I've been terrible about posting since I started camp... but now that I'm done with camp I can get back into blogging and trying to fill up my free hours of time and sadness. Hooray!
Camp was awesome. I worked there for eight straight weeks as an assistant director, which had me busy learning how to be managerial and to create order out of chaos. I also had to learn how to balance my newly acclaimed power with NOT being the director, which sucked. I'll probably apply for director next year since I think it'd be sweet to have LIMITLESS POWER AND INTRIGUE. And y'know because it's good money and good fun and it's the only decent job I've had in over a year now.
So now I'm back to not being in a graduate school program and to not having a job or job offer. It sucks. I've been enjoying these last warm days of Seattle summer and have been applying to the odd evening-friendly job like at hotels or costplus world market or the elusive apple store. Hopefully one of them will hire me and I'll have some kind of source of income to pay for my ridiculous pre-requisite classes for the graduate programs I seek to join.
I've taken one of the teacher exams, the WEST-B, which I passed with gusto! It was a four hour exam testing me on the basics of reading, writing and math. It was brutal simply because it was SO LONG. The next one is the WEST-E test, which has more specific questions aimed at elementary school endorsements. I need to study up on all the little modules such as the properties of light and color, elementary level physical education, language arts, history etc. I'm having fun studying for it (it's not like the GRE where it's difficult for no particular reason,) and I'm hoping to pass the test with flying colors come September 11th.
The next important date will be September 17th, which is the date that my application to the University of Washington is due.
Aside from the WEST-E test, I'm working on planning out and completing my pre-requisite courses for UW and Seattle U. I'm on standby as a non-matriculated student for a Geology 101 class and I'm hoping to take a geography one at the University of Washington as well. The only downside is that the classes are $1500 a piece and I have almost no money because I have almost no job. So, I'm hoping to take the rest of the classes I need to be considered for the grad programs at a community college because truly that is how dreams are made.
Until then I keep working part-time at Kumon and praying for some more employment, even if it's not a fulfilling or interesting job. I will sell chocolate or computers. Somebody hire me for the love of God.
On the plus side, Ian is getting back on Wednesday from Japan and I will have someone to commiserate with and go to art museums with!
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Rachel K. Standardized Testing
I continue to be the busiest person on earth, but in a totally wonderful way.
First and foremost : GRE - CHECK. DONE. VANQUISHED!!!!
The GRE is finally over and I have a majority of my life back! WahooOOoooo! After a week of hardcore crunching for the math and verbal sections and a quickie crash course in the writing sections, I took the test. I borrowed my grandfather's trusty vehicle and drove (the hell) up to Montlake Terrace where the test was held at some strange computer testing center. It was hella sketchy. The testing people made me empty my pockets and they checked up my pant legs for CHEATING STRATEGEMS (maybe). Anyway it hadn't occurred to me to hide answers up my pant legs, so I was allowed in and took the test.
Nothing more interesting about it really, but it's over and my score was about 140 points over what I wanted it to be, which is turbo awesome. I'll have to wait and see about my essay scores, but at this point I just don't have the energy left to care. I'm done and that's all there is to it!
Having my life back, I rejoined society spent some time with the roommate, the boyfriend and my roommate's new kitten, Yogurt. Yogurt is a wonderful distraction to all the things I should be doing. I could be studying for my up-and-coming teacher exams (the WEST-E and WEST-B exams for Washington State), but there's a KITTEN now and instead I can just wiggle a string in front of her for hours and hours. And I do.
Now it's crunch time for iD Tech Camps, where I'm assistant directing all summer long. I'm in San Francisco currently for camp training at UC Berkeley and am visiting with friends Natanya and Amy (former JET members like me) while I'm down in California. I had an online meeting for admin stuff today and I feel really good about the position; I think it'll have enough responsibilities to keep me busy, but it's a job I'm very qualified for. It feels nice to be counted on once in awhile, especially because I'm waiting to hear back from my UCDS job interview and the more I have to wait, the more I assume I don't have the job and start to panic.
