Scattered Thoughts

A little breathing room and very random scattered thoughts
Finally, I have just a LITTLE breathing room for a bit, heh.

I spent most of Christmas break working on my teaching portfolio and studying for the GRE. Teaching portfolio mostly done, just waiting for feedback from my supervisor, then I can scan the pics I need in and put in my references, then PAH! FINISH! I'm excited to have it done and to be able to just focus on teaching instead of worrying about my grades alongside with teaching. This has to be in by Wednesday, I'm ecstatic to have it done.

I took the GRE today. It's done, I've taken it, and now to finish my application for grad school. Prospects look good so far, we shall see. I'll have the application turned in by January 31st, but I won't know if I'm accepted until April or May. I hate waiting. I'm having a hard enough time waiting for the rest of GRE scores to be done.

I have grades to enter in that are due on Thursday. All just right after we get back from Christmas break. It's insane.

Come next Friday, January 12th. I'll have a lot more room to breathe. Will just have to focus on teaching and finishing up my grad application. Still very excited for it. :)

Students are awesome, seirously could not ask for a better class. I love them all and cannot thing of anything else I would rather do for a job. I wouldn't even model, I hate attention. Yeah, I know, I'm weird that way.

Night at the Musem movie, I loved it. I am a sucker for that kind of comedy. I am entertained quite easily. I have at least 5 DVD's of Laurel and Hardy if that tells you how easily I am entertained :)

Saw the magazine with Caridee on it, the Seventeen magazine. Yes, I do love the ANTM show.

I miss being social...hmph. I would love a rootbeer freeze from A&W right now. Yum.

impossible or no?

When you set on accomplishing a major task, and a pretty important one too. Ever feel like you're gonna get it done without a problem, then one day, during preparation for accomplishing said task, you feel like you're the biggest failure around? 
I haven't felt this in a very very long time, probably not since my first harp concert 4 years ago. And in that case, I really did suck my performance up, but at least I was in the beginning group where it was somewhat expected, or at least there were no high expectations anyway, and other people were loud enough to cover up my lousy mistakes. I literally had a mental break down after it because of so many other things going on at the same time. I feel like I'm at that point again. I just finished, well 90% finished my teacher work sample (others know it as a portfolio), it was hard to analyze my teaching at some points, and it was just long and took up a lot of itme. I just have to polish it up by having more people edit it, have my teacher look at it make sure I did the write thins, since this is pass or fail. Now, within today until Tuesday, I need to come up with my lesson plans for next week. normally, this wouldn't be a problem, but because of other things I have to do (work this weekend and study for the GRE). It's getting difficult. I also hav eno motivation to do it. I've been pretty much somehwats stressed over my whole winter break, and I just want a break, which I don't think I'll ever get until I'm done with grad school (IF I get in), which won't be ntil summer of 2009. Seems so far away. I just took a diagnostic quiz thing for the GRE last night, and my heart just fell as I was going through it realizing how much I don't know, it was a real blow to the self-esteem and confidence in my intelligence. I always thought I was pretty smart and able to get by, but this test, wow, I suck. After that quiz, I have no motivation to even try and study anymore, I keep telling myself "what's the point? you suck so badon the diagnostics and you're not gonna get any better in a week!"I'm taking it a week from Friday (tomorrow). Just now studying for it, yes, only because I hadn't planned on taking it so soon, and I hadn't planned on applying for grad school until recently. I have to take the GRE by Jan 5th for the scores to sent with my application in time. 

It's just really discouraging, and I'm just not sure what to do other than just sit and zone out and stare at a tv screen.

....off to studying I go.

Go Dave!

My brother got into Med School! YAY! I'm VERY excited for him :) 

Next stop, me getting accepted into grad school (at the same university :) )

Another real update

Wow, so time flies by so fast when you're working your butt off!

