Assignment #14 Reflecting on Leadership For Change

No goal or dream is impossible you just have to take things one step and at time, and organize and plan ahead.

After reading all my blog entries I feel amazed. I know that I have come along way this semester. Everyday I feel so much closer to achieving my goal. I feel that I have grown a lot this semester because I was able to manage my time very well. And what I find most shocking is that I took 16 credit hours this semester and I feel like this is the best semester ever. I have a feeling that I am close to getting all A’s in all my classes. This semester was very busy and hectic for me. I volunteered to baby-sit a friend’s daughter this entire semester every morning I had to wake up at 6:50 am and get to her house at 7am (she lives very close to me). I took the little girl to school at noon every day and then managed to get to school at 12:30 this gave me enough time to work on homework and study since most of my classes start at 5pm.
I feel like my thinking has changed in that I feel like anything is possible now if you work hard, plan ahead and organize your time. I know that a lot of people like to make excuses for themselves and come up with a million and one reasons why they can’t do something. I’ll admit that I used to be one of those people. I no longer feel this way after doing so well this semester, I know that I have what it takes to succeed and go far in life. Nothing in life comes easy and if you really want something you’ll find a way to achieve it and not make excuses for yourself. .
The types of activities and behaviors that I have engaged in this semester is making time to do the things I enjoy doing. For instance I made time to read more and write. I also made more time to spend with family and friends. Most importantly I have managed to stay organized and manage my time very well. I do not feel like I rush through things or wait for the last minute to do things. I really hate working under pressure and avoid postponing things until the last minute.

The three things I liked best about the class were the following:
1.The readings Barbara Shers, Wishcraft and Bell Hooks, All about my Love
2.I enjoying the assignments that made us do things we really like to do as young adults or childhood
3.I enjoyed the movies and documentaries we watched and the class discussions

The three things I liked least about the class
1.I did not like reading the Komives book
2.Initially I did not like the role model interviews. I just felt that it was not enough time to find an interviewee because most people have very busy schedules (but after one successful interview I changed my mind about that)
3.After a while I got sick of sharing my dream and telling my success team where I was and where I needed help. I just found it very redundant.

Three things to improve Leadership For Change
1. Bring in more guest speakers
2. More good movies/documentaries with good class discussions!
3. Help students network more….

Assignment #13 Work The Plan

Exercise #1

My next step this week was to complete my student teaching application and take the OPI exam. I am glad to say that I completed both and feel great. I feel much better now that I got my student teaching application done. I finished all four essays and my resume looks great. I said I was going to make an appointment at the writing center so that they could look over my essays and resume and I did. I took the OPI exam yesterday at 3:30pm and I know I did an awesome job!

Exercise #2

I held my next business meeting with my boyfriend. He continued to help me with my essays and resume. We discussed our next steps for this week. He has a lot of calculus and physics homework. So he's going to be busy doing that as well as studying for his final exams. I completed my SPED 410 project today and feel so relieved that it's out of the way. Now my focus turns to meeting with Inma to submit my student teaching application on Thursday. I also have to work on another major group final project due for my EPSY 446 class May 7th. We have to create a charter school so that's a lot of work and time that will be spent on that. I also have a presentation for my Span 449 class Monday so I'm going to be busy this weekend working on that assignment.

Exercise #3
So I realize that we have two more weeks left in the semester almost done!!! But I still have a couple of major assignments due before I can celebrate and say that I successfully completed the semester. My Sunday meeting with myself consisted of me writing done the tasks I have to complete before the semester is over. I planned and organized my time so that I have time slots in which I will dedicate time to working on each of those assignments that are due. I realize that time management is important, because there is no worse feeling then working under pressure and feeling frustrated. I want to finish off the semester strong and know I will because I have been working really hard to achieve my goals.

Assignment #12 The Buddy System

As I stated in my previous blog I started working on my student teaching application. I was actually under the impression that it was due May 1st it is for the CTE but the teaching of Spanish Dept wants us to have it completed by April 23rd this means that I have less to time to complete it. I will submit my student teaching application April 23 at 1:30pm it will be reviewed by the director of the teaching of Spanish dept. they just want to make sure we have everything completed. I also have to come up with a list of twelve schools where I would like to do my student teaching. I have about four schools in mind so I need to think about that too. I am almost done writing the four essays. My resume needs some editing. My plan is to make an appointment with the writing center this week so they can take a look at my essays and resume. I was supposed to take the OPI exam today but I had to reschedule so I will definitely take it next week Monday April 20th.
I have so many papers and projects due I just want the semester to be over! I can’t wait until May 7th. I am also working on a project for my EPSY 446 class we have to create our own charter school it’s a lot of work. I’m trying to take everything one step at a time so that I don’t get overwhelmed. Today I’m supposed to be meeting with another partner we’re working on modifying and critiquing a lesson plan it’s for another education course I’m taking this semester.
I found a buddy for my buddy system and it wasn’t difficult to find one. I asked my boyfriend to be my buddy he agreed to do it. Besides I always talked to him about this class and how the objective was for us to reach our goals. I told him how much I liked the class and every week he’d inquire about the class the readings and how far along I was with my goal. In a sense I guess I already had a buddy since my boyfriend was always very active and inquiring about my goal and progress. He is also a student at UIC his major is civil engineering like me he has goals and wants to do very well this semester and the following semesters as well. He would like to get an internship and do some research. We are very supportive of each other. We held our meeting this past Sunday for about 45 minutes we just talked about our classes and our major projects due. He even helped me put my resume together. He looked over my student teaching essays and provided me with good feedback. It was very helpful. I look forward to our next meeting and wait till the semester is over!!!

