bitch" of the party world. Anyway, I thought this was worth sharing.

Nevertheless, if my large, indulgent helping of red meat doesn't result in a win against the White Sox tonight I think I might go postal. GO TIGERS!

Busy Important PhD Student Stuff

Whoah... that was a hell of week. Sorry world. I was completing busy, important PhD student stuff and I didn't find a lot of time to blog this week; which is scary! If I can't find time for my personal needs (where blogging is ABSOLUTELY a necessity), how am I going to elevate myself to rockstar scholar status?! I mean really, blogging is right next to eating and sex right? It's right there on the bottom of Maslow's Hierarchy isn't it?

Ok, my bad. I lapsed into a sarcastic rant for a sec. But really, I can't believe September is almost over. The main excitement this month is realizing how soon I'll be done with grad school down here. The days seem to be flying by for the most part, which, if you're a sentimental lady like myself, is a tough thing to accept when it can be noted that the process of learning and writing is so bittersweet. Time plays into this process at every turn. I'm ready for my meetings, scheduling, and coursework to dwindle, but at this pace I'm also worried that my experience here in BG is being notched up to some sort of frantic, crazy pace.

Anyway, all of this punctuality and accountability can sometimes wear on my social life too. This is the first weekend in over a month that I've been able to kick back and vegetate for a few minutes (even though I have my teaching philosophy to write and a teaching plan to compose.) As I've thought so many times, I love to drive home or have people visit me here but I hate the distraction because I know that I have a propensity to slack off. This is my plight... it makes me psycho LOL

In other news, I'M FINALLY WORKING ON MY HALLOWEEN COSTUME! Oooooooo, this is going to be good.... and I'm keeping it a surprise for the most part. I've only told a few people thus far. Anyway, I can't wait to take my mind off of other things and get in front of my sewing machine for a few minutes here and there. If I have no time to cook right now, I hope I can at least get my hands on a project that I don't have to do a lot of brain work with (if that makes sense.) Can't wait for October and Katje's birthday!

Oh yeah, and here's another marvelous development: WE'RE GOING TO THE SECOND ALDS GAME! Somehow 8lb 6oz baby Jesus granted me with the luck of being able to purchase 4 tix for the post season. I'm really excited! Go Tigers!

Ok friends, back to relaxing. Monday I plan to continue utilizing this medium for my Pedagogy log. It will probably get really boring... just warning you in case I can't deliver my customary sarcastic repartee for a little while. Just keeping it real. Not gonna lie. Let me be honest with you xoxo BA

Fifth Teaching Reflection

Wow tonight's class seemed LOONNNNNNNNGGGG! Oh well, it at least gave me an idea to ponder for my teaching reflection....

I find that many students assume their instincts to be wrong. They fail to trust their ability to reason, to think... which is unfortunate when considering how detrimental self-doubt can be. Thinking back about various students who I've mentored over the years, I have peace of mind in realizing that I praised them when their logic served them well, and helped them see the flaws in their thinking when they got off-track. Sometimes I even cheered (literally!) when they got something right after struggling with it.

So with this idea of self-doubt, I must say that I believe acquiring an ability to think through problems -- be they economic or political or social or personal problems -- is critical to gaining self-confidence. In all actuality, as students and teachers, we must realize that there is more to life than economics and pragmatic reasons for why we should attend college. The simple question of: "What should I major in? My parents want me to major in business," should be answered with: follow your heart. Figure out what you love, what makes you tick, what turns you on, and major in that.... it took me a long time to figure this out. Even though we hear so many complaints about budget cuts and wage rates lowering in academe, I can say that I am extremely HAPPY to know that I can make a difference AND make a decent living while I'm at it. My research and writing will be so beneficial in the long run.

Life is too short to not do what you love... and somehow in all of this, I teach them life lessons. One student said what he really admired was how I "carried" myself and that I was fun. If I think about it long enough (even with all of the self-doubt pooling around in my brain) I can say that I am confident in these few areas and satisfied with the realization that I've found the niche I've been searching for.

This is exciting and I realize that my collaboration with students will continue to further my confidence as a teacher. Together we (myself and students) are able to think through the perplexing political and social problems of the day, we disagree, we figure out why, and we don't feel a need to belittle each other because of our disagreement. BOOYA!

Ok, I'm out for now.

Regarding Caster Semenya: Kudos Fox Sports (Shya... AS IF!)

Here's the recent crap contributed to the Caster Semenya case:

No kidding around : FoxSports.com Photo Gallery

Shared via AddThis

Also, you may remember Christina Carr's recent piece about The Gender Investigation of Caster Semenya. Well, given that everyone was so curious about if she was really, a she - it looks like critics can be satisfied now. Megan Carpentier, shares the news from The Sydney Morning Herald, which published the supposed results of the South African runner's International Association of Athletics Federations-ordered gender tests, which apparently show she has the Intersex condition Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome.

