So Close I Can Taste It!

It's my favorite time of the semester. The time when you walk into the computer lab and slightly frown when you realize that all the computers are taken, but realize and empathize with the fact that everyone is simply finishing their finals. The time when everyone is sitting together going over their notes and studying for finals, or the Praxis. The time when you realize that you maybe should have started working on this reflective group presentation a little earlier than you did, but aren't really worried because you always produce top-quality work and luckily you were able to select your groupmates for this project so you have faith in them...ok, maybe that last one just applies to me, but that fact of the matter remains that it's like the last week and some change of school and I am excited!
Even though I started a few of my projects a little later than I would have liked to, I started them earlier enough and I am pretty much done now. For example, I made sure I selected to give my presentation in my psych class last week, so I wouldn't have to worry about it this week. And me and my student teaching dialogue paper have been working on our reflective paper all semester long (sort of), so now it's just a matter of pulling the stuff together. It's pays to plan ahead, because during this hectic time of year I can just sit back, relax, and find a friend in the computer lab who will print my already-completed work off my jump drive for me!
I am still teaching, though. I grew slightly attached to my 6th grade boys, and although I should have left them about 2 weeks ago, I haven't mustered up the nerve to leave them yet. I actually enjoy teaching this groups of children and enjoy the school environment. I was just talking to my boyfriend last night about how, should I teach once I am finish this program, Lea (the school where I student teach) is a good site for me. I am familiar with the environment, the administrative team is very supportive of the staff (even under NCLB pressures), my cooperating teacher loves me, and my professor at Penn is Lea's Penn partnership liaison (Penn is partners with a few area schools, and they do like professional development and provide various resources, such as student teachers!, to support these schools) and she thinks that I would make a good fit at the school. With my professor's nod of approval and my cooperating teacher's accolades, I'm sure I could work there. And that is what I really like about being here at Penn. I've networked and made connections sheerly by doing what I am supposed to do as a student. I didn't go out of my way to forge these connections; they were kind of naturally opened up to me because I did my duty as student. How hot is that!
Speaking of hot, it's getting warmer outside! Ugh! I think anything above 75 degrees is torture...I think it's 76 today! And to think that in just 2 short weeks, I am taking a vacay in Vegas and then going to Cali for job training....how am I going to make it? And Philly summers can be brutal (now, take that with a grain of salt. Remember, I think 76 is too hot...) If you enjoy hot city sun, a Philly summer may be the thing for you. Atlantic City and beaches aren't too far away, but still...let's just hope that my office has air conditioning...

The end is in sight

So I think I have about two weeks of class left! The end is in sight, and I will be halfway through my journey in grad school. I actually like this time of year, when everyone is abuzz trying to finish final projects and papers and the like. I have a few projects due, and I am pretty excited about them. I really got into this prject for my Psychology of African Americans courses, wherein we had to design an intervention program. My group decided to address the issue of colorism and its effects on sistas. We've titled it "Phenomenal Woman: sistas Speak Real Rap." I wish I somehow new how to put up links to our information, such as the brochure we designed to market our intervention, our powerpoint for the intervention, and my background paper on colorism. It was a lot of work, but it really was a labor of love and something I could actually see myself getting into. I'll try and see if i can find a way to put the info up here. I even found grant info so there would be funding just in case we decide to make this project a real thing!
The Accepted Master's Student's event was on Monday. It went swell! (who uses that word, anyway). I thought it was a success. The students really had a lot of questions that I had never even thought about asking, such as how does the program help a student transition to the Master's level. And the students were all really friendly to each other too! Our ice-breaker activity did not go as planned, as a matter of fact, because the students spent so much time talking to each other. I hope to see all of those faces here at GSE next year! the multicultural reception and dinner was a smashing sucess too. The discussion was stimulating and touched on some important issues, issues that even trascended race, such as campus/city safety. Not to mention the food was good...but we all know that's not the real issue. The point is, it was great, and I am glad to be a part of it. If anyone out there still has questions about it, feell free to contact me!
So now it's on with the remainder of the semester. I am just about finished with all my school work, and now I'm just focusing getting some of my portfolio work done (the master's portfolio) and preparing for my sumer job as assistant director of the summer school program. I'll pull a small vacay in May, and then it's nonstop professional and academic development for me! I can't wait!