I just have to keep a cool head about all this. If I don't get the job, it will be crummy. I'll have to find some other source of income for next year, which won't be easy and I really don't want to have to take a bunch of steps backwards and work somewhere at a coffee shop or retail store again; but if that's what it comes to, I guess I'll have to swallow my pride. Anyway I can't do anything about it until I hear back, and I haven't heard back so that's that for now.
I've heard from one person on my craigs list ad for private tutoring, which I'm trying to fill up my Saturdays with before climbing. I figured if I charge $25 an hour I can make some quick money doing something I like doing and have a bit of experience doing! We'll see if this works out, but I am hoping to hone in on this skill that I have been practicing since I was hired at Kumon last summer.
[ooh they're playing Soulja Boy on the radio! San Francisco coffee shops have earned new respect from me]
Other than that there's still the matter of getting my UW application together since that's due in mid-September and I'd best finish up most of it as quickly as I can. I still need a second letter of recommendation, which is proving arduous since none of my RIT professors are getting back to me... boo. I will persevere! I also have to investigate where and when to take these multiple pre-requisite courses like lab science, math, US history and early child development... that might actually end up being a lot easier if I DON'T get the UCDS job, which would really be the only good thing to come out of that.
For now, I'm going back to enjoy my time in San Francisco. Today I went to the Asian Art Museum downtown and saw some beautiful government buildings and sculptures. Tomorrow -- Golden Gate Park with Amy? I should also mention that I'm staying with Natanya and her wonderful parents who have a beautiful blue home in Daly City! San Francisco does not shy away from color. I thought Seattle was crazy!
Stay tuned for the next entry:
UCDS Spells Success OR Job Rejection Leads to Jumping from Golden Gate Bridge
First and foremost : GRE - CHECK. DONE. VANQUISHED!!!!
The GRE is finally over and I have a majority of my life back! WahooOOoooo! After a week of hardcore crunching for the math and verbal sections and a quickie crash course in the writing sections, I took the test. I borrowed my grandfather's trusty vehicle and drove (the hell) up to Montlake Terrace where the test was held at some strange computer testing center. It was hella sketchy. The testing people made me empty my pockets and they checked up my pant legs for CHEATING STRATEGEMS (maybe). Anyway it hadn't occurred to me to hide answers up my pant legs, so I was allowed in and took the test.
Nothing more interesting about it really, but it's over and my score was about 140 points over what I wanted it to be, which is turbo awesome. I'll have to wait and see about my essay scores, but at this point I just don't have the energy left to care. I'm done and that's all there is to it!
Having my life back, I rejoined society spent some time with the roommate, the boyfriend and my roommate's new kitten, Yogurt. Yogurt is a wonderful distraction to all the things I should be doing. I could be studying for my up-and-coming teacher exams (the WEST-E and WEST-B exams for Washington State), but there's a KITTEN now and instead I can just wiggle a string in front of her for hours and hours. And I do.
Now it's crunch time for iD Tech Camps, where I'm assistant directing all summer long. I'm in San Francisco currently for camp training at UC Berkeley and am visiting with friends Natanya and Amy (former JET members like me) while I'm down in California. I had an online meeting for admin stuff today and I feel really good about the position; I think it'll have enough responsibilities to keep me busy, but it's a job I'm very qualified for. It feels nice to be counted on once in awhile, especially because I'm waiting to hear back from my UCDS job interview and the more I have to wait, the more I assume I don't have the job and start to panic.
I just have to keep a cool head about all this. If I don't get the job, it will be crummy. I'll have to find some other source of income for next year, which won't be easy and I really don't want to have to take a bunch of steps backwards and work somewhere at a coffee shop or retail store again; but if that's what it comes to, I guess I'll have to swallow my pride. Anyway I can't do anything about it until I hear back, and I haven't heard back so that's that for now.
I've heard from one person on my craigs list ad for private tutoring, which I'm trying to fill up my Saturdays with before climbing. I figured if I charge $25 an hour I can make some quick money doing something I like doing and have a bit of experience doing! We'll see if this works out, but I am hoping to hone in on this skill that I have been practicing since I was hired at Kumon last summer.