Interesting how it works like that. If a girl is deemed "too good" at sports, she must be a boy? And Goddamn, no one will believe her until science intervenes! But wait - maybe she isn't just a girl, or a boy, maybe she's a little bit of both? It seems that the desperate attempt to reveal Semenya's true identity, the IAAF got more than they bargained for: THE world champion 800m runner Caster Semenya has been revealed to have male and female sexual organs, posing an ethical and political quandary for the sport's ruling body, the International Association of Athletics Federations, and her home nation, South Africa.

Extensive physical examinations of Semenya, who is just 18 and from a remote village in the country's far north, has shown the athlete is technically a hermaphrodite. Medical reports indicate she has no ovaries, but rather has internal male testes, which are producing large amounts of testosterone.

The presence of both male and female characteristics will come as a devastating blow to Semenya, who has fought off snide remarks about her masculine appearance for much of her life.
My question is - why are we so eager to find this out? Clearly if a man was competing in women's events, that might make things unfair because when it comes to physiology men and women are not equal species. But at this point, the woman has been strip searched inside and out - and for what reason? So that she can be told: no boys allowed?

I call BULLSHIT! Now back to bed and off my soapbox.

Fourth Teaching Reflection

As I sit and ponder our class in Pedagogy this evening, I realize that confidence in myself and in my teaching must come from internal sources. I cannot and should not depend upon my students for ego gratification. All the mutual respect in the world doesn't eliminate the power relationship between us. I see it as my responsibility to respect my students by maintaining proper professional boundaries. All of which boils down to one word: respect.

In my teaching, respect is my number one rule. I respect the students... not because they are bright or rich or well-dressed or white or male or Asian or gay or Muslim or an economics major or the star quarterback or daughter of the President. I respect them because "students are people too" and human beings deserve respect and empathy. I treat them as I would want to be treated.

Furthermore, I recognize the many demands on their time, and don't change exam times or deadlines at the last minute. I give a complete course outline in the syllabus so they can plan their semester. I realize they truly may have commitments barring them from coming to my office hours, and so I readily schedule appointments for mutually convenient times.I assume their goal is to learn the material. When they come to me with graded exams, I respect their desire to learn what they did wrong so that they might improve the next time. I recognize that I am sometimes unclear, so when they ask for a second explanation I provide one without offense.I want them to gain confidence in their intellectual abilities. In our department at BGSU, this is/was my over-arching goal (even though I sometimes find that this is not always the case with faculty.)

Ok, blah blah blah... enough for tonight!

I Wish Ernie Harwell Was My Grandpa

He definitely said it all.

Someday we will remember his legacy fondly and respectfully.

(Courtesy of Chi)

Starting Back on the Right Foot

Breakfast this morning consisted of a peach smoothie with fat free yogurt and a splash of V8 Fusion. I also made a bagel with 2 tbs. of light veggie cream cheese and olive tapenade... I just realized I forgot to take my multi-v though. Oops.

Onward through this cluster-f#*% of a day that I'm having... hopefull I'll be able to get my readings done during colloquium (that I just found out I need to go to.)

BOOYA vs. "BYYYAAAA!"

I hate football season... but I love singing Hank's "Are you ready for some football?!"

I hate driving around every weekend... but I love feeling like I can slack off for 3-4 days straight.

I hate when my pedicure is poorly executed... but I love it when I have time to get one.

I hate it when I'm 3 months behind on my rent... but I love it when I feel like I have a ton of cash in my account.

I hate FB... but I love discovering all the random information about people that makes me feel guilty for never calling or staying in touch with them anymore.

I hate putting everything away from camping at Wheatland... but I love feeling reorganized afterwards.

I hate having a really bad cold... but I love the fact that I can quit smoking again.

I hate eating out these past few weeks... but I love the fact that I can finally buy some nutritious food for my apartment.

I hate when I don't feel like I'm getting to watch much baseball... but I love the fact that we're so many games ahead.

I hate when I feel completely frazzled on a Monday... but I love the idea that I will definitely get a lot accomplished the next couple of weeks.

I hate when the time spent with la familia is really brief... but I love that I can still see them.

I hate it when people say "Booya!"... but I love it when I can conveniently catch up with my friend on a Sunday night over a Freddie's burger, chatting in disbelief about how these past few years have gone, talking about his life (making me feel thankful for mine) and screaming "BYYYYAAA" over and over.