Assignment #11 Moving and Shaking

As stated in my previous blog I mentioned that I had to get started on filling out my student teaching application which is due May 1. The application includes four essays of 500 words. I started working on the essays yesterday. I have some ideas written down and I feel so much better about it. When I first looked at the application and saw that I had to write four essays I was a bit overwhelmed. I also have to include a resume but that shouldn’t be too bad I have one I just have to make some changes. I also said that I was going to meet with Ima the Director of the Teaching of Spanish Dept so that I could set up an appointment to take the OPI exam. I meet with her and scheduled the OPI exam. I will take the exam Tuesday April 14. I feel really good about the progress I am making.
I wouldn’t say that I feel any resistance or fear. I feel more excited about the prospect of each day coming closer to accomplishing my goal. It’s a step by step process and when I approach it in this way I feel at ease. When I was filling out the student teaching application and it asked me what my three goals for student teaching were, I realized that I will soon be a teacher and I felt a little stage fright. I want to be able to reach out to all types of students and learners regardless of their race, gender, culture, physical /health impairments. I want to be able to connect with all my students and I want them to feel the same way. Because if they are engaged they will be more motivated to work and achieve academic and personal success.
I

Assignment #10 Steps in Reaching My Goal

My spring break it went by so fast, just as I had anticipated. I hardly got a chance to relax. I was babysitting my aunt’s daughter. I’ve been taking care of her since the beginning of this semester. I was also working. But I also got a chance to take some steps in reaching my goal. I completed my thirty hours of observation at a high school on Thursday March 26. I also got my TB shot on Tuesday March 24 because I need to show proper documentation of that before I hand in my student teaching application, which is due May 1. I also have to get started on that application it’s pretty lengthy. I also received my scores on March 27 from the Spanish Content area exam I took on Feb 28 I passed! I also have to set an appointment sometime this week or next week with the Director of Teaching of Spanish Dept to take the OPI exam.

Assignment #9 Role Model Interview

I’m so excited I FINALLY got the opportunity to interview someone this week. ( and she was white too) Fadia one of my team members recommended that I interview one of her former Spanish professors here at UIC, her name is Lesley Summers. Fadia got in touch with her and told her that I was interested in interviewing her. Lesley said that she would be available this Monday (yesterday at 2pm )so we meet up in UH on the second floor. The interview lasted about half an hour. I asked her how she became interested in Spanish. She told me that she grew up in the south in Memphis, Tennessee and that she did not grow up in a Hispanic family or in Hispanic community, but when she was young she was always very interested in other cultures. She was very sheltered growing up but she always had a high level of curiosity with what she was unfamiliar with. She took Spanish in high school all four years and did very well because she was highly motivated. It was also during this time that she befriended an exchange student from South America. This student came to live with her family for the school year, because of this she was able to practice her Spanish a lot more and it was during this time that she became a lot more immersed in the Spanish culture. Spanish was her passion. She was also very interested in the visual arts but decided not to pursue a career in the arts because it is not economically high valued. Instead she got her B.A in Spanish and worked in the business world for two years. She used her Spanish skills a lot in the company she was an import /export coordinator, but she was not very happy there. So she decided to go back to school and pursue masters in the teaching of Spanish. She taught for a couple of years Spanish at an elementary school with a very affluent community. She liked the students but the most difficult thing for her was having to deal with the parents. The parents always believed their child was right instead of the teacher. She says that one of the most rewarding aspects of teaching is the interaction you get from being with others and helping others. Seeing your students’ progress over time is also very rewarding. One of the greatest challenges she faced was having to teach and go to school at the same time. Three things that are very important in achieving your goal she states are your attitude. We are our own worst enemy; you can do anything you set your mind to. Secondly nothing that you want comes easily you have to work very hard. Lastly take time as a student to really plan and organize your time so that you are not overwhelmed with you goal. Do things in small increments step by step so you can see your progress and be realistic about things.
I’m glad that I got the opportunity to interview someone it felt really good. I asked Lesley after the interview if she had any people in mind that I could interview she said yes one of her friends is a Spanish teacher in Cicero. So I will interview her friend when I get back from spring break! I finally feel like I’m making some progress!