Friday, March 31, 2006

2 Down, 1 to Go

Well, I've gotten the Fremont interview out of the way, and I sent my interview-by-email back to JMA last night.

The Fremont intervew ... I honestly have no idea how it went. They had all these on-the-spot questions of, "Give me three ways you would teach this... give me four examples of this ..." All stuff I could have thought of great answers for, given a little time. (I came up with answers, incidentally, but it took me a little time, and they probably weren't the best examples I could have given.)

And really, is the mark of a good teacher the ability to rattle off answers off the top of your head? Yes, teacher's should be able to think on-the-spot, particularly so they can take advantage of "teachable moments," but great teachers put a lot of thought and effort into their lesson plans.

Like I said, though, I have no idea what they thought of my answers ... or my signing for that matter. Being nervous and being on-camera (videophone) probably didn't do me any favors, but they certainly seemed to understand everything I said.

The nice thing: Fremont isn't really my absolute #1 choice, so I can consider this a warm-up to next week's interview with New Mexico (which is my top choice). Besides, I've heard that Fremont is the toughest in interviews, so it can only get better from here.

Monday, March 27, 2006

Interview #0??

Um, okay, so my numbering system is off now.

Finally got the email from the Jean Massieu Academy in Arlington, TX. They sent me a form they use for out-of-state interviewees. So I've filled out most of it and will finish it up tomorrow (grabbing a little advice and feedback from my MSSE friends, no doubt). Then I'll email it back, so I guess you could count it as my first interview.

My least favorite question: If you could use one word to describe yourself, what would it be?

Still don't have an answer down for that one. Any ideas?

Math Games and Puzzles

Some cool sites I found while trying to find stuff for my Consumer Math class to do:

Learn4Good
Brain Bashers
Puzzle Monster

(Trying to see how many more things I can get Mom addicted to...)

Four Days to Interview #1!

Me, nervous? Never! ;)

Naturally, I'm coping with the stress by laying in bed at night thinking of different things they might ask and how I could respond to each (with the best possible use of ASL, of course). Sounds healthy, right?

Meanwhile, my students show an amazing ability to miss class when it's least convenient. I had four out of six in Consumer Math (one of the missing students will be able to catch on to the new project just fine, but it would have been nice to have that student for the discussion portion today). In Math A, only one out of four for the chapter test. Two were planned (on vacation during school... arg), but the other is absent for an unknown reason.

On the plate for this week:

TUESDAY: Work at department office (finish organizing alumni files), go to ASL class, go to Secondary Disabilities class. Home around 7:00.

WEDNESDAY: Teaching at RSD. Getting lots of students caught up, judging by today. Giving some make-up tests during advisement?

THURSDAY: Work at department office, test videophone for interview Friday, skip ASL class to meet with accreditation visitors, go to Political/Legal Environments. Home around 7:00 or 8:00.

FRIDAY: RSD for prep time -- thank goodness, because I'll spend most of it stressing about the interview. Rush down to NTID for interview by videophone at 3:45 pm. Home afterwards (whenever that is).

Does that sound like enough? I feel like I'm forgetting something...

Tuesday, March 21, 2006

Can you see me dancing?

Guess who's got an interview with the New Mexico School for the Deaf!

Another videoconference interview, set for April 6th. (Something kinda karmic about that date, don't ya think?)

I wonder if this has anything to do with the email I sent last night, explaining how I hoped the fact that I got "Intermediate" on my first take of the SCPI (Sign Communication Proficiency Interview) wasn't making them think I couldn't cut it.

My next goal: To finally get serious about dropping this darn "mouthing English" habit I've picked up here in Rochester. (My ASL teachers at BYU would be in such pain right now...)

For my next try at the SCPI, I'm definitely ready to ramble.

Saturday, March 18, 2006

Back to Alpine?

There's a math opening (Level 4 -- does that mean I would teach above Algebra 1?) at Lakeridge. I've applied, and also emailed the contact person to see what the details of the position are -- specifically, what are the chances that I'd have at least ONE deaf kid in my classroom at some point during the day?

That's three balls in the air for now (a public junior high, a school for the deaf, and a charter school). . . waiting to see if New Mexico makes it four . . .

Yes, I work in the ghetto

Check out this faculty email from the superintendant at RSD:

I want to let you know about an accident that occurred on the RSD campus around 5:30 a.m. this morning. A car crashed into Denton Hall, leaving a big hole in the building and damaging one classroom. Fortunately no one was hurt.

A structural engineer came in this afternoon and recommended that we close the room above the damaged classroom as well. He also determined that the rest of Denton Hall is safe. Based on that report, we will move Angela Burrows and Mary Jo Birecree's classes to other rooms in Denton Hall and have the building ready for school on Monday morning.

In addition, about 50 feet of the new fence along St. Paul Street in front of Lyon Hall parking lot was destroyed. Temporary fencing has been installed.

If you have any questions or concerns please let me know.

Thank you very much.

Harold
How drunk was that driver? I mean, sober people don't crash through metal fences into buildings, do they?

(FYI, Denton Hall is the Early Childhood Center's building -- kindergarten and younger.)

Sunday, March 12, 2006

Time Flies...

Okay, so a lot of time has passed with me saying nothing on the blog front. So let's see if I can quickly cover what's keeping me busy...

Like I said in my last post, I got a job teaching two high school math classes at the Rochester School for the Deaf, where I student taught last spring. That's been going really well. One class is Consumer Math -- that's been tricky, because there's no set curriculum. Basically, it's just "teach them stuff they'll use in their lives after high school." So we've learned about a lot of financial stuff -- checking and savings accounts, taxes, etc.

The other class is integrated algebra, geometry, data and statistics -- the second half of what I student taught a year ago. That's also going well, except it's also tricky, because they have to take the state exam in June, and we have way too much still to cover before then.

My 16 credits in fall quarter were handled just fine, even with the teaching gig. (Another 4.0 quarter -- woo-hoo!) Winter's been a little slower, in some ways, with no actual courses, but I've been working at the department office again on my non-teaching days. Our program has accreditation happening this year, with the site visit happening at the end of this month, so that's actually been pretty busy.

I've also been continuing to work on the workshop PowerPoints I started with my professor last summer -- we're just trying to finish up getting the video clips we need now, and hopefully they'll be online soon. My master's project is also nearly finished. Actually, the project itself is finished -- we're now waiting for the "OK" to get it out to evaluators for some feedback.

More recently, things have been getting interesting at RSD. Some parents set up a blog for people to air complaints about RSD, and drama ensued. We're even getting cross-traffic with some pushes for reform at a Michigan blog. There are a variety of issues, some exclusive to RSD (student safety, access to administration and board) while others have broader implications for deaf education as a whole (especially bilingual education).

This reminds me of the Math Wars back home ... I think there must be a little bit of activist in me, so I'm keeping my ear to the ground. But I don't feel like I ought to get too deeply involved, since the odds are high that I won't be in Rochester after this year. (Videophone interview with Fremont on the 31st, emailing with JMA, and still hoping for a chance at NMSD.)

With so much going on, I'm going to try and keep the blog updated again. Anyone posting comments will notice I've enabled the word verification option -- this is to eliminate the "comment spam" I've been getting.

That's all for now -- here's hoping I get through tomorrow. (I'm helping proctor state math exams in the middle school while a sub covers one or both of my classes ... should be fun.)