[ooh they're playing Soulja Boy on the radio! San Francisco coffee shops have earned new respect from me]
Other than that there's still the matter of getting my UW application together since that's due in mid-September and I'd best finish up most of it as quickly as I can. I still need a second letter of recommendation, which is proving arduous since none of my RIT professors are getting back to me... boo. I will persevere! I also have to investigate where and when to take these multiple pre-requisite courses like lab science, math, US history and early child development... that might actually end up being a lot easier if I DON'T get the UCDS job, which would really be the only good thing to come out of that.
For now, I'm going back to enjoy my time in San Francisco. Today I went to the Asian Art Museum downtown and saw some beautiful government buildings and sculptures. Tomorrow -- Golden Gate Park with Amy? I should also mention that I'm staying with Natanya and her wonderful parents who have a beautiful blue home in Daly City! San Francisco does not shy away from color. I thought Seattle was crazy!
Stay tuned for the next entry:
UCDS Spells Success OR Job Rejection Leads to Jumping from Golden Gate Bridge
Friday, May 21, 2010
Rachel K. Crunch
It's crunch time.
Lately I've been feeling overwhelmed with everything that I need to finish and underwhelmed with how I've been living my life lately.
I've been bouncing around the country every two weeks for awhile now. Spending time in Los Angeles visiting my friend Tristyn and my sister, Laura with Kevin was a blast! We saw Nickelodeon studios, where my sister just finished an intern position. Then, last week I joined my family in Boston for the Emerson College graduation ceremony and saw my sister and all of her friends in the beautiful sunshine. On June first I'm heading south to San Francisco to hang out with fellow former-JETs Amy and Natanya in the foggy city! I'm hoping to be a little bit more relaxed then than I am now since the GRE will be over by that time and I'll be studying for tests that are less pointless.
So right now I'm in the middle of my most stressful week. On Monday I flew back on a disgustingly early flight from Boston to Seattle and immediately felt under the weather. The next day I had my 3 hour teaching interview at UCDS, where I taught a quickie lesson on algebraic concepts (fancier sounding than it was in actuality) and got to know some of the 4th and 5th graders and teachers in the block. UCDS is an amazing school right off the bat. It's beautiful, well-lit, well-designed, and it looks like the Disneyland of elementary schools. It's a stark contrast to the peeling paint on the walls of the public school I volunteer at. Those kids need pencils, these kids have macbooks and smart boards (the Ferrari of chalkboards). I'm not sure how the interview went, but I can say for sure that I really liked working with the teachers (Diane, Meg and another person whose name I've forgotten). The kids were fantastic and I hope that they ask me to join their staff! I'll hear back on the first week of June for better or for worse.
Other than that, it's crunch time for the GRE. I'm trying to cram all those principles of triangles, geometry, binomials, probability, vocabulary, grammar, and everything else into my brain. It's not fitting, and I'm pretty certain that I won't do spectacularly on the test. However, I have no plans in the near future to submit a GRE score to anyone, so I guess at this point I should just keep swimming and hope for the best.
After the GRE is over and done with, my life will be all about iD Tech Camps and preparing for the training seminar in San Francisco, which by the way is the main reason I'm going down there in the first place.
It's amazing how being busy with all the things you don't want to do makes you realize all the things you'd rather be doing. I miss going climbing and working out and drawing and studying Japanese and getting up to the market more than once every two weeks. At least I'm squeezing in lots of mad men watching while I take practice exams. Surely that's conducive to learning.
Stay tuned for the next entry:
Lately I've been feeling overwhelmed with everything that I need to finish and underwhelmed with how I've been living my life lately.
I've been bouncing around the country every two weeks for awhile now. Spending time in Los Angeles visiting my friend Tristyn and my sister, Laura with Kevin was a blast! We saw Nickelodeon studios, where my sister just finished an intern position. Then, last week I joined my family in Boston for the Emerson College graduation ceremony and saw my sister and all of her friends in the beautiful sunshine. On June first I'm heading south to San Francisco to hang out with fellow former-JETs Amy and Natanya in the foggy city! I'm hoping to be a little bit more relaxed then than I am now since the GRE will be over by that time and I'll be studying for tests that are less pointless.
