Take your Education Seriously

Tuesday May 13th, 2008
Study Group

"Knowlege is not enough; We must apply. Willing is not enough; We must do."
Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe


With the Midterm a Day away, I meet with a study group Sunday night at 9:00 pm. The study group was made up of about ten to fifteen people in the education 201 class. This was a new experience for me since coming to college. I have done almost all of my studying alone this year, even for big tests. I feel like this was a good way to get involved with the other students in my class as well as an efficient study tool.
Even though I found the midterm to be a bit challenging I know the study time with my classmates helped. It made it easier to want to study knowing I had a certain time and people to study with. Also a study group made my studying less stressful. One of my biggest issues with studying for big tests are when I get stuck on a tough question or section I get frustrated. It was great to have people around me that could help me out. Along with the study group I did do some studying on my own.
This class is a more challenging class compared to other college courses I have taken this year, but I am enjoying it so much that it feels like less work. The study group was a great aspect to add to aiding my workload. Although, it was a great experienced I will never underestimate my own personal, quiet study time.

May 19th, 2008
Good Study Habits

"He who studies books alone will know how things ought to be, and he who studies men wil know how they are." Charles Caleb Colton

If compared, the way I conduct myself as a student in college would be significantly different than when I was a student in high school. In high school I struggled to be enthusiastic towards my work and school activities. It seemed all I could think about on a Monday morning was what I am going to do for fun on the next Friday night. Its not that I did not want to do well in high school it was just hard for me to find things that interested me or excited me.

College has given me a whole new outlook on education and how exciting it can be. Being in classes with students and teachers who are so excited to be there and learn is contagious to me. When I am excited about a class, eager to learn and very involved it produces good habits in my life.

Since The fall in college I have started forming good habits, which have only improved as the year has gone on. I have found that when I am excited about being in a class I want to get there early. I have seen how much teachers appreciate that and therefore have made a point to try very hard to be on time if not early. Another thing that has changed with my study habits is that I don’t study for the grade I study for the knowledge. I have tried very hard this year to take in knowledge to get keep and question instead of just to repeat back on a test. College, especially this education class, has taught me to be very organized. I have found out just how great it is to be able to know where things are and make sure everything has its certain place. The excitement to learn in College has encouraged me to improve skills in my life that will stay with me long after I graduate.

Monday May 19th, 2008
Inspirational and Informal Books

"Beware of the man of one book." Anonymou


I have found that while many of my classes have great books and articles as part of the curriculum, some of the most interesting information for me is from my own sources.
At the beginning of the term I went to the Goshen Public Library and found some books that look informative as well as enjoyable. These books had some great things that paralleled what was being taught tin class and has very inspirational stories.

The first book I started reading was Chicken Soup For The Teacher’s Soul. This book was fun to read and even had a few comics after some of the stories. One of the short stories in it was the perfect fit for the meditation my group did for class. A few of the stories almost brought tears to my eyes and made me feel even more reassured that teaching was the way to go.

Another great book I picked up was Teachers With The Courage To Give: Everyday Heroes Making A Difference in our Classrooms. This book was made up a short stores written by teachers on experiences they had in their classrooms. I found this book so inspirational and enjoyed hearing how teachers can have such different events change them in the Classroom.