Wished I Had!

So I just realized today that the Accepted Master's Student Event is coming up really soon...April 16th soon! I'm so excited! I wish I had gone to mine...judging from all of the planning we a re doing, I know this is gonna be a great event.
Current students, alumni, faculty, division coordinators, financial aide reps, student group reps, reousrce groups reps, EVERYONE'S gonna be there! Like seriously, any question you could possibly have regarding whether or not you want to attend GSE, or just need more information after you have already accepted admissions to GSE, it's all gonna be here! And there are gonna be fun ice breakers too! (I'm cheesy. I live for those sort fo things. I genuinely think they're fun...) Plus, you get to meet a lot of the people who will be joining you whe you finally do come to Penn (I'm assuming that once you come to this event, you're gonna want to come to GSE). It's gonna be fun. If you can make it out to this event, please do. I wish I had!

Been a Minute Now I'm Back...

So it has certianly been a while since my last post. I haven't forgetton about my blog; life (and GSE) has just been keeping me so busy!
Diversity Weekend was great! Me and Jamie planned so much for it; we are both so excited and happy and relieved that it went so well! All fo the students were better than anything that I dreamed of. They really made the most out of this weekend, advocating for themselves, smoozing with the professors, getting tips on the application process, asking questions (tons of questions) about the programs and faculty and research and just plain ol' life here at GSE! I think at least two of the students, maybe thre, had already applied to GSE. In their evaluations of the weekend, they said that they had a fantastic time and that they had made up their minds on GSE. Is that a success or what!
There were some slough and rough points of Diversity Weekend too. For starters, due to some miscommunications (not on GSE's behalf, though) some of the students didn't even know what Diversity Weekend was all about! We also ate a a restaurant and received less-than-friendly service. But overall it was fun, informative, and heck, I got to see the King Tut exhibit at the Franklin Institute! I can't complain!
That was last weekend. This week has been me focusing almost entirely on school. Well, school and accepted international students, but more on that later. It is nearing the end of the semester, and it's about that time when cumulative and/or reflective projects are due! Luckily, I've been a studious enough student to have been somewhat prepared for these projects, and I'm clever enough to think on my feet with the ones I forgot about. This time of year can be stressful for some, but I sort of like it. I kind of like the busy-ness of having all of these assignments due. I like that I don't have "finals" per se, but reflective papers and projects. I've really latched on the my reflective paper for EDU 635, a course where we learned all about assessment (a major portion of the reading specialist's job. Yup, getting my certification to be a reading specialist). Most of the information I learned in this course was new, so I asked if Icould do my reflective piece in a slightly different manner. I am reviewing in depth and systematically everything I learned abotu assessment and reading specialists through this course, and doing a write up of this information, how I have used it in practice (during my field experiences), and new questions for inquiry I now have as a result of having gone through this course. May sound dorky, but I'm really into this paper. Its forcing me to organize and re-learn what I learned in this course, which is helping me to feel more prepared to be a reading specialist. This is one of the most personally and profesionally fulfilling projects I've done thus far at Penn.
School and international students. Yes. I contacted a few international students who were accepted into master's programs in my Division at Penn, LLE...I never realized all the things these students have to consider! I've been pleasantly bombarded with emails (I contacted them via email) asking me question after question about financial aide and housing and cost of living and campus safety and program specific questions and scholarships and jobs and shopping an EVERYTHING YOU COULD POSSIBLY THINK OF! I just never realized how big and all-emcompassing of decision it is to take a year or two of your life and go to school. I kind of take itfor granted at times, but I put that all on the fact that I'm young and freash from undergrad. In any event, I've been trying to answer all the questions. If any of you out there have any questions, feel free to send them my way. I've become a mini-expert...

