Friday, December 31, 2010

shadows

once, someone pointed out to me, that the closer you get to a source of light, the bigger your shadow gets as well
the closer I get to God, the more apparent it is how much work I have to do.

this is a good parallel, I think.

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

the first words

my ex-boyfriend said when he saw me,
"You look amazing!"

so. gratifying.

education > information via Mr. Green

Mr Green (John Green) provides some much-needed delineation.

information=facts
education=knowing which facts are really the important ones




If you're really in a crunch for time, watch from 0:25 to 0:37 and from 1:40 to 3:07. But, seriously, this man is one of my idols. And you will miss an informative, funny bit about lemmings if you stick to the aforementioned parameters. If you don't have 4 minutes for one of my idols, why are you reading this right now?

I don't want to turn into a fangirl here, but I do want to elaborate on the previously mentioned idolatry. Isaiah thought ancient Israel didn't take it seriously enough, and I don't want to make the same mistake.

John Green is one of the leading authors of YA lit today. He has published Looking for Alaska, An Abundance of Katherines, Paper Towns, and Will Grayson, Will Grayson.

His writing is funny, he catches the teenage voice admirably, and he does not stray far from life, nor its more trying, complicated, undeniably difficult issues--intertwined with more complexity, being heightened by hormones and identity-searching--familiar elements to anyone who has ever been a young adult.  He has a YouTube channel which has so many causes but I will only list my favorite: Don't Forget to be Awesome. He is also a father. A loving father. He waves a flag for enthusiasm and creativity that is impossible to ignore.

That being said, he is one of my idols.

And the need for disambiguation between information and education has never been so needed. Many people think they can teach themselves, and it's true--you can. Good luck. Context, though, is the relevant issue. I think that an ignorant person would say that context is just another group of facts, however true context is not seeing all of the different colors in a rug, but being able to see all of the different shades of red in a tapestry woven of only red threads, seeing which shades outline the pattern. Context gives not only information but importance. It gives someone priorities.

And I think being a teacher, we provide context. We show our classes what are the important facts, because we show them that yes, not only is there a hill right there, but that hill is actually in the middle of the only road to enlightenment, thus it becomes more than 'just' a hill.

Eventually, we teach students how to determine their own context. The context of their lives. What actions/events have meaning, and why. In my paradigm every action has meaning. Will they adhere to this philosophy? Probably not. Until they are on the verge of being 25.

But this process, of learning what facts are important, is education. It's more than facts, more than information. Education is showing someone how to understand what they see. And by teaching them how to recognize the important elements, they are able to change the picture, by changing those key elements. 

Sunday, December 26, 2010

21 Questions

the facebook app
I caved
I found out what people have been answering about me
pretty funny, actually.
however, here are the answers
please stop answering them.
Thanks.

