Unsettled

Did not post yesterday. I went to bed at 7PM last night and woke up at 8:45 this morning. I tried working out but that didn't work so much this morning. I am tired and my stomach is bothering me. I cannot get a routine back at the gym anymore. UGH. I might go to a Cubs game at 1:30 today because it is free. We shall see.

101 Dalmations

Today I wrote a graduate school paper. Here it is...Enjoy. I figured it would be a good alternative to my reading since I did not get to touch that at all. Tomorrow, I can start again, I think. Here is the paper. It is LONG. I think it should be some value of entertainment.

Over the course of my teaching career, I have not had many second language learners in need of a pull-out program within my classroom. Most all of them have graduated from their program or were already English proficient; many maintained excellent grades within the self-contained classroom. As a fine arts teacher, specifically music, I am granted the ability to be creative in my lesson planning. There are no ends to the possibilities in one single music lesson for enhancing a student’s learning prowess. Music is a language which touches the hearts of everyone; at any place on this expansive planet, someone can be found with roots anchored in a culture with music at its core. Therefore, from my experience and learning, second language learners have been incredibly receptive to learning music and being assessed vocally (singing), through writing, oral assessment or aural assessment.

Over the past three years of teaching, I have taught around one thousand, three hundred children, coached seventy-five in track, led four hundred in service activities and student taught around nine hundred. Within the walls of my classroom, I have documented forty-five nations of origin of students. I found it utterly amazing that nearly ninety-nine percent of my children found music fascinating and loved coming to class. Success was undeniable. I managed to keep the children enthusiastic, therefore, their positive energy in turn maintained my enthusiasm for teaching. I believe this is a valid point to make before I begin talking about assessments. The second language learners in my classroom were never shy or timid. They expressed opinions, needs and emotions at all times. They sang, they volunteered and they presented just as all of my native English speakers. With all of the enthusiasm in the classroom, it was easy to teach my Choir and Service Learning students. All minds were present, therefore, when it came time to assess what they learned, difficulties did NOT abound. My children knew what to expect. They knew to ask questions while learning. They knew not to be afraid to learn which in turn kept them from being afraid of an assessment.

Lexington Middle School was my first formal teaching assignment. I taught a total of four hundred fifty students in my year of teaching. Out of all of these students, only three were pulled from my classroom for ESL instruction (as an Exploratory teacher, I had to understand students would always be pulled from my class time because I was not a core academic teacher). The three girls pulled were in my Seventh Grade Choir. All three moved here from Mexico in their elementary years, but made significant gains in English language learning. In the classroom, only one characteristic separated them from the rest of the students: they were always together. To make them feel welcome, I spent time teaching lessons about Mexican music and culture and conducted numerous teamwork exercises to mix them with the rest of the students. Again, it is that feeling of being welcome in the classroom which allows opportunity for holistic learning.

My methods of teaching in all of my classes, especially my Seventh Grade Choir, were to cross the curricula to enhance all fields of learning. Every lesson incorporated core academic subjects as well as movement and art. This way, each learning style was addressed within my classroom. I think Gardiner would have been proud if he would have walked in on any given day. As a result of all of this diversity in lesson planning, students excelled in the non-singing parts of my class such as music history and music theory. My ESL students were making the same grades as the rest of my children. I set my learning expectations early in the year (this being the fact that even though my classes were chosen, it did not mean the kids could goof off without worry of assignments, assessments and grades). Children knew I had high expectations during class and for test taking; they were aware of what to expect when the time came to be tested on various musical subjects.

The test I chose to critique is one on the Baroque Period. An important part of learning Choral music is to study the various periods from which particular pieces come. My students happened to be singing the first movement of Vivaldi’s Gloria. Appropriately, I taught parallel lessons (a three week unit) on the Baroque Period highlighting key composers, musical structures, events, terminology and foundations of the period. Every three days, I would administer quizzes to keep the information fresh. The children knew to keep a portfolio (as outlined in the syllabus at the beginning of the year) of artifacts and notes collected in the music classroom. I held everyone accountable for their own learning and wanted to give music validity within the other academic fields. Each Friday, I gave one “unit” test and returned it on Monday with the results. This way, I could find out what the students did not understand or capture while I was teaching; it also held me accountable for their learning and my teaching styles. At the end of the three weeks, I administered one large unit test to congeal all information. As a result of this testing, I found my English language learners, pulled out three times a week, were experiencing no difficulties in comprehending subject matter. As the paper progresses, I will discuss some of my teaching styles that might have contributed to their ease in test-taking within my classroom.