so it's been a while

So it's been a while since I last posted...Sorry. Spring Break was about 2 weeks ago and it was both much needed and much appreciated. I didn't do much because, I am coming to realize, graduate is not like college. Like my mentor teacher told me "You might be on Spring Break but life goes on!" So I had a weekend vacation to Atlanta and came back to Philly to work during ym Spring Break. Not exactly how I wanted to spend my time away from school, but I'm grateful for the break nonetheless...
And I've been spending this last week getting re-acclimated to school...I get to comfortable during breaks. I definitely had to spend this week getting my head back into the school game. Helping me with this task was the fact that I got a TAKE-HOME MIDTERM on Monday. It was in my favorite class, Psychology of African Americans, so that took a bit of the sting out of it. But it was a short-essay, 7-page, 16-question midterm! I havent had a midtern since my freshman year of college! I couldn't believe it! But I had a week to complete it and it is indeed complete. It just reminded me to stay on task and current in all of my school work. I mean, that is in fact the whole purpose of the midterm, to assess if my knowledge is up-to-date with the course. So I can't hate but so much.
SSSSSSSSSSSSSOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am very excited about htis upcoming weekend! Why? Glad you asked. GSE is having a diversity weekend wherein 15 students from diverse backgrounds will be spending the weekend at GSE, getting the GSE/Penn/Philly experience. Jamie and I did a lot fo work for this (well, mostly Jamie...i was just her right hand man and tried to alleviate any stress here I could, because this was quite an undertaking). I am most excited and anxious about the panel discussion on Friday evening, where I will be a panelist (I feel so important; a panelist!). We will be discussing race in GSE, or more specifically, the minority experience at GSE...very important and interesting topic to me...
More will definitely come about this weekend...

Home

I love living off-campus. I just realized that today. Today, as I was walking off the train from downown to my West philly neighborhood (in addition to loving living off-campus, I also love SEPTA, our public transportation system). It feels good to feel away at times, you know. Away from school, away from work, away from businesses and computer labs and classmates and educational research and theories and students and case studies and Cereality (great store though, but how often do I go there a week? too often to put on my blog without shame...) and just everything. I so relish in my 15minute train ride from GSE to my apartment in deep West Philly...not the cutesy West Philly that's close to Penn and where most Penn students live, I'm talking the real West Philly...all you native Philadelphians can picture exactly what I'm talking about. I love my neighborhood. It's a little "rough around the edges" but it's safe, and as a city girl that's how I like my neighborhoods anyway. And it's my new home. And it's my new solace. This is gonna make me sound kinda creepy or dorky, but there's like a 5 minute walk from the train station to my block, and when I'm about to turn the corner of my block I always let out a little sigh of joy and relief and feel just little better than I did a few moments ago because I know that I'm home. It's not my natural home, but it's the home I've made to be. And me and my home are two lovers: we can't stand to be apart...
Especially not after crappy days like yesterday. That's when I really miss home. I'll stop being so harsh. Yesterday wasn't crappy, per se, it was just professionally challenging. I do fieldwork at Lea Elementary, a K-8 school in my West Philly neighborhood. I have a tutorial group of 3 6th graders whom I instruct in language arts. I've been struggling to develop good lesson plans, lesson plans that are both engaging and academically valuable...Finally I came up with the perfect lesson plan. We are analyzing poetry. I personally am not a poetry fan, but I do like music and I do recognize songs to be poems. that being said, I thought my boys would appreciate if we analyzed the Jay-Z song "Lost One" as a poem, looking for the main idea of each verse and finding figurative language in the verses (that's what their teacher said they had to do). And I cant take credit for this idea totally, Jamie (another blogger) helped me, so thanks Jamester! But anyway, it was a good lesson, but one of my students was totally giving me attitude all throughout the lesson! It took everything within me to keep my calm. You see, I don't play with ither people's little children and I am dfinitely not in 6th grade so I am not gonna allow a middle schooler to speak to me like I'm of his 6th grade friends. But I had to remain calm. Boy did I wanna be home; if I couldn't give him his justice, I wanted to be home. And I have to go back and teach again tomorrow. Hopefully he's better. I'm giving myself and him a fresh start tomorrow. And let's cross our fingers that this little boy has more sense than to get buck with me again...
Sometimes, though, home is the last place I wanna be. It's kinda like when you've been with your boyfriend for a long time and you don't wanna dump him, but your just bored and you want a break. Sometimes I want a break from home. That's why Spring Break is gonna be my grace this weekend...I still have to work, but I am at least taking a weekend off to vacay in ATL to visit my boyfriend's family with him for his birthday. And for those 4 days, I am going on a strict no work policy. I mean it. I will work every other day of Spring Break, but I believe that EVERY gradate student deserves some days in which they simply do not engge in any scholarly activity. It's healthy and rejuvenating. And March 2nd through March 5th, that's my plan...
til then, it's back to my home. which will suffice for now. I think I'm gona curl up in my bed right now. Tata!

