Assessment

I had my exam in my K-12 Assessment and Measurement class yesterday. I feel like I did well overall, but the one essay definitely threw me for a loop. It asked me to write about my philosophy on education and how high-stakes testing positively or negatively influences it. I was very familiar with the article this question was referencing, but I honestly didn't know how to write about my philosophy on education in only one page. It's also something I expect to develop over the course of many years of teaching--not something I would be able to have pinned down after a few masters classes and some classroom observations.

Maybe once I get the exam back, if my professor thinks I did well on it, I'll post it here.

Teach for America

In addition to working toward a career in teaching through my studies at Lehigh University, I have also applied to Teach for America.

In January, I applied for the 4th deadline to join the 2012 Teach for America corps. I managed to skip the phone interview round and be invited directly to a final interview. When I got my official acceptance to Lehigh's College of Education for my 5th year, I immediately contacted TFA admissions. I still really wanted to join TFA, but I hoped that I would be able to transfer my application to the 2013 corps application pool. The fabulously helpful individuals who work for admissions at TFA said it was not a problem to move me. They just transferred my application and pushed my final interview into the last application deadline pool.

I had my final interview in March, and in just one week from now I get to hear their decision. I think the interview went very well, but I'm still nervous. I know how competitive the corps is. I'll update about it as soon as I get a response.

URL Explanation

As part of my English major, I took an American Literature class. It was with one of my favorite professors in the department, and we read a lot of different works that touched me in ways I wasn't expecting in a survey course.

One of my favorite pieces from the entire semester is a chant from the Zuni people, a Native American tribe. It's called Sayatasha's Night Chant. The entire thing is beautiful, but I found this part especially moving:

May you be blessed with light;
May your roads be fulfilled;
May you grow old;
May you be blessed in the chase;
To where the life-giving road of your sun father comes out
May your roads reach;
May your roads all be fulfilled. (as recorded in the Norton's Anthology of American Literature Vol. 1)

After we read it, my professor made a habit of ending each class by saying to us, "May your roads reach." I've since taken it on as one of my personal mantras or prayers.

Introduction

So it begins!

Here's some background information:

• My name is Gina.
• I'm 22.
• I go to Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
• I'm a senior English major in a 5-year program that allows me to get my B.A. in English and my M.Ed. and certification in secondary education in only 5 years.  That means I've got one year to go.
• I'm enormously passionate about education and the combination of education and various social justice issues.  For example, my English honors thesis is titled "Was I raped?": Sexual Assault in Narratives and Literature's Role in Prevention Education.  In it, I make an argument for the importance (and benefits) of teaching high school students about sexual violence through literature.
• I'm also an RA at school (known as Gryphons at Lehigh), which is just about my favorite thing ever.  If for some reason it turns out that education isn't the job for me, I'm going into Student Affairs.  

Why did I create this blog, you ask?

I wanted to have a place to keep track of this experience.  I think reflecting is an instrumental part of education, and I wanted a non-academic space to do that.  This blog will include stories about my classes, my field experiences, and my general thoughts about being a student in a graduate-level education program.