As Bryan posted in his livejournal, I had an interview with the director for a masters program at the University of Utah. I'm hoping to get into the special education masters program with an emphasis in hearing impairment and early childhood education (0-5 years). My dream is to one day have a preschool/kindergarten that allows for several ways of communication rather than an emphasis in just one or only promoting one or two methods out of many options out there. I'm excited about it! The meeting with the director went VERY well. Turns out she knows pretty much who I am as she already knew my mom. She didn't realize who I was because of my married last name :) Once I told her I was a Burrow, she knew exactly who I was and was excited that I wanted to apply for the program. I may be able to get my scholarship to pay for my tuition and books AS WELL as applying for a grant that pretty much is a stipend (books and tuition as well), so that means work would be at a minimal. This is ideal as I would like to go full-time so that I may be able to graduate ASAP (2009). It's just crazy. I'm currently in the process of registering for the GRE and getting accommodations with that, hopefully I will be able to take it in January. We shall see, I don't see why not. 

Next, teaching second grade. I seriously cannot express how much I love this job. I love seeing the kids learn, I love seeing them explore many different books, math ideas, I love seeing the light click. I just love it. I can't wait to have my own school and do this with younger kids. It's hard for me to think of teaching any other grade right now, but then again I felt the same way when I was student teaching my Kindergraten classes. Kids are just amazing with what kind of capacity they have for learning!


My teacher work sample is tough to keep on top of. I have lessons to plan everyday, and things change everyday, I change homework assignments mid day half the time, so it's hard to get everything prepared the right way. I am supposed to have my teacher work sample done before Christmas break...yeah, we'll see how that goes :). I hope to finish planning out the assessments and lesson plans by the m iddle of this week so that I can do my pre-assessment Friday and then just teach rocks all of next week and do data collection the week after that. I'me xcited, yet nervous, and stressed abotu getting this done. But one good thing about all of this, it will show proof that my kids actually do learn in my classroom!....at least I hope.... :) 

I need to write more often so I can tell what kinds of cool lesson plans I do and fun things we do :). 

I'm also trying to keep up with organization stuff. I'm on the CLNA board, and that's been kind of slow lately due to lack of board members that we need to help keep things going, hopefully that will be taken care of this week though! *Crossees fingers* A local state coalition that I'm on is doing well, not too much to keep my busy, so that's nice. The student advisory council isn't bad either. 

I can't believe I graduate from BYU at the end of April. I'll be a graduate! Amazing. I'll still be a second grade teacher until school is out,t hen I pack up my things and enjoy the summer and hopefully start grad school in September at my current rival school, the U of U. One super nice thing about that is that I'm actually possibly going to be going to school with...my husband! YAY! How exciting is that? Makes me all giggly inside. 

I'm also a relief society teacher for the 2nd sunday of every month for my church. That's fun as well, I'm still trying to get back int he groove of teaching adults though. I like my classees to be very interactive and hands on, so I have yet to figure out a style that satisfies my need of itneraction but yet is reverent and quiet enough for church and much older ladies. 

Ah, the bell has rung and my class is coming. Plus the entry is way too long by now :) 
Hope all is going well!

Some days

I swear, My students try to drive me crazy on purpose. 
I've wanted to pull my hair out today, and all the other teachers agreed that it was the same today. Must be the sudden cold air we've had and the snow. Makes the kids excited, we've all noticed that they're just more talkative. Perhaps they're trying to keep warm by talking all the time??? :)
I still love my students though, they're awesome :) 

I have a meeting with the director of the grad program that I want to go into at the U of U tonight. I hope it goes well and I hope the prospects of attending grad school improve after tonight. We shall see. Well the prospects of attending grad school for free on a scholarship anyway...that's what I'm worried

Teacher headache

Hope and Pray that you NEVER have a REAL fire in your school. 

We had one today, allbeit a little one (Internal fire int he wall caused by the electrical stuff from the socket). Waiting out there for over an hour for everything to be fixed and taken care of. Trying to come up with ideas out of your butt to keep the kids entertained so that they don't drive every single soul around you crazy. All at the same time while trying to keep your sanity. Having five kids who suddenly have to go pee really bad when 10 minutes ago, they just did go pee (stupid fear feeling that triggers the need to wet your pants, which none of my kids did, thankfully). Having a billion questions that you can't answer about fires, and suddenly feeling retarded cause your own father is a firefighter and the kids remind you of that and ask why you don't know. 

And still have one hour of school left. Thank goodness it was just the late birds hour....but still....*head swims*

One year!

Happy one year anniversary to me and Bryan! YAY!

We're not doing our BIG celebration until next when I have THursday and Friday off, but we're still going to go and taste the wedding cake and go out to a nice dinner. :) I'm excited! YAY! :)