update

heard back in a sort of unofficially official way that i got the job. i will be the dean of faculty this summer for Breakthrough Collaborative. Dean of Faculty basically means I will be supervising and mentoring the teachers who will teach the middle schoolers.
The only bad part is that it's in Miami. I don't want spend my summer in Miami. I know, this seems silly to some. But I'm just not as carefree as I used to be. I'm not in college anymore, I don't like the instability of moving all the time. And I don't know anyone in Miami, and seeing how shyer (is that a real word) I've gotten since I graduated college, I'm worried about whether or not I will make friends there. Particularly given that most of my age peers will be people I observe and evaluate...that ould be weird. And I don't wanna spend 10 weeks away from my boyfriend. And I wanted to network with Breakthrough in Philly so I could get a fulltime job with them here (my whole plan)...and I'm not even thin enough to be going to Miami beaches in little bathing suits and at least enjoy that aspect of my summer...I don't know if I'm gonna take the job...I'm nervous and scared and I don't wanna be alone. But it will definitely further my career. i'm confused...
On a brighter note, at least I did get the job...

so sometimes I really wonder why I am at Penn now. not in a bad way, it's just that sometimes I kinda regret not having gotten teaching experience prior to coming to Penn. I was actually talking about this with my dad yesterday (i know: me, talk to my father?! but sometimes things change, ya know) and i kinda realized that sometimes i find it hard to focus on the things I'm learning in my courses because I don't have, or haven't had, a real context through which I can appropriately examine and apply the stuff I learn. for all of you out there in blog land that are considering coming to Penn, you may want to think about whether or not you want professional experience, or how much profesional experience you want, prior to coming to GSE. for me, it's a double-edged sword. going straight from undergrad to grad was a way for me to build my professional confidence before I entered the education work-world, since I presumably would have more knowledge and theory to put into my practice. now i see that that future-comfort is sometimes coming at the expense of me getting the most out of my classes...
so, some good news: i'm really excited about my chances of getting this summer job i want. it's with Breakthrough Collaborative, which is an awesome educational organization for adolescents. since i've been working with them for the past two summers, i'm eligible to be a Fellow this summer. having gone through two interviews thus far and just outright asking about my chances, my odds are really good for me getting this. they basically told me that with my experience with the program, skills, teaching experiences in general, and resume (thank you Penn for being a great name to have on a resume!), all the sites want me! but i wont get official word back until march 1st...and i have another interview sometime next week. don't worry guys, ill keep ya posted!
had a talk with my advisor today, too. that was odd. i had some conflicts, if you will, in her class last semester, and this was my first one-on-one with her since then. it was really great though. we actually got to discuss what the conflict was with me last semester, how it could be improved, and my overall experience at GSE thus far. she's really interested in me as a person, and making sure that i am both socially and academically comfortable at GSE. one of the big tenets of our discussion was my experience as an African American at GSE. just keeping it real, i'm not used to being a minority (i went to Spelman College, and HBCU, and I grew up in North Philly, which as majority African American), and it was a big culture shock and a sort of sense of loneliness being at GSE. my Psychology of African Americans course (EDUC 522 for anyone thats interested) has helped me to flush through these issues (not to mention that there are more African Americans in this course than ive seen in any of my other classes). but yeah, its an issue, and its real. but im working through it and learning a whole lot about myself and other people, so i have no choice but to be appreciative and opportunistic while im here...
also, to you out there in blog land, show me some love! send me a comment or email me or just let me know something!
peace!

weekend

this weekend was kinda crazy. going to grad school is definitely a balancing act. at least for me it is.

for my psychology of african americans course (which is EXCELLENT, by the way), I had to interview my grandma to understand race relations in her community when she was growing up. i kinda double-dipped during these hours, using them as both devoted to schoolwork and connecting to family (yes, with my schedule. i have to put family time in my schedule too). the interview was very interesting (my grandmother's family were sharecroppers on a south carolina farm in the 1940s-1950s...needless to say, race relations were kinda strained in her neighborhood), and it just felt good to be chilling with my grandma. just felt good to be not at work and not at school and not sleep, but just chilling, with my mind off of academia or things of serious importance. i needed that. this semester, i find myself so involved in schoolwork. time with my grandma was definitely necessary. i guess thats one advantage of going to school in my hometwon- being able to visit my family.

