Kappa Delta Pi

Today I was formally inducted into the Kappa Delta Pi National Honor Society.  It feels weird to be a part of “greek life” only this isn’t a sorority, it’s an honor society.  Forty-three other graduate and undergraduate students were inducted as well, and we received a certificate and a rose.  Being an honor society that is all about education and community service, donations were made where everyone was asked on the spot to contribute $1 or $2 to raise awareness for autism.  Luckily I had $3 on me, and within 5 seconds, we had raised $250 between students and guests.  I feel very fortunate to be a part of an organization that is very active in getting involved within the community.  They are able to not “rob your wallet” but still make an impact helping others — something that is rare to find.  I’ll keep you posted on the events soon to come.

This past week

This semester I have been very fortunate to have a lot of teaching experience in the classroom.  I’ve been able to share with students my experience during the last presidential debate (which was held at the university I attend), create a math bulletin board inside the classroom incorporating the electoral vote state representation allowing students to predict what candidate has the best chance of winning (using fractions and percentages).  This activity was so exciting for the students and they were all so eager to know who I plan to vote for in the upcoming election.  My social studies professor from last semester had told me that it was okay for students to know who you plan to vote for, as long as they had reviewed each candidate and made a decision for themselves.  Well, all the students at MLK want Senator Barack Obama to become the next President of the United States, and many look up to him as a role model.  Although I am an Obama supporter, I feel that even if I told them I was a McCain supporter, there beliefs are set in stone, so I did in fact tell them who I am supporting.  Also, while presenting this lesson, I used a BrainPOP video which I found both informative and attention-catching: http://www.brainpop.com/socialstudies/usgovernmentandlaw/presidentialelection/ (although you have to be a member to use BrainPOP this is one of their free videos).

This semester I have been attending a lot of Career Center workshops in preparation for landing a job in September.  The most recent one that I attended was “Creating a Portfolio.”  So many people have been uneasy when it comes to this category of a job interview because some school districts do not want to be bothered with one because they simply do not have the time to look through it.  Others are all about the portfolio and want to visually see proof of the things you talk about on the interview.  However, not knowing what you will encounter makes this process tricky, especially since you are expected to put a lot of time and effort into not only a tangible portfolio, but an electronic one as well, you want everyone to see it.

Last Tuesday, I attended a science materials exhibit at The Carltun in Eisenhower Park, SCIMEX 2008.  It was  held by the Long Island Science Education Leadership Association, Inc. and it was very interesting to see the different sorts of textbooks that are out there for classrooms.  There was a lot of state preparation books and a good amount of literature in the science content.  I was able to pick up a science workbook “Measuring Up” for Grade 5, and a math workbook for grade 5.  The thing I did not like about these workbooks was that it did not have any hands-on experiences or suggestions for such.  It was simply reading and answering questions.  However, I do like that it simplified a whole textbook and put in the necessary information for the New York State testing so students can focus in on what is necessary, and then learn through real-life contexts.  The material that I liked the most was a free sampler incorporating literature and science.

I wish that these kinds of events were more well-known to the public.  If teachers knew they could attend these events and possibly receive some free materials, I think just about every teacher would attend.  I do however wish that the vendors were a little more friendly to those who visited their stations — many were uneasy about giving away their materials.