The particular subject matter of the test was the general history of music within the period. The bulk of the test was short answer and essay questions regarding facts, composers and their masterpieces. Most questions were comprehension questions and questions based on facts (Level One of Bloom’s Taxonomy). But, I also included many addressing the aesthetic and emotional values of music from the period; this form of interrogation allowed for a higher level of thinking and analysis on the students’ part. The students were forced to think “outside the box” in order to explain themselves. As I stated, I encourage creativity. I wanted to have a visual snapshot of what the children understood about the distinct styles of the period versus being able to provide fact-only textbook answers. I also needed to see how music affects them and their learning.

An example of a simple but powerful question of higher level thinking utilized is: How does Baroque music make you feel and why? As simple as this seems, it is actually pretty hard to answer, especially in the middle school levels. Feelings cannot always be described as fluidly as facts. Feel is a word connected with the soul; answering a question such as this requires thought not only from the mind but from the heart. My three ESL students scored as high if not higher on the questions addressing a higher level of thinking. They understood the content of the question. Their answers did not have completely correct spelling or grammatical structures, but the content was correct. In fact, they were quite creative in their responses; most of my native speakers could not provide creative answers. The answers were cut and dry, emotionless, not creative and basically straight to the point. As a teacher, it is easy to spot moments when students are rushing to finish a test versus take their time to answer correctly or give valid reasoning for their responses.

Questions addressing facts were generally all answered correctly by my ESL students, as well. The one thing I did notice that confused them was the different styles of music discussed in my Renaissance unit right before the Baroque. Because of similarities of styles in music between the two periods, terminology was scrambled. Music is like math and science in the respect that it requires a whole new content language to be learned. The plus and minus of math is equivalent to the forte and piano of music. I do not blame them for their mix-ups because my other students made similar mistakes.

The criterion validity of this test would NOT yield the same results for all ESL students as it did mine. I believe my three girls were stronger learners than most with their same background and had more formal training in English. I included such analytical questions because I could see the strengths within them and knew that even if grammatical structures and rules were not correct, content would be clear. Because of the former tests on the Renaissance period administered, I was able to structure the Baroque similarly. I knew the outcome would be the same if not better. The students knew what to expect, therefore they excelled. I know I would have had to adjust these tests for students with a weaker understanding of the English language. Most likely, I would have had to construct a test of various levels (including matching, fill in the blank and multiple choice) to help me understand their comprehension skills. When I grade, I focus on content; this is not to say that I do not highlight misspelled words and correct grammar. Focusing on content allows solidification of skills crossed over from writing in other academic subjects and maintains the organization of student thought processes.

My teaching encompasses a wide variety of activities, musical listening examples, samples of audio and video, art and academic instruction. The content is evenly skewed throughout each facet. The content validity of my instruction and tests directly line up. O’Malley and Pierce explain:

	The most important types of validity for performance assessments are content validity, or the match between the content of the assessment and the content of instruction…(O’Malley 19)

Instruction and assessment have to be one in the same. The content validity is one of the main factors in ensuring student success. I have never given a test without proper content validity; this test is an example. If the assessment and instruction do not directly align, the knowledge of actual student cannot be attained. They must also reflect each other because students need to see the purpose in what they are learning. If they are assessed on something different from what has been learned there is not validity to their outcome and for why they learned the material in the first place. The only type of exam that would not need sound content validity would be an entrance exam to a course to judge what students know, but even an assessment such as this must have a stated purpose and a follow-up displaying results.

The value of the Baroque Period test was overall tremendous. Units after were built upon this unit just as it was built upon the Renaissance. History has a chronology and in teaching history, there must be a chronology. The basis of this test re-enforced the children’s knowledge and skills and even interpretation (vocabulary was learned that described specific styles of singing developed in this period which apply to Vivaldi’s Gloria) of Baroque music and laid the foundation for the Classical, Romantic and Modern Periods. The test was later used as a teaching tool in other units. Instead of having the students utilize their entire portfolio and all notes on the Baroque Period, they could pull the test and use it as a resource since it highlighted the most important information.

If I teach a middle school in the future, I will continue to test in this manner. I found it successful because it allowed students to think in several ways. The test was designed to meet all learning abilities and not single out any one form of cognitive capabilities. Well constructed assessments and proper administration of these assessments is key to maintaining a rich learning environment.

