This week and last have been cruising by. It seriously feels like midterms already, but it's just the SECOND WEEK (well, kinda going on the third I guess) of classes. Ayi ayi ayi....
Because of the "snow storm" (we only got an inch in Philly and it has since melted. LAME.) on Monday, our professor stayed at home in New York City while most of us gathered in the classroom for a virtual class. It was my first experience and I kind of hope it is the last! She could barely hear us on the microphone so we had to walk over to the camera and stand in front of it if we wanted to respond. A bit awkward and also not very encouraging for participation. However, we made it work and I think all of us will look forward to seeing our professor in person for next class and appreciate her presence even more.
On Tuesday, my noon class ("Self, Culture and Cognitive Development") was cancelled because of transportation issues, which meant I had extra time to get all my reading done and even start on next week's reading. AMAZING. I made the mistake of sitting by the fire in the graduate center to read "Foundations of Qualitative Research" for my Qualitative Modes if Inquiry class and let's just say...it is not the ideal location for someone who is reading about the history of qualitative research.
Thankfully, I had my "Developmental Theories and Applications with Children" class to look forward to. Dr. Fantuzzo is an enthusiastic and fun professor and I'm already super excited for the class. We have placements in local schools and observe/tutor a child in early childhood (pre-k to third grade). I cannot wait to be around kids again. I always dream about my students in Guatemala, Honduras, Korea, etc and I miss them so much. I'll be with a kindergarten class. :)
Another great part of Dr. Fantuzzo's classes are that he believes in keeping our blood sugar levels up by providing snacks. We trade off and pair up with others and each bring in food twice during the semester. The class is from 4-7pm so...it is absolutely necessary. He also calls bathroom breaks "bio breaks" because it is our natural biological need to use the restroom.
For the class, we spent the most time eating and also doing personal introductions. We each prepared a powerpoint with one slide of only pictures that we would share with the class about who we are and why we are in the class. As Dr. Fantuzzo said, it changed the class from being just faces and names to real people with experiences and lives. It was such a nice way to learn about my classmates. There are sixteen of us in total and six of us also took the early childhood development class in the Fall.
The admissions office has been a bit hectic lately too because of everyone's wonderful applications! We are getting a lot of questions about materials being received, which the common response is "we are processing the materials and will update your online checklist as soon as we can." Just remember--I'm the one who helps to "process" your materials aka I open the transcript/TOEFL/etc, scan them, save them to the computer in your individual folder, then put them into this big cart of other materials (in alphabetical order) and then when your folder gets a label on it, we go back into the big cart and find anything with your name on it. Whew! It's a process. A lot of paper cuts. So, patience! But please do call if you have questions or are worried about something in particular.
On that note...I need to get in my 8.5 hours of sleep.
On Tuesday, my noon class ("Self, Culture and Cognitive Development") was cancelled because of transportation issues, which meant I had extra time to get all my reading done and even start on next week's reading. AMAZING. I made the mistake of sitting by the fire in the graduate center to read "Foundations of Qualitative Research" for my Qualitative Modes if Inquiry class and let's just say...it is not the ideal location for someone who is reading about the history of qualitative research.
Thankfully, I had my "Developmental Theories and Applications with Children" class to look forward to. Dr. Fantuzzo is an enthusiastic and fun professor and I'm already super excited for the class. We have placements in local schools and observe/tutor a child in early childhood (pre-k to third grade). I cannot wait to be around kids again. I always dream about my students in Guatemala, Honduras, Korea, etc and I miss them so much. I'll be with a kindergarten class. :)
For the class, we spent the most time eating and also doing personal introductions. We each prepared a powerpoint with one slide of only pictures that we would share with the class about who we are and why we are in the class. As Dr. Fantuzzo said, it changed the class from being just faces and names to real people with experiences and lives. It was such a nice way to learn about my classmates. There are sixteen of us in total and six of us also took the early childhood development class in the Fall.
The admissions office has been a bit hectic lately too because of everyone's wonderful applications! We are getting a lot of questions about materials being received, which the common response is "we are processing the materials and will update your online checklist as soon as we can." Just remember--I'm the one who helps to "process" your materials aka I open the transcript/TOEFL/etc, scan them, save them to the computer in your individual folder, then put them into this big cart of other materials (in alphabetical order) and then when your folder gets a label on it, we go back into the big cart and find anything with your name on it. Whew! It's a process. A lot of paper cuts. So, patience! But please do call if you have questions or are worried about something in particular.
On that note...I need to get in my 8.5 hours of sleep.