1) Do you think that Betsy Sieber has ever had a crush on you?
--Yes. I probably have.
2) Do you think that Betsy Sieber can eat more than 3 Big Macs at a time?
--I feel like the difference between "could" and "would" is really important here. I totally could. But I never would. 
3) Would you trust Betsy Sieber with your life?
--I do!
4) Do you think that Betsy Sieber is lazy?
--Only a little bit. And this depends on the context. I am a very hardworking would-be English teacher. I am a very lazy America's Next Top Model watcher.
5) Do you think that Betsy Sieber can keep a secret?
--I am as silent as the grave.
6) Do you think that Betsy Sieber smells?
--I actually pride myself on smelling delicious. Every body product I own is delicious smelling. I love smelling like something sweet and happy. I do what I can to make the environment around me as pleasant as possible, and although being a cheerful person is number one on my list, I similarly place "smelling great" under that category. 
7) Do you think that Betsy Sieber is a sore loser?
--One word: Scrabble. And yes. Unless I'm so amazed by your lexicon that I decide to become your protege. In which case, beware, I'm only doing it to strip you of your champion title in the not-too-distant future. 
8) Do you think that Betsy Sieber has ever lied to you?
--Probably not. Unless you count not telling the whole truth. In which case, I probably have.
9) Do you think Betsy Sieber drives too fast?
--Yes.
10) Do you think that Betsy Sieber is a good friend?
--I certainly try to be. If you have a complaint, let me know. It has happened. Usually something along the lines of "I never see you any more." So true. 
11) Do you think that Betsy Sieber is a wannabe?
--I don't think so. I'm really into actually being something. As opposed to just wanting to be it. 
12) Do you think Betsy Sieber was a Dork in high school?
--You bet! I also like that they capitalized "Dork" here. Give us dorks the recognition we deserve: the status of a proper noun. 
13) Do you think that Betsy Sieber is cute?
--I have yet to have someone tell me I am not cute, without replacing it with some other superior adjective, i.e. 'incredible' 'wonderful' or 'amazing.' Which I generally prefer to 'cute.' 
14) Does Betsy Sieber sing in the shower?
--Yes. Undoubtedly.
15) Do you think that Betsy Sieber has ever kissed a guy?
--Ew, kissing. Gross!
16) Do you think that Betsy Sieber can cook?
--I am okay. I have gotten a lot better, and I do love cooking. 
17) Do you think that Betsy Sieber likes chick flicks?
--Chick flicks I love: Runaway Bride, Singing in the Rain, Little Women, Pride and Prejudice.
18) Do you think your first impression of Betsy Sieber was right?
--Maybe.
19) Do you think that Betsy Sieber has ever smoked?
--I have not. Stupid, and smelly. 
20) Do you think that Betsy Sieber has ever failed a class?
--Many.
21) Do you think that Betsy Sieber has game?
--Of course I have game. You must not know 'bout me.



The Sieber House Christmas

1) giant candy bar from grandma
2) family movie night 
3) reading the nativity story
4) singing hymns around the piano
5) youngest gets to open presents first

its the same every year. 

Seeing as Eleanor has been the youngest for 15 years in a row,
you'd think we would have petitioned to change the system.
Truth is, we're just to lazy to get up off the couch. 

(Really? you say I know I reply. we're despicable)

So we just make the youngest bring us our presents.
Maybe it is she who should petition to change the system.

and of course,
family pictures.
















Luke is my favorite.

I love Christmas.
desserts
presents
lights
laughter

and of course
(saying the last should be first)
the emphasis on the birth of Christ.



Saturday, December 25, 2010

merry Christmas

To Christ: Thank you.

As if there were a better reason to celebrate.

I feel like I don't celebrate Christ enough as it is.

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

actually, this song is about me

I got a haircut.
straight-styled











curly









did you know that

Nebraska...
is the birthplace of Arbor day?
the headquarters of Cabela's?
has a museum of military vehicles?
has a Robert Henri museum?
's exit ramps are always lit, and that the exit sign has listed how many miles till the next one?

there is a splendid mural right next to the 24th street exit in Omaha. I wanted to stop and take pictures. It was 5 or six huge towers that looked like they had once been part of a factory (storage facility?) painted with bright colors and designs.

also, there is a wilderness safari you can take right outside of Omaha. I missed it. Life-long regret.

Desoto Iowa, is the birthplace of John Wayne?
there is a 'Silos and Smokestacks National Heritage Area' in Iowa?

fascinating. I love traveling.

illegality

When three sheriff SUV's came roaring down the highway in full police-mode
I passed them a minute or two later (after letting them go by)
they were cornering a semi-truck driver and his associate
the driver was belly-down (he had a big one) on the ground with his hands in the air
and his sidekick had just shot his hands up
I imagined someone had gestured at him with a very persuasive tool
there were actually five semi-trucks pulled over right in a row
I wondered what they were carrying

Thursday, December 16, 2010

finals update

almost there.
one more
tomorrow

the last one.

woo hoo!

personal teaching philosophy

My personal philosophy of teaching comes from a poem by Taylor Mali titled Miracle Workers: All I do is give you what I know you need, before you know you need it. The question then becomes, what do students need to learn most? Organization? Creativity? Coping? Judgement? 

