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Reflection

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If you told me two years ago that I would be teaching ESL in a high school setting, I would have rolled my eyes and told you that you were crazy. High school had always been my thing, but anywhere in the Secondary  English Language Arts world was my ultimate goal. I grew up with a love for reading and writing. I had a healthy appetite for books and stories. I even kept a journal full of my deepest darkest secrets with a lock. That locked got picked from time to time by my brother and his delinquent friends but that never swayed my dreams of someday becoming a teacher. But sometimes life just doesn’t go as planned and I honestly happy that I choose to accept my position as a level 4 esl teacher. And now my lofty dreams aren’t anything I long for anymore. I love my students and the work we do. Seeing them acquire language and their growth throughout the academic year is truly amazing and rewarding. I love my job, but a problem I have is how in certain classes my students bec
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My Website

Here is a link to my website, it is still in process: CHSE ESL DEPT Resource Website
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pecha kucha: SUPPORTING COLLEAGUES USING WIX

SUPPORTING COLLEAGUES USING WIX
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Turkle & Wesch

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Wesch is an advocate for allowing students to find a genuine meaning in their education. The idea of students doing just enough to pass, or memorizing only what they will be tested on is not a new phenomenon. Honestly, I get frustrated when my students ask questions like, "Will this be on the quiz?" or "Can't you just tell us which words to study?", but then I remember my own experiences as a high school student and how I am guilty of the same thing. It's not that they are bad teenagers or students, but they have been conditioned to learn in this way- and I think Wesch would agree. While Wesch's idea of allowing students the opportunity to find meaning in their education in their own way through technology, that can be hard in a high school setting. The process can be time consuming and while I am lucky enough to have a lot of flexibility with my curriculum, my students already loose SO much class time to NECAP, PARCC, and ESL ACCESS mandated testing
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Gender Roles & Cookie Monster

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In our group we decided to push back against the idea that Cookie Monster has to be a boy. It all started with the idea that Cookie is blue and has a deep voice so he must be a boy! So we used a variety of materials to create a gender neutral Cookie Monster. We stereotypical gender norm props, fabrics, physical features and colors. So Cookie Monster has a flower in one hand and a weapon in the other. Blue fur, pink fur, and long eyelashes. A tin foil cape with a tulle collar. 
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WIX: How To

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I am fairly familiar with the website builder tool WIX because the technology teachers at my school use it with their students. I’ve never built my own website before using any type website builder/creator, but I have been wanting to create a website to share with my colleagues in order to support differentiation, modification, and support our ESL students. Here is my visual and textual journey using WIX: First thing you have to do is sign up. It’s free (unless you want to pay for premium content, but in my opinion it isn’t necessary). All you need is a valid email: Once you are signed in you are ready to create, you don’t need to download any applications, so as long as you remember your login information you can access your website from any device. After you sign in you will have two options Artificial Design (ADI) or Wix Editor: The ADI option uses " artificial intelligence" to create a website for you. They design a website for you based on an pe
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Blog #4: All things Disney

What is your relationship to Disney and animated children’s culture?  What role did these texts play in your life as a child, if any? In that of any children you share time with? How do your memories challenge or reflect Christensen’s claims? How does Frozen meet or challenge your memories of princess culture? I grew up loving everything Disney and other popular animated movies/TV shows. Besides owning practically every Disney movie on VHS, I also owned and enjoyed cartoons like Fern Gully, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Gargoyles. There was no bias when it came to cartoons for me! I loved watching  princess movies (Little Mermaid was a personal favorite) but I never wished to pursue a career as a princess. I would have much rather play basketball with my older brother, but I do admit that at some point I probably planned to find a Prince Charming of my own.  Another thins from tonights reading that was a valid point is the blatant racist depictions of non-white characters. Th
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