If you survived that, you get a cookie. Avenue Q is next week. I also have to pay a power bill.

Night. :)

100 Days

On the 100th day of reading I am only on letter H. Whoops. I should be way far ahead. This blog will commemorate the past 100 days of learning from books, laughing from books and being inspired by books. It will commemorate the love for books in which I hold dearly in my heart. It will also be to celebrate the fact that Barnes and Noble is entertaining and it will be to celebrate the fact that interesting things have happened...I have had good things happen, bad things happen...I have met all kinds of people, made new friends and taken some pretty cool pictures...books have allowed me to open my eyes to some pretty cool things.

So, H is Game Change by Heilemann and Halpernin.
G brought The Sandman by Neil Gaiman.
F brought Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safron Foer.
E brought about What is the What by Dave Eggers.
D brought about Funny in Farsi by Firoozeh Dumas.
C brought about Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll.
B brought about The Child Thief by Brom.
and...where it all began...A brought about The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams.

So far, I have gone from England to outer space. New York to Avalon. England to Wonderland. Iran to California. Sudan to Atlanta to Ethiopia to Washington state to Kenya. America to Ukraine. Dreamlands to Hell...and the almighty capital of the United States of America...Washington, DC...which has included side trips to Chicago and Iowa. Because of my budget being cut back this year, I have gotten to use books as my outlet for my love of travel. I have also had customers to talk about travel with and share experiences of my international travel. I have lived vicariously through books the past 100 days (even though no matter when I read, travel or not, I live through books). These are the places I have physically traveled since beginning my reading: Chicago, Homewood, Wilmette, Winnetka, Skokie, Niles, Lincolnwood, Oak Park, Evanston, Rogers Park, West Ridge, Sauganash, Rosemont, O'Hare, Wicker Park, Buck Town, South Shore, Andersonville, Old Irving, North Center, Lincoln Square, Lakeview, Lincoln Park, The Loop, West Loop, Streeterville, Old Town, Edgewater, Near South, Polish Village, Garfield Park, Hyde Park, Bridgeport, Indiana and Ohio...I know none of these places are anything compared to some of the places above, but they have been fun!

Over the past 100 days, I have had peeing children, bitchy customers and incredible people come by at Barnes. I have met teachers, Ozzy Osborne, Newbery winner Rebecca Stead, authors, publishers, illustrators and a number of other interesting folk. The L in Barnes and Noble has fallen off the store.

I have made new friends...Tim, Justin, Jeff, Bridget, Fabiola, Stefano, Troy and a couple of others. I have befriended managers and co-workers and customers. I have had entertaining trips to bars and restaurants with all of these people. I have attained a new roommate.

I have been on interviews and I have tried new foods. I have taken so many pictures and read on the beach. I have ridden the Skokie Swift and the 97 bus for the first time. I have seen Garfield Park Conservatory in two seasons. It has snowed, lightninged, thundered, rained, hailed and been incredibly windy.

In 100 days, I have been to the doctor for allergies and sinuses and a messed up wrist. I have had teeth taken out. I have had surgery. I have worked out. I have made two new workout partners on top of Brian...Dexter and Brandon. I have gained weight and lost weight, bulked up and added a little fat.

I have caught up with friends. I have been positive and I have been negative. I have been in graduate school. I have worked for Gap, too. I have seen an opera and I have seen a musical. I have seen January, February, March and April. I have learned to Skype and have seen my parents, Katie and the new dog Banjo.

I have been to South Carolina and I have seen tulips bloom again in the beautiful Chicago. I have seen my amazing family for whom I am so fortunate. I love them very much. I have also seen my wonderful SC friends including Dr. Criswell, Stephanie, Carolyn, Joyce, Camille and Jonathan.

I am truly fortunate for these 100 days, but most of all, I am fortunate for these books. They have helped me realize how much I love reading and what I want to continue doing. Books are the best. I never realized how much has happened and how much good has happened. I am here, I am alive. God has provided.

So, Happy 100! (author/illustrato Leo Lionni...will be turning 100 this year). Here's to the next group of books and many more fun days...

Thank you for reading my blog!!!!