So right now I'm in the middle of my most stressful week. On Monday I flew back on a disgustingly early flight from Boston to Seattle and immediately felt under the weather. The next day I had my 3 hour teaching interview at UCDS, where I taught a quickie lesson on algebraic concepts (fancier sounding than it was in actuality) and got to know some of the 4th and 5th graders and teachers in the block. UCDS is an amazing school right off the bat. It's beautiful, well-lit, well-designed, and it looks like the Disneyland of elementary schools. It's a stark contrast to the peeling paint on the walls of the public school I volunteer at. Those kids need pencils, these kids have macbooks and smart boards (the Ferrari of chalkboards). I'm not sure how the interview went, but I can say for sure that I really liked working with the teachers (Diane, Meg and another person whose name I've forgotten). The kids were fantastic and I hope that they ask me to join their staff! I'll hear back on the first week of June for better or for worse.
Other than that, it's crunch time for the GRE. I'm trying to cram all those principles of triangles, geometry, binomials, probability, vocabulary, grammar, and everything else into my brain. It's not fitting, and I'm pretty certain that I won't do spectacularly on the test. However, I have no plans in the near future to submit a GRE score to anyone, so I guess at this point I should just keep swimming and hope for the best.
After the GRE is over and done with, my life will be all about iD Tech Camps and preparing for the training seminar in San Francisco, which by the way is the main reason I'm going down there in the first place.
It's amazing how being busy with all the things you don't want to do makes you realize all the things you'd rather be doing. I miss going climbing and working out and drawing and studying Japanese and getting up to the market more than once every two weeks. At least I'm squeezing in lots of mad men watching while I take practice exams. Surely that's conducive to learning.
Stay tuned for the next entry:
Standardized Victory
or
You can't spell Egregious without "GRE"
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Rachel K. Art Class
The art classes at BFD Elementary School are taught by its "resident artist," Julie Clownfish (the name has been changed to protect the banality of her actual surname). She dresses in cute, fun-pattern skirts, clompy platform sandals, and large hipster glasses. She plays Lady Gaga or Journey on her iPhone while the students utilize their creativity. Ms. Clownfish (this surname seems more befitting now that I think about it) gets the attention of her class by singing, "A-B-C," to which the children chime in, "1-2-3!" For the older classes, she reaches back into one of my favorite rap songs, saying, "Can I get a woop woop?" and the children raise the roof as they reply, "woop woop!" Amazing.
Her advice to me, when it comes to getting certified in either elementary or secondary education, is generally the same as the advice I've gotten from my friend, Natanya, who is also going into the educator certification business. They both have said that it's easier to get a general, elementary school certification for teaching all subjects. After that, it's easier to, "find a niche" and collect endorsements for specific criteria that I'd be interested in teaching: Japanese, ELL, etc.
So, while I'm not interested in teaching elementary school art classes, I'm glad I've gotten a chance to see how they are run: and to meet Ms. Clownfish.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Rachel K. Philanthropy
I've been volunteering at BFD Elementary school for a week now! I've been wanting to blog about the experience there as a volunteer, but I have to be discreet when it comes to using names and stuff. So, BFD Elementary it is!
I got connected with the volunteer coordinator through a website of public schools in King County, which was sent to me by one of the people who organizes the masters in teaching program through the University of Washington. It was a really awesome resource -- I hadn't known that volunteering at an elementary, middle or high school was so easy. Plus, the school that I'm volunteering at was really eager to put me to work! So, I've started a schedule of three hours every day helping two students individually (one with math, one with English) and I shadow and observe two different 5th grade classes after the individual lessons. It has been an invaluable experience to see how public schools in the area function.