time with my grandma was pretty much my whole saturday. i spent the rest of saturday (while at my grandma's and when i got back to my apartment) read for my psychology of african americans course. some really interesting things, btw, such as identifying "whiteness" and its invisibility in our consciousness...but yeah, spent the evening reading. i wanted to go out and do something sweet or romantic with my boo, but that failed because we just ended falling asleep (we are both full-time grad students with 2 part-time jobs...we're tired most of the time...)

sunday was spent waking up late, going to sunday school, reading a novel my 6th grade tutoree students are reading (I just joined this classroom, so I have to catch up to where they are in the novel. it's call Hush, btw, by Jacqueline Woodson. a good book, but boys may find it a bit boring) while watching the superbowl at my boyfriend's aunt's house (again: balancing act), coming home and lesson planning for my tutoring group, reading articles for my other class, and then falling asleep by 1-ish.

but i am content with my weekends. hope i dont sound otherwise. i enjoy waking up late and being able to get into my readings and spend time with my family and call my college friends who i dont see anymore and watching tv and overdue rental dvds and cooking dinner and lounging around in my Penn sweats and t-shirt...my weekdays are pretty much filled with my job1-job2-class/fieldwork-reading articles-sleep cycle...i cant appreciate the weekends enough! grad school has definitely been a balancing act for me. but one i have learned to successfully and happily manage. i fudge a lot on my schedule, stealing minutes here and there for laughs and fun and rest. a balancing act, but one ive learned to manage very easily.

Thoughts

Sometimes I question why I decided to come to Penn. Different things prompt such thought...today's prompt is me sitting here at the computer lab in GSE thinking about all the schoolwork I need to do this weekend, and all the rest I need to get this weekend. Regardless of why I ponder my decision, I usually end up figuring "Heck, I'm at the illustrious PENN! This is suck a blessing, whatever qualms I have I better grin and bear it!"
But today, I really want to know why I decided to come to Penn. I think I came here for a lot of different reasons. First, and most important to me, is the fact that Penn is an Ivy League school. Point blank, Penn has a GREAT reputation for producing academically competent and competitive leaders. Dropping the Penn name opens so many doors. People are excited to have a Penn grad amongst them, in their office or school or company. People believe, and rightly so, that there is a greatness associated with a Penn grad. In the Philadelphia community, Penn is known for being involved in constructive ways in the community. Penn is known, and known in a good way. I definitely wanted to be a part of that.
The second reason I came to Penn, and perhaps it is tied for first, is the fact that it is in Philly, my beautiful hometown. I spent my undergrad at a "big, urban" city in the South...and I was not happy. When my four years of college were done, I was ready to get back to a real city, a city that's moving and shaking. A city that's action and culture packed. A city with a reliable transportation system (as someone who can't drive, that is very important to me!). A city that's more than just a college town or a party spot. I wanted to spend the next era of my life in a place where there is diversity of culture and experiences. I wanted to not feel sheltered or isolated from real life. I wanted to live where I could experience real life, but also find a space for my graduate school life as well. And I wanted to be back home! Philly was that place for me. And Penn is a great school in Philly, so this was another check on Penn's checklist...
Hmmm...there are other reasons why I chose Penn, but now I must retire from this blog and do so schoolwork, so that I can stay at Penn!

Now that this baby is up and running...

Today has been a crazy day! Crazy in a good way, for the most part. Not tired from schoolwork. Just tired because I have a hard time falling asleep at night. Didnt go to sleep last night until 5am...and I wake up at 6 to go to work.
Today was supposed to be my day home, resting and chilling, especially since I don't have class tonight. Unfortunately, my books that I ordered online where gonna be shipped back to sender if I didn't pick them up from Fedex today, so I had to make a quick run to get my books. Then I figured, since I'm all of five minutes away from Penn, why not stop in and get some work done at the office. And so I created this blog!
I have the rest of the day all mapped out. I'll blog a little, then finishing editing my friend's book. Then I'm gonna go home and do laundry and go food shopping. Then I'll watch a movie, and pretty soon after that I should be sleep and ready to rock and roll tomorrow!

This is my blog?

Just a tester, to see if I did this correctly. Hoepfully, I will be reading this soon!