Blog Assignment #1

About Me

My name is Samantha Wesson. I was born and raised in Anniston, Alabama, but my family relocated when I was about twelve to Ocean Springs, Mississippi because my dad found a new job and my parents had always dreamed of living closer to the beach. I have a wonderful family, which includes two loving parents who have always supported me in everything that I do, and a younger brother who is enjoying his freshman year at Southern Miss. I also have four cats, which may not seem that important to some, but they are an important part of our family and frankly they pretty much have the run of the house! My biggest interest is basketball: I live it, breathe it, and love being around it. Other than that, I'm a very laid back, friendly person who loves to spend time with friends and family. I'm always up for an adventure, but I'm just as content to hang out and watch a movie.

I started out going to college at a small, private school called Huntingdon in Montgomery, Alabama. Really my main reason for going there was so that I could have a chance to play basketball. I had a great freshman year there and made a lot of great memories and many friends, but I decided that after that year I no longer wanted to play sports anymore. Well, halfway through my sophomore year I decided that Huntingdon just wasn't what I thought it was without basketball, so I decided to transfer. I ended here at South Alabama because it's a bigger school with more things to do, as well as being closer to home and the beach! I am entering the field of education because I'd like to be a coach. I've always had a passion for basketball, as I mentioned before, and I don't want that to end, so I'd like to help the younger generation acquire the same love that I have for the sport. That pretty much sums it up!


My Future Classroom

I hope to be able to teach at the high school level, where my audience will probably consist of a group of bored teenagers, so I plan to make my teaching very interactive.  I've learned from personal experience that simply lecturing to students all day, every day will not teach them anything that they will actually remember past the test day.  For me, that means I have to stay current on technology so that I will be able to relate to them and give them usable advice.  No student wants a teacher that is stuck in the ancient times and won't even consider new and improved ways of learning and understanding that better meet the needs of the current generation.

My students are going to learn because they are going to do it themselves.  Instead of hearing me read a definition and copy it, we'll play jeopardy using those terms and whoever wins will get a free homework pass.  Of course the reward for finishing high school is a degree, but most kids want immediate gratitude; a reward they can see.  Playing educational games that keep their attention and offering rewards will hopefully make learning seem more beneficial to them.  I'm also going to make sure that they are very interactive with one another.  A classroom that's familiar and comfortable makes for a much better learning environment.

Hopefully, if the budget where I end up working allows, computers and Ipads can be a part of the learning process.  This will make it much easier for my students to visualize the concepts that I am trying to teach them.  Not only that, but by doing such projects as making a movie, they can illustrate what they've learned as well as adding a little personal flair to it.  To me, expression is very important.  Personally, I am ten times as likely to remember something after I hear it if I have a chance to do or illustrate it myself and get feedback from someone else.  Many teachers forget how important it is to interact with their students!

My classroom is going to be filled with work that my students have done.  I'm going to be like that kindergarten teacher that puts every single piece of artwork on the walls, or mom that always puts good grades on the fridge.  I remember when I was young and my projects would get put on the wall, and I liked it.  I feel that it's reinforcing to students to see that their work is important too, and not just getting thrown in the trash.  While the classroom won't look like their rooms at home, at least it will be able to have a little flair from all of them!

Randy Pausch

First of all, let me start off by saying that I have never heard of Dr. Pausch. However, he brings up some very good points. I like how he mentioned 'doing the ugliest things first'. I actually laughed at that part, because I've experienced that avoiding doing the hardest task will usually result in rushed or incompleted work, accompanied with a lot more stress than necessary. I also think his idea to question why a task should be done and what the consequences are if it is not completed is a good way to motivate and actually get things done.

He also mentioned that in order to complete a list of tasks, you actually have to HAVE a list of tasks.  Failing to plan really does mean that you're planning to fail.  I've had so many times that I needed to change plans in order to get something done, and then realized that there was something else I had to do which I had forgotten about.  It's really inconvenient when that happens, and the only way to remember everything and make time in our busy lives is to make a schedule of when it needs to be done.  Dr. Pausch has some great tips on time management that can lead to less stress and more productivity!