All of these skills can be taught through literature. Although all schooling teaches students to organize, to think critically, to evaluate, to synthesize, and the list goes on--teaching language arts enables students to learn how to express themselves, as well as connect with people around them, while making judgements about the experiences they encounter via text. I teach literature because I want to teach about life; literature and writing are just my vehicles.

First of all we must teach students to connect with our characters by asking questions like: Do you understand this character’s motivation? His or her reasons for acting this way? Do you agree with those reasons? Why or why not? If you opinion differs, why do you think that the character has come to a different conclusion than you? Are their values different than yours? What has influenced their values? What has influenced yours? How does this affect the choices you make? 

This form of questioning is much more intensive than normal processing questions, such as those dealing with plot or characterization--not that plot or characterization aren’t important, which I will deal with later. But by asking our students to connect with a character by evaluating their own life is a necessary skill for their future. If students cannot connect with other people, they will not be effective employees in whatever job they aspire to, not to mention socially disengaged and unsatisfied beings. 


But back to the much-maligned plot structure. Teaching plot structure is important, although not as important as the previously mentioned higher-level thinking strategies. Teaching plot structure implies the teaching of an aesthetic. That is to say, “There is a formula for making something beautiful.” Once we explicate this formula, we first enable students to recognize it, and then we enable them to critique it, and discuss--is one climax in a novel, really the best way to write? Would a certain novel be better if it incorporated more conflict? Or perhaps a different structure than the traditional single climax? These questions illustrate that if we teach students to first recognize and work within a literary structure, we then enable them to work outside of it in an informed and deliberate way. 



This same tactic can be applied to any literary tool. Once students learn a literary tool they are then informed users instead of passive consumers. They can use these cognitive skills in any written or oral forms of communication. 

Who has not succumbed to the movie quote “I’m disinclined to acquiesce to your request” (Pirates of the Carribean: Curse of the Black Pearl). If one understands rhythm and meter, as well as phonetics, it is easy to break down this simple selection and see why it is so appealing: The stress on each of the lines is the same, “I’m disinclined to acquiesce to your request.”  Here is the pattern: un stress un un/ un stress un un/ un stress un un. There is also a leading string of similarity between the syllables of  dis and inclined, the hard k sound in clined/ac  and the last pairing is between qui in ‘acquiesce’ and ‘request,’ not to mention the near-rhyme at the end between ‘acquiesce’ and ‘request’ as well. 

Before you learn those patterns, a student could simply remember it as a good quote from a movie. But after a student learns about rhythm, and stress in poetry, and studies the effect of phonetics and repetition on writing that makes it memorable, they are able to realize that they can use these same tactics in their own writing.

These skills are important--analyzing the aesthetic--because they allow students to foster their own creativity. Instead of teaching students to mimic the accepted forms of communication, I would like to teach them to break down that communication and take the good parts, but leave the ineffective parts. This “take it if it works for you; leave it if it doesn’t” strategy promotes a shift in culture, where only the most effective methods for communicating survive.

Overall the parallels between skills you use in an english classroom, and the skills you use generally in a creative and professional life are undeniable. Learning how to evaluate people, to connect with them, to analyze your own experience, to understand a set pattern, and to then critique that pattern, to see if it is the most appropriate avenue for you to reach your communicative goals--which of these skills cannot be used in business, performing arts, education or science? Each of these professions clearly needs the abilities one first learns in a well-taught language arts classroom. Other classes may teach organizational ability, and some evaluative skills, but in literature, because our text is life and life’s challenges as written about by the human, we prepare students to connect, understand, and shift their actions to accommodate new situations.