These are my ramblings on a Monday night. I think I'm going to finally spring for some Tigers tix for KJ and Sarah. Then I'm overhauling my life (recycling, groceries, this week's sched, topic proposal, and a ton of other miscellaneous little tasks that will come out of the woodwork as I get through this week.) I can't wait to sleep in my new bed tonight and I'm really happy to be staying down in the OH this weekend.

I hate that crazy time is over... but I love that I can now sing 'It's business time.'"

Third Teaching Reflection

Ok, so to continue.... am I a good teacher?

Here's what I've been thinking about (kind of a stream-of-consciousness bit of writing):

To be a good teacher is to be pretty vulnerable (or to try to be more so.) Bringing more vulnerability to my teaching does not mean eliminating all professional boundaries. The relationship between me and my students is about learning, but I find that they need to be able to identfy with me... which will lead them to engage with the material that we cover in class. I believe they need not know much about my personal life in order for me to be an effective teacher. I use anecdotal examples drawn from my life: my sister's artwork, joking with my mom, my dad's work as a carpenter, my misunderstandings that I endure with my best guy friend. On the flip side, various demands on my time, my emotional struggles, my home life -- I sometimes see those as inappropriate to share with the students. It's imperative that a good teacher knows the difference (which I usually do.)

Whoa... lots was said here. I think I need to go relax and ruminate for a while LOL

Second Teaching Reflection

We each bring our own personalities and life experiences to our teaching. We develop skills. We talk with each other about our teaching, gain insight, solicit feedback. We are engaged in an activity that has tremendous social value and which entails tremendous responsibility. We are helping to create the future. Respect ourselves, respect our students, respect each other... and have fun! There is unbridled joy in the mystery that is teaching.

With these realizations, I think it's appropriate to address further my first question that I indicated earlier about whether or not I'm a good teacher...

I'm convinced that one never really knows for sure. It's like asking yourself if you're a good parent or a successful businessperson. How can you tell? Are you confident that it's a generalizeable answer? Even though this seems overwhelming, I can say that there are a few key points that are indicative of a good and effective teacher. I will address them further here.

The first is organization. Personal and classroom organization take time but it pays off. When teaching or managing a class such as IPC 1020, I plan out the entire semester. The syllabus tells what material I/we will cover each day. I know when/what the exams will be beforehand and so do the students. Each lecture is usually relatively organized and easy to follow. I arrive 10 minutes before class is due to begin, establishing rapport, and after class has begun, I foreshadow what we will be covering in the lesson.

Another part of being a good teacher (and possibly THE MOST IMPORTANT) is allowing your students to feel as if they are being challenged while also feeling a connection to you and their peers. During my lectures I make lots of eye contact and smile a lot. I exude enormous levels of energy and laugh at myself or with students. I jump and move and use my hands and slide and point and encourage participation. They smile and snooze and take copious notes and somehow learn lessons of life in the process... I even say "bless you" when they sneeze. I have fun. I teach the students, not the material.

Getting a little bit bogged down now. I'll continue answering this question in the next reflection.............

Until then, ciao!

Shaq's Six-Pack

Shya right! Is he a "role model" for this type of training? Don't think so. Regardless here's another case of same shit, different day:

Also, I'm extremely ill children (yes Bearpaw, I blame you; you will be slammed and shanked if I ever get my strength/immune system reinstated.) Consequently, I might not survive the weekend. "Not gonna lie." "Just being honest with you." If this is my last entry, I apologize... please scatter my ashes over various deep-fat fryers in the MidWestern area.

I would like all of my writings to go to Katje, thereby evoking guilt and prolonged sadness... now I'm going to try to crawl back into my bed of sickness.

Here's hoping everyone else has a healthy, productive weekend (because I'm pretty sure I won't.)

Dr. Phil is a Pill

I read his books The Ultimate Weight Solution and Life Lessons a while ago... needless to say, these were a few of the more choice contributions from "Paulaland" (e.g. my mom's world of cock-and-bull mediated advice.) Credibility be damned, he has a hell of a lot of advice for people... but is it anything else than mere common sense mixed with a heaping dose of bullshit?

I just saw that Phil is starting a new show and was questioning his legitimacy again. Here's a decent link that argues his lack of license:

http://everydaypsychology.com/2008/01/is-dr-phil-actually-psychologist.html

I'm also interested in the shows where he turns weight into spectacle. If you're called into check by this guy, you obviously belong in the "other" category. You're deviant. You suck. You have no self-control. You're ruining your kids lives. Oh yeah, and can you be on my show so we can show everybody how ridiculously fat you are? Childhood obesity is always a hot-button topic for the lame-brains:






Yes, this man has a ton of power over the masses... but I just love to make fun of him. His twangy two cents on every stereotypical issue is enough to make me laugh. So here's a fab little link to conjure your own reactions Phil McGraw-style (it works the best when you call someone and start pounding on the various "I don't give a crap" lines):

Dr. Phil Soundboard So you can do your own prank call like those radio guys.

