Back to School

Back to school, back to school, to prove to dad that I'm not a fool (Billy Madison... anyone??)

So I have finally decided to take the plunge.  I am heading back to school to be a school librarian!  All my other teacher friends have long since gone back to get their masters, and I put mine on hold.  It financially makes sense to get it, but I was waiting for Chris to be done with school, and honestly, I was still dreaming up what I wanted to do with the rest of my life.

I love teaching.  I get a thrill out of being so important to the kids in my class and and, in some cases, being their biggest advocate.  I love, love, love teaching math (anyone who knew me in fifth grade would never believe this...).  I love watching kids get passionate about civil rights issues in social studies and stand up for what they know is right.  I love watching their eyes light up when we prove that every action has a reaction, and teaching them life lessons through books like Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing :).

So you may ask.... why not get your masters in curriculum and instruction?  I have always known that I wanted to have options other than classroom teaching.  I might be a classroom teacher forever, but I really don't know how I will feel about it when we start a family, have a house, yadda yadda yadda.  I just wanted to be able to do something a little less emotionally draining if I needed to one day.  And the great thing about education is I still get the pay increase for having my masters, even if I want to stay in the classroom.

There are a ton of choices when you want to go back.  I could have decided on reading specialist, special education, gifted and talented, administration, ect.  I decided on "Educational Technology" with an emphasis in Library Media Specialist because I am passionate about reading and getting kids to love reading again.  Because of state testing and all that comes with it, I think a lot of kids have lost that love of picking out a "just right" book and loving every word.  Also, I am going to be taking a ton of technology courses, and that is where it is all going.  Teaching teachers the awesome powers of the smart board??  Yes please!

I am going to Pittsburg State and I start this summer.  The program is offered completely online and it will take 6 semesters.  I was getting really antsy to start and even though Chris is still in school, I decided to go for it!

So, if you are still reading this, there must not be anything good on TV.  But thank you for making it to the end:) I'll keep you posted on how everything is going.

 I will leave you with my first "young adult fiction" recommendation:

Blood on the River by Elisa Carbone -  If you want to learn more about the "Jamestown" era and the start of our county, this is a great book.  I am finishing reading it to my fourth graders and it is historically accurate and they are eating it up!

Also... don't worry.  I won't turn into a grouchy librarian.  I am thinking book blogs, digital textbooks, and grants for things like kindles and i pads... cool?

Forganics

My brother Ryan was recently on the production team for a documentary about local farmers and eating organic entitled Forganics.  If you have a few minutes check it out, it has been posted to the Garmache website.  I especially like the voice-over work (yeah, that's Ryan!).  I am sure he would not mind if you pass his name along to any movie producers you may know!  Enjoy!



The teaser for "Forganics."  If you follow the link above to the Garmache website, you can watch all five parts of the film.  Ryan says it was made to watch in any order, so after you watch the introduction you can move to any section you want.