**written for my final in "Teaching Literature and Reading"

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

finals

Monday: Prepped for one, finished one.
Bed: 1:30am
Tuesday
Awake: 6:00am
Final at 8am
flying colors
9am library
type up essay for 378
review classmate's excellently noted study guide
there's no way I can do a better job than she has
I'm embarrassed to send back my own
when  its clear she has so much already
11am
food/nap

final at 2:30

then I only have one more
its my hardest

Sunday, December 12, 2010

things you might not know

about me:
1) i love drinking out of mason jars
2) my mom told me we have big feet because we are norwegian, but then i met a norwegian once and i found out that it wasn't true. they have small feet. i inquired.

that's all.

dietary concerns

A: So my sister has this big tub of candy on her desk and I was doing observations in her classroom yesterday, so guess what I had for lunch?
L: Candy?
A: Candy. What did I have for dinner?
Pizza.
What did I have for lunch today?
A fruit snack.

(Later in the class)

A: Oh, i forgot to tell you, that two nights ago
I had barbecue chips for dinner.

L: How many barbecue chips?

Thursday, December 2, 2010

I am doing fine

I realize these last posts have kind of been downers,  and preoccupied with romance (but then again, what is new?). Sorry about that.

Betsy's current state:
Shoes: I have reticently returned to the skater shoes of 15-year-old-adolescents due to the snow and the fact that none of my professional, trendy, cute flats are waterproof. Fashion industry, how I loathe thee.
Face: I have lately started wearing makeup every day. Why? I don't know. Oh wait--I like looking pretty. Although, I overheard one of my friends say "I think sometimes girls confuse makeup with prettiness," the other day and it blew my mind. I may be changing my habits.
Brain: Worn out, above par. That is to say, my brain is still above par, although it feels worn out. Finals--I promise, I too shall pass.
Church: Joseph Smith was a prophet of God who restored the full and complete gospel of Jesus Christ to the earth. He translated The Book of Mormon, a collection of scriptures from ancient America. It is truly the writings of prophets and apostles on the American continent. I know that Jesus Christ died, in order to grant me the opportunity to live with God again. God knows me individually, in the very specific and real sense.
Friends: I hate it when friends leave. It is hard.
Roommates: Awesome.
Major: Exhilarating. I love it.
Health: Happy, with a large helping of cheese pizza. Little Caesars is too close for self-control.
Music: Glee. I just can't get away.

Prince Philip

One of my friends took that silly quiz "What Disney Prince Is Right For You?!!!" Yes, Every Word Was Capitalized, And There Were Three Exclamation Points!!!

I usually don't bother with such things, because I think they are hokum. And ridiculous.
(Like I need any more time spent thinking about frogs and kissing. Or princes--I hear it turns out that way sometimes.)

I think all those quizzes are a waste of time. Quizzes aren't going to tell you about your life, facebook addicts. The fact that you are taking quizzes on facebook probably says a whole lot more about your life than that quiz ever will.  Not that one or two just for fun are too bad (What Basement Babe Are You?).

I read her headline though. Discussing the prince who was "Right For Her."


"Prince Philip--He would do anything for you. In fact, he probably already has."


Which caused me to think about what things I have done? For the (pardon the cheese) prince that's right for me? Cultivate healthy relationships. Be awesome. Expand my vocabulary so our children will be smart. Minimize my wardrobe so we have less to move. Read. Give up meat (even though I don't know if he will appreciate that). 


It is comforting to think about, the idea that someone is changing their life in anticipation of the event that will be me coming into his life. The glorious event. And knowing the kind of person I am, I think he is preparing now. Good luck, my dear friend. I don't know what you can really do, except to be as righteous as you can be. I mean, that is what I am trying...like I said, good luck. And thanks, in advance. 



more fluent: the gradient as opposed to the lack of achievement

"I promise I'll be more fluent tomorrow,"

one student said, his presentation in Spanish interrupted by the bell. 

Fluency. Isn't fluent something you either are or you're not? It is something you have reached, or you haven't. Instead of a spectrum. 

The way this student used it though, it was like he thought that it was a spectrum. But you can't be partially fluent, right? The whole connotation of fluent is that you've got it, you are completely competent in that arena. I think we misuse it when we say that someone is more fluent than we are, or we assign levels of fluency. But the very fact that the word 'fluency' (the degree to which one is fluent) exists DOES imply that there is a spectrum. 

Sometimes I don't realize that I could be on a spectrum, instead of just failing.