The Windy City

I have heard Chicago is windy for several reasons...the lake wind, the wind between the skyscrapers and the corruption and scandal with Chicago politics. In reading Game Change, the winds shift faster here than they do in a hurricane. As of today, I am back at a rough spot for Obama. He is doing horribly at debates. This is more of the Obama I remember from reading and watching as the election drew nearer. I feel as though he always stumbled...and sure enough, this book proves it. His first licking from Hillary was in Las Vegas, Nevada. Funny how his problem was on Health Care Reform...seems it is still his problem today. Hillary was able to eat her way out of anything just like I can eat red velvet cake. She was a smooth talker and knew all the answers at debates. She made him look like a fledgling...which he was. And he still is in some ways...but who can recover after George Bush? Seriously. I think he is doing a good job with what he can do. And...getting a Nobel Peace Prize for "Change." So, anyway, Hillary is totally knocking the crap out of him. She is taking everything by storm. Obama knows it, too, and it intimidates him. It makes him antsy and as the book says...bratty...a lot. Michelle was not around a lot with the kids, so that was when he really showed out. It was not until the one day a week she said she would be on the road with him that he acted civilized. They said she wasn't around enough....haha. So, he was a grump. His staff finally had to have an intervention for his bitchyness and his horrible skills and lack of knowledge. He knew it was coming. It was no surprise to him. Michelle did not even like having to watch him in debates because it was so nerve racking to watch him have to crawl out of a hole. So, this is where I am today. Inevitably, tomorrow I will get to a part where he is back on top and Hillary is back on the bottom.

Speaking of wind...we have had a lot of wind and rain here today. In fact, the wind was so bad it blew the "L" off of our Barnes and Noble sign on the top of the store. HAHAHA! It is now downstairs in our receiving office. I left my window open like an idiot, too, tonight and my bed was wet when I got home and all of my books have crinkled pages. Time to iron it all out.

Well, off to bed. I open Barnes in the morning. UGH. Thanks for the clopen.

Earth Day...was yesterday

Sorry I did not post a blog last night. I was just so tired. Yesterday felt like such a long day. I got sufficient sleep the night before, but I still did not feel like staying awake in the evening. I went to the gym and worked out with Brandon, as usual, and then came home and crashed. I had no energy. The good news is that my mouth feels great now. I am glad I no longer feel any pain in the location where I had my surgery. It doesn't even feel that funny in the area with the missing teeth. I thought it would drive me insane, but it hasn't as of yet. I have still been eating pretty soft foods. I did introduce the gym back into my diet this week. I didn't want to put any pressure on my mouth by lifting or running last week. I even got a couple of compliments from personal trainers at Bally saying that it looks like I have slimmed down a little.

My reading has not been going so well at all. I have had no energy and the fact that grad school is picking up again. We have two weeks left of class, so I am going to be writing papers crazily the next week. So, I might be rather slim on reading my book as well as blogging. So far, where I am, is the point where Obama has now re-realized that he has a chance. All he needs is Iowa and he is in the bag. I just don't understand how up and down and up and down all of this is. I feel like one minute, Hillary is ready to be president and the next isn't...the same goes for Obama. One minute everyone loves him and the next no one does. Good thing Oprah exists. If it weren't for her, we wouldn't have a president. Just a few pages ago, he was having trouble finding donors...and was a little worried. Now, he is laid back and having no problems at all. New York investment titans are willing to give him money and this should set him. My question is: how much money did Oprah give him? I wonder if it was a lot. So, in this neverending quest for presidency, who will have to battle the most? I am wondering in the end who has to really give it their best shot. Both of them have tons of supporters and both have lots of money rolling in. She is experienced, he is a novice. Plus, what does race have to do with it? It seems as though Hillary has most of the African American popularity at this point. Obama wonders what type of identity issue this will cause for him. It must be hard to be in his position. When you represent a minority in a Caucasian majority, you have to be tough.

Today, I drove to Homewood, Illinois to apply for a job at Millennium School in Homewood School District #153. I will have to say they were incredibly friendly. I was nothing short of being impressed by them. They were really top notch. I was welcomed by both the school and the District Office. Turns out Katy Gray Faz from Lexington Middle School...the Spanish teacher...taught at this same district and school. They really love her. They ranted about her. I hope knowing someone will give them the extra push to love me and hire me. Homewood reminds me a lot of Lexington...Lexington that is 30 miles South of Chicago. The drive was really quick. Although it is that distance from Chicago, the Sears Tower still sits on the horizon. It is kinda creepy that a man made structure can be seen from such a distance.

Tonight, I went out with a group of my friends. We had a lot of fun. They all stayed out and I was the party pooper who had to come back home early. HAHA. I am old. Oh well.
I just have a lot to do. I have a graduate school presentation to work on with Carrie and Elizabeth tomorrow morning and then I work at Barnes at 4. Barnes was nuts tonight at close. So many people would NOT leave the kids section. It took me, another Lead, a manager and a security guard to get them out. Whoa.

