12:57am. Friday

Sorry folks, it's been a while.  The semester is coming to a close...And the work is stacking up!  With 5 classes, I have to manage my time more effectively.

About that 5 classes, the way Penn's cost structure is set up---it's BUY 4 get 1 class FREE.  Awesome right?  Save a good amount of money!

Except word around GSE is that the RWL program isn't really set up for someone to be full-time 5 classes. What does that mean?  The work is at a premium. I'm constantly working on some project.

No one says it can't be done. But know...you are going to be pushed to the limit.  And this end of the semester is going to have me on the plank.

--15-20 page paper due for Multicultural Issues in Education
--A GIANT Curriculum-as-Inquiry Project for Elementary RWL with Campano
--Inquiry #3 and Inquiry #4 due for Secondary RWL Curriculum
--Program Plan and Literature Review due for Community + Art Partnerships
--Restructured Service Framework? due for Psychoeducational Interactions with Black Males.

A whole lot of late nights and early mornings. Will be worth it come Winter break. But for now...

 

...and the best advice I ever got was keep writing, and keep living, and keep loving...

Why I'm Not Thankful for Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving, like much of American history, is complex, multifaceted, and will not bear too close a scrutiny without revealing a less-than-heroic aspect. Knowing the truth about Thanksgiving, both its proud and its shameful motivations and history, might well benefit contemporary children. But the glib retelling of an ethnocentric and self- serving falsehood does not do one any good... 

Read more here.

Monday.

Yes. RWL is all about the circle. No rows here.

[currently in EDUC 533: Reforming the Elementary Reading/Writing/Literacy Curriculum]

Sunday.

It's hard working on what you love. It's hard when you care. I'm at a point where I'm expected to write sooo much but I don't think I have a full grasp of what I'm saying.  But time doesn't stop. Assignments are due. There's new reading. One of the Ph.D RWL students once said this:

"I'm overwhelmed with work.  But I'd definitely appreciate being overwhelmed than underwhelmed."

In many ways, that's a nugget for those interested in Penn GSE.

On that note, I have something else to share. I had this on repeat as I keep type, type , typing away.

Tuesday.

 

 

Do you know where you're going to?
Do you like the things that life is showing you?
Where are you going to?
Do you know...?

Do you get
What you're hoping for?
When you look behind you
There's no open door
What are you hoping for?
Do you know...?

It's that time of the year. Semester ending papers are coming up. Class readings are that much more harder to get through. Questions come through your mind. Why are you here?

GSE can be arduous at times. You need to have your heart anchored somewhere. What's your motivation?  What's your long-term goals? What legacy do you want to leave?
These are the ingredients to making a bomb personal statement.

Make your personal statement something that you can reflect on when times get rough.  Make it your anchor.