I can tell volunteers are paltry at this school. On my first day, they sat me down with a girl from Thailand (let's call her Sue) who speaks almost no English and can barely read or write. Me? Seriously? Sure I've taught English, but I taught it in Japan with an over-structured curriculum and seasoned teachers who could explain all the pains of English away in their own language! I am not qualified nor confident enough in ELL (English language learning) to teach this girl. Sike, j/k -- I'm teaching her anyway. PUBLIC SCHOOL, MOTHERTRUCKERS! So, now Sue's English capabilities have fallen to me, which is ridiculous. On the bright side, she's cheerful and seems to like me enough that she tries to focus on the boring stories in the English learners' booklets. Did you know you can buy pets at a pet store? Life lessons learned. Anyway, I'm bamboozled beyond belief that I have been given so much responsibility for this 5th grader's language abilities, but I've been told that, "if not for you, she'd be getting no attention." Eep.
More befitting of my level of pedagogy, I am helping a ridiculous 4th grade boy (who I shall call Shawn) with his math. Is he bad at math? NOPE -- he's a whiz. He just happens to be a whiz with attention deficit hyperactive disorder, or as its known to its fans, ADHD! I like to imagine that ADHD is like having a carnival in your brain all day. Sure, you could do the math on the page, but THEY'RE PASSING OUT COTTON CANDY BY THE HAUNTED HOUSE! What? I'm supposed to write a definition of a convex polygon? Sure, let me see -- OH BUT WAIT! THEY'RE STARTING UP THE FERRIS WHEEL! Yep. So, after a week of working with Shawn, I've finally discovered a way to keep him on track (by which I mean keep him from drawing stick figures being blown up, hanged, boiled in acid, decapitated, defenestrated, or mangled by bears in the margins of his workbook). STOP WATCHES. Behold the power of the stopwatch! Every page is a race! A race against TIME! Sure you want to draw stick figures getting their heads bitten off by vampire bats, but THERE'S NO TIME! QUICK! NAME THE POLYGON! FIND THE QUOTIENT! Seriously -- stop watches and candy seem to equate to success: and you won't find that in your math book.
Aside from my two individual human case studies, I get to shadow the rest of the fifth graders in their art classes. Self portraits! It's such a fun class, but I think I'll talk more about it later on. For now, it's date night and I have to straighten the mass of curls that my hair has morphed into. I blame the rain.
I got connected with the volunteer coordinator through a website of public schools in King County, which was sent to me by one of the people who organizes the masters in teaching program through the University of Washington. It was a really awesome resource -- I hadn't known that volunteering at an elementary, middle or high school was so easy. Plus, the school that I'm volunteering at was really eager to put me to work! So, I've started a schedule of three hours every day helping two students individually (one with math, one with English) and I shadow and observe two different 5th grade classes after the individual lessons. It has been an invaluable experience to see how public schools in the area function.
More befitting of my level of pedagogy, I am helping a ridiculous 4th grade boy (who I shall call Shawn) with his math. Is he bad at math? NOPE -- he's a whiz. He just happens to be a whiz with attention deficit hyperactive disorder, or as its known to its fans, ADHD! I like to imagine that ADHD is like having a carnival in your brain all day. Sure, you could do the math on the page, but THEY'RE PASSING OUT COTTON CANDY BY THE HAUNTED HOUSE! What? I'm supposed to write a definition of a convex polygon? Sure, let me see -- OH BUT WAIT! THEY'RE STARTING UP THE FERRIS WHEEL! Yep. So, after a week of working with Shawn, I've finally discovered a way to keep him on track (by which I mean keep him from drawing stick figures being blown up, hanged, boiled in acid, decapitated, defenestrated, or mangled by bears in the margins of his workbook). STOP WATCHES. Behold the power of the stopwatch! Every page is a race! A race against TIME! Sure you want to draw stick figures getting their heads bitten off by vampire bats, but THERE'S NO TIME! QUICK! NAME THE POLYGON! FIND THE QUOTIENT! Seriously -- stop watches and candy seem to equate to success: and you won't find that in your math book.
Aside from my two individual human case studies, I get to shadow the rest of the fifth graders in their art classes. Self portraits! It's such a fun class, but I think I'll talk more about it later on. For now, it's date night and I have to straighten the mass of curls that my hair has morphed into. I blame the rain.
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