I also went to Baha'i Temple today in Wilmette. It was beautiful. I saw a chipmunk and a rabbit. How exciting. HAHA. I am going to use this trip as my Earth Day celebration because of how beautiful the grounds were. The tulips and all of the trees were in bloom. Add some wildlife, the lake and the rest of Spring and it was awesome!
Google's Earth Day art was pretty cool, too! This is it below:
By the way, a new Neil Gaiman book came out this week...it is published for kids. It is called Instructions; the purpose of it is to guide you in life. It is a set of instructions for YOUR journey in life. The poem was first published in the anthology of his works titled Fragile Things. It has some very uplifting and insightful words. I think everyone should own a copy of it. I actually spent the first money on a book in a while on it tonight. I am very impressed with it! The book is, no doubt about it, a Gaiman writing. It would be perfect for a grad...or just someone who is looking for something in life. It kind of reminds me of a quote from the movie Mona Lisa Smile: But not all who wander are aimless, especially those who seek truth beyond tradition, beyond definition, beyond the image. ~Betty Warren (Kirsten Dunst)


This is an excerpt of the poem:

Remember your name. 
Do not lose hope —
what you seek will be found. 
Trust ghosts.
Trust those that you have helped 
to help you in their turn.
Trust dreams. 
Trust your heart, and trust your story. 
When you come back, return the way you came. 
Favors will be returned, debts will be repaid. 
Do not forget your manners. 
Do not look back. 
-Neil Gaiman, Instructions

Well, have a wonderful morning!

Keep it positive

Everything is moving just about as wacky as Hillary and Obama's campaigns. I hope life will slow down just for a moment. I have very good feelings about my job interviews and other schools to come. I feel as though I will be teaching next year.

Today we had a Bookfair at Barnes with St. Francis Xavier School. It went really well. It is always nice to make connections with schools around the area. I heard the Bookfair went very well. Barnes was a very nice day in general today. A lot of us were scheduled and it was very pleasant.

When I got home tonight, I went to the gym. After the gym, I watched The Emperor's New Groove; it always makes me feel great to watch it!

Tomorrow, I am at Barnes from 9-5. Then, workout, then grad papers, then, I think I will watch A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.

Have a wonderful night.

Back and Forth

Hillary has got everything except Iowa. She cannot win them, she spends time there, she loses, she invests money, she loses, she woos, she loses. No win. She's got it all and Iowa withholds. How sad. But, from today's reading, I am starting to remember the way some of the election went and how some of the primaries ran...Hillary was way ahead of Obama for a while. She was more popular and everything and it came from out of nowhere. She really did well. Obama slid back and did not get any donations or anything. She kept getting more and more support even if she did make people mad. She started crushing him at conferences where her knowledge of just about everything trumped his. This is how her popularity started rising. She was obviously not the rookie. So, she decides to choose a running mate in this segment. I did not realize she thought about using Biden, as well. They are such an incest little party. So, this is where I am in the elections...3 years late...today.

All back and forth.

Today, I ran from Bucktown to Bally on Clark. It was a long but great run. It was nice to be out in the beautiful Chicago weather. I am ready to start riding my bike!

I also found out that my property management is going to reject me and Bridget because neither of us has the income to sustain life in this apartment. They told me I would probably have to leave this apartment. Some way to treat someone who has lived here for 2 years. Now we have to have a co-signer because the fact that we both have good credit and that we CAN pay the bill is not enough. Now, I have to work like crazy over the next 10 days before May 1 to figure this out. The lease is not over til May 30, but the fact is that Meagan is gone May 1. If Bridget can't move in (which I will have her live with me for 1 month regardless), then I am screwed. So, now, we have to verify some sort of income with Property Management. I can give them paystubs, but it won't be enough for the rent. I am so confused. They can't let me go homeless.

I applied for a new teaching job in Homewood School District #153 in Homewood, IL today. I am hoping that all of these positions are going to come through. I know I will be teaching next year...the question is where? Millennium School in Homewood is only grades 5 and 6 and it is general music. That is up my alley! So, I have submitted all of my info. I am going on Friday to check it out! Keep your fingers crossed...I don't wanna move.

That is all for tonight. I am promising myself not to panic over the apartment. It is all going to work out.

:)