There you go. I've said my piece.

Frenzied

Is there actually enough time in a day to get everything done? Me thinks not.

This is the observation I've arrived at after such a glorious birthday weekend... now I'm really feeling the pinch of "Labor Day" (even though it's the day after.) Thanks to brubby for looking up it's true meaning and history. Staff meetings need to be scheduled, emails should be responded to, camping supplies are waiting to be wrangled up, a cat desires an over-feeding, all-weather clothing needs to be packed, and oh yeah, my classes need to be attended to, and there's a few hundred pages I should read (e.g. skim.) Poop.

I think I'll be working from my new bed all day tomorrow =)

Anyway, I've included a sampling of the photos (the rest can be found on my FB album entitled: Birthday/Labor Day Weekend) from our few days of gluttony and good food (MANGIA!) It was definitely a good memory even though I didn't get to see a fist fight between my siblings and I'm now broke as a joke. I'm glad everyone came down and Lolita was delish!

Back to my frenzied reality... TCB my friends.

First Teaching Reflection

Ok, so I'm going to use my personal blog as a medium for Pedagogy as well. It will still be peppered with the random writings and/or headlines that I discover and find the need to write about, therefore I hope it won't get altogether boring in here. Regardless, this will give me a chance to look back and discover some of the lessons I may have learned during my teaching experiences and will also show Dr. Boyd-Barrett that I've been considering the importance of reflection in terms of being a good teacher =)

Here are a few ideas/questions I hope to address over the course of the semester with my teaching reflections:

Am I a good teacher? How does my teaching style compare to the styles of my colleagues?

Are my classroom management skills as effective as those of other teachers in my department?

Do my classes fill my students with enthusiasm -- or imbue them with boredom?

Am I confident in my ability to deal with any student problem that arises in the course of the day?

Am I aware of the most current teaching strategies and management techniques? How can I use them to augment my teaching practices?

What are some of the observations, comments, questions, or advice I may offer to my peers concerning their teaching experiences?

Stummy is Growly

Going to Michael Symon's restaurant Lolita. So stoked. Being this old has it's perks =)

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Glenn Douglas D-Bag

Well, it's been a whirlwind this week (as anticipated.) Getting through today will launch me into a weekend free of worry and lots of booze, bfffs, and travel... therefore I WILL endure the hours of reading I have to get done by 2:30p. Go me.

Anyway, as promised, I want to dedicate this entry to a certain "celebrity" that no one had heard of until the illustrious show Brooke Knows Best aired a year or so ago. His name is Glenn Douglas Packard (aka D-Bag.) This past winter Packard returned to his hometown (which also happens to be mine): Clare, MI. Here is what the local paper had to say about Packard's visit:

Clare native co-stars on VH1 reality show

On 7/20/09 the show aired:






VH1 TV Shows Music Videos Celebrity Photos News & Gossip


Ok, so all of this is fine and good right? We all enjoy the classic tale of a hometown hero returning to his roots and "inspiring" all the young idiots to "shoot for their dreams" and "overcome adversity" thereby transforming their otherwise mundane, homogeneous lives into a copacetic, rainbow-colored reality. Thank you Clare Public Schools for inviting such a poignant speaker and successful entrepreneur to enlighten the student body on how to "be themselves."

Gay rights aside (yes, I'm an advocate), this did not concern empowerment or activism. Obviously this was/is about producing a show and lining someone's pockets courtesy of the morons in Clare County.** Hopefully they had enough sense to also profit from the show-casing of their students through the star-struck spectacle that was created for them, but in the end I found this entire situation to be a contrived example of one personal narrative that may or may not have been significant. After doing a bit of searching about Packard's life, it seems that he is dishonest about his age, his background, and his experiences. Maybe he's not as noteworthy or creditable as his viewers would believe?

I will risk this and answer "no." But conversely, I will say though that this is an example of what we as consumers are willing to fall for. We will compromise our educations, sell out our own kids, gentrify our historic downtowns, and forgo our small-town traditions in order to make a buck or get on TV... all in the name of "inspiration."



There's my sentimental rant for the day kiddos. Now I'm going to eat some breakfast (whether or not it will be nutritious has yet to be seen.) Cheers!





**Consequently there are a significant amount of intelligent individuals who reside in this lovely area. Unfortunately none of them seem to have a lot of sway when requesting that Hollywood come to town.

I Just Watched This... I Just Loved This...

A lot of interesting stuff here. I hope to integrate a few of these examples into my research. These vids are from the WE series Secret Lives of Women entitled "Extreme Diets":