April 23, 2008

I guess blogging is a lot bigger than I had anticipated. I was searching CNN for some information to post on this blog, and I came across the most recent election blog and the responses to Clinton's win in PA. After watching the video and reading a few article on the debate of whether or not that win was enough to save her in the election, I realized that people from all over the country decided to "weigh-in" and add what they thought about it. Blogging is becoming a huge way for people to share their opinion, and I'm excited to find more.

April 11, 2008 Another teacher on trial for sex charges

Is anyone else getting tired of seeing this!?!?!
As a student trying to get in this profession, I am having to watch people ruin the reputation of teachers all over. The sad part is, the media would happily post a teacher being brought up on sex charges before they honor a teacher on the front page for positively effecting our children and helping to shape their future. I also saw some news where a female student assaulted her art teacher. So, in order to be a teacher you must have thick skin and be prepared to come under fire, or under attack.

April 9, 2008 - Girl getting beat up on Youtube

On the Today show this morning, and mother was speaking out about an incident that occurred in Florida. Apparently some teenage girls and two boys invited a girl to a house, where they proceeded to confront her and assault her. These brilliant kids decided that they were going to tape the imprisonment and assault and post it on You Tube. Now the individuals involved are facing adult charges of kidnapping imprisonment and assault. You would think at this point, they would feel remorse, but you would be wrong. One girl even joked, "We'll get to spend our Spring Break in prison." Now sites like You Tube and others are coming under fire for allowing such videos to be posted, as it creates a forum for kids to do this. I agree that something should be done, and these girls should be found guilty. The video says it all! I actually sat my team down last night, and we talked about it. I hope that the young women on my teams understand that this is not acceptable behavior, and they should hold themselves to a higher standard.

April 4, 2008 The new face of graduate school

So, me and all the other post-bac's should feel good about a recent article that has been posted on MSN from US News which refers to the average age of people going back to grad school. Apparently, the average age of all grad students enrolling in between 24 and 35. It seems that many universities are following suit by offering child-care help, two-year programs, and a lot of other services to assist older learners. I can only hope that SRU does the same thing, since it is impossible to continue my education in this program without quitting my full-time job!

March 31, 2008 Two more competitions down

On top of working full-time for Fisher Scientific, and taking classes at Slippery Rock (with an hour commute each way) I have been coaching cheerleading. This season, which started last April, is beginning to come to a close. I decided to make the season a little bit longer this year with creating another competition squad other than the varsity one that went to nationals in fla a couple weeks ago. This squad was comprised of 24 girls in 8th, 9th, and 10th grades. Before this weekend, none of them have ever stepped on a competition mat. Well, they won their division on Saturday and Sunday. On Sunday, they also won Grand Champions as the varsity did at nationals by scoring higher than any other program at the competition yesterday! I am so proud of them. Now we only have one more to go at the Petersen Event Center on April 12th. Update to follow.

March 25, 2008 College Drop Outs

There was an article on MSNBC about students who entered a four-year college in 1997, stating that only 54% have a degree at the end of 6 years. WELL.... I have a good idea why. I am running into the same issue with college, and my third degree. It seems every post-secondary degree I have recieved, it is getting more difficult to finish in a timely manner. With professors choosing to teach only one-two sessions of a class per semester, and a lot overlapping, it is very difficult to get the required amount of credits in a short amount of time. For example, classes here in Slippery Rock for PE majors are only offered between 8am and 3:15pm, mostly. If you have a job, it is impossible to finish this degree without quitting work, due to some classes only being offered between 1 and 3pm every semester. There are currently at least four classes being wait-listed for this fall. Very frustrating for me and a lot of other individuals.

March 24, 2008 One more month

So, there is basically only one more month of classes. In the next month, I still have to complete my podcast, Litservs, Digital Video, Excel, and Powerpoint, all while blogging and keeping up with the other classes. I am also still in season, and have many practices and three competitions yet to attend with the younger team. AGH!!!! Just have to forge through one more month....