Wedding Madness and Bitterseet Memories

Well, (today) is the third wedding in a row and it is the one I am most pumped for. My best friend Oli, is getting married to Ann in a park at 3pm. Although my housemate Matt would say that all this wedding business isn't worth the trouble, I disagree. I think it's awesome to see two crazy cool people come together with a commitment to weather the storms of life together with God leading them. I am not ready for that day all that soon, but I can appreciate that many of friends are ready for a shared lifetime with one they love dearly. Anyways, enough on weddings...
This past week has been pretty eventful. I finished my first year of teaching. It was a bittersweet day on Tuesday when I turned in my keys and closed my door for the last time. It was great to hear from many of my colleagues that I would be missed and that they wished they could do what I am embarking upon... I am setting off this summer to follow my dreams of serious training for long distance running. My hopes are to make the Olympic trials for now. I want to set PR's in all of the distance events that I run too. These dreams will cause me to move to either Flagstaff, AZ or Seattle, WA. These are places where I can train with highly motivated runners, get coaching from experts, and have the facilities nearby that I will need to utilize to attain my goals. I feel kind of silly wanting to follow my dreams like this... like I should grow up already... but in a day when it seems that more and more people are dissatisfied with life and people don't like who they are and wonder how they became who they are now... I wonder if I will be able to avoid that for a bit longer.
It's not just that I am following some silly dream... it's more than that. I feel like I have been given a choice by the Lord to run or teach. It's a choice that I have to make and no one else can make it for me. I want to do now what I likely won't be able to do later on in life. I don't want to have regrets. I want to enjoy the life the Lord is offering to me. And as I think about what that will look like, I think of a friend of mine who will be doing some medical missions to PNG (Paupua New Guinea). She is following the leading of the Lord and serving others. I know I can serve through what I do. I want to do that. If you see me around, could you help me remember that? I would really appreciate it!

Good Night!
"Shootz"

High-Stakes Testing / Moving

Well, yesterday was power packed... I woke up late, but still was able to ride into work on my bike. I am so glad I was able to do so, since the weather was so nice. I also probably saved myself $5 in gas! At work I administered my semester final for the first groups of students.
It's amazing to me how many asked if they had to take the final. Did they think that by asking me enough times I would end up canceling their test? What would we do instead... talk? Not that I don't like talking to my students, but wouldn't a student who spent hours studying want to show how much that time was worth? Well, maybe I'm an idealist. These kids are probably more nervous about how this will effect their grade and for that reason would rather not have to face a high pressure testing situation. I don't blame them for that. I just hope that they realize that in college, they will face many high-pressure situations and this is practice for those times.
On the other hand, high-stakes testing is something that I have always disliked in principle. I know that some students don't test well. I also know that there a re alternative forms of assessment that can address the problem of assessing students with varied learning styles. The problem is that of time, desire, effort, and bias. My time is precious and as this being my first year of teaching, I have had to create and design all of my own labs, assignments, and lesson plans. Do I have time to devote to designing multiple tests? Not if I want to run a lot (and I do!) or have some social life. I think I would go crazy if my entire life was about teaching. So, next is effort. I put a lot of effort into creating and designing the components of my classroom. I wish I had more to give, but my desire for other things limits that. Last is bias. This may be the second greatest reason why I don't make alternate forms of testing. I don't feel that I can effectively judge alternate forms of work. Assessing a paper or project and assigning value to those in a way that is consistent is something I struggle with. "So why don't I so more so that I get more practice?" Well, I'm glad you asked. I didn't take the time to design another test because I didn't think about it ahead of time. Sounds lame? Well, that's the truth. I will do it better next time.
There are always alternative methods in teaching and I will explore them more and more as I continue to educate young minds. My plan for teaching next year is to get a substitute position or become a para-educator in the district where I end up moving. That might be in Flagstaff or in the Seattle area. I had thought that AZ was the place to go, but it I want to be in a place where I am close to at least one friend... so if Matt or Mike don't go to AZ, then I don't think I will either. Oh choices... I don't mind being up in the air a bit, but it would be nice to know where I am headed so I can make more permanent plans.

Welcome

Hey everyone! Welcome to my blog.
As my first post, I just wanted to say hi.

Come back soon and I will have more info posted!
I hope you have a great day!


I'm looking forward to the beach!