Advice Column

Dear Ricardo,

So today I found out that one of my friends is a racist. Well, okay, she isn't actually racist, but her dad is, and she has heard a whole bunch of racist things all her life, and well, I think she is racist. Do you have any advice as to how to deal with a tense situation like this? Thanks, and love the column!

Sincerely,
Middle name is "Nervous", wish it was "Danger"

Dear Nervous,

So you are in a tense situation huh? You think your friend is racist, but your not really sure? Sure, I have some advice for you. Tell your friend that you guys are going to roadtrip down to Disney World! Then while you guys are driving through Georgia, kick her out at some corner in Atlanta and see what she does. You will know if she really is racist when she has some "sista" staring her down! Nah, I'm just kidding. You want to know the truth? The best way to deal with a situation like this is to just be open and honest with each other. People are always trying to figure out how to get around the issues they have with other people when the best way to deal with them is to always sit down and have that serious heart-to-heart talk with them. If they are truly your friend they will listen to you with open ears, and answer all of your questions honestly. Then when it is over you guys can either go back to being friends, or you will have all the information you need to make a tough decision. That is probably not the answer you are looking for, but it is the truth. Good Luck!

Your friend,
Ricardo

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Day Four

So this weekend was pretty good. Still a little bit boring, and still relaxing but good nonetheless. I finally got my car which is friggen fantastic. Life has not always been the kindest to me, and so to be able to finally get my car and start driving around and have the ability to go places is like I moved up 4 rungs on the life ladder. I did get into a little trouble yesterday though. I had my first little minor accident. It wasn't even bad at all. I was driving through downtown Farmington, and I looked away for a second, and BAM! bumped into the car in front of me. I am pretty amazed that her car walked away unscathed as it was so small, and my car is so big, but I guess that is just the blessing I get to enjoy by driving like I am 70 years old. I will not die in a car. I am determined of that. The accident was a good life lesson though. It definitely taught me that you always have to keep your eyes on the road. You never know when something could stop or run out in front of you! Now I just gotta start re-saving for the summer. Hopefully I will be able to have a better, more fun summer than the ones I have had in the past. I so want to go on a roadtrip. That is my ultimate goal. It will be interesting to see if I get there.

Part Three

So today has pretty much sucked. I would have loved to have been able to go to my classes today, and keep gaining knowledge on how to become an effective classroom teacher, but unfortunately I started feeling sick late last night, and when I woke up this morning I was in FluVille, population: ME! I guess I didn't really mind being sick, I am just irked by the fact that I had to cancel going to school today. It did give me the opportunity to do two things though! First, I got to rediscover my love for Law and Order by having a mini-SVU marathon this afternoon! Secondly, I got to do some work, and it looks like I might only have a few things to do this weekend, which is always nice. :) Well, lets go see if I can get some food down, and I will give ya the results tomorrow. PEACE!

Part Deuce

So, Today was pretty interesting as I finally got to engage with the students some. I know that it is my mentor's teacher classroom, and that my main job is to learn right now, but I am just really ready to get into a classroom, take control of it, and teach the students what I think is important to teach them. Part of that has to do with already having been out into the real world, and knowing what life is really like and the other part is that I am just very over eager about certain things. So, yeah, I finally got to do something with the kids, and WOW! We had a great discussion about racism and prejudice, and the legal system. First, let me just say that I was very impressed with how eager most of the students were to express their opinions. Of course, there were a few kids who just lazed around, and weren't really interested in participating, but I guess you have those kids in every class. The main thing I learned though was how to defuse a pretty intense situation. One of the girls actually admitted to being raised by a racist father! I was pretty happy to have my mentor teacher with me on that one because I don't know what I would have done in that situation. I am definitely not ready for something like that. Beth was there to see it, and see kept saying to me how much she wanted to jump in on the activity. Yeah, I think my informal observation went well. Oh, and it did! Two pats on the back for me and finally being able to speak up!

Day One

Alright, so a couple of things to get out of the way right off the bat. Am I nervous/scared to be a teacher? Hell Yes I am! I think what scares me the most is that I don't know if I am good enough to do it. Like, I think I know my content area. I love English. I think it is the most fun that I had in High School, and it is obviously the subject that I excelled in after being put in AP classes for my sophomore, junior, and senior year. Also, despite the fact that I always destroy my chances of ever finishing a story, I do enjoy writing a great deal. So, I know the passion for the subject is there, and I know I have the ability to teach it, but, I don't know if I have the knowledge to teach it. For example, I was given a list of Literary Terms to put into some kind of document that we could handout to the kids. I also was given the task to put these Terms into some sort of Jeopardy game that the kids could play. Side Note: I think that this is an awesome idea, and I can't wait to play the game with them. Anytime you can take the subject, and turn it into a competition, do it! People always do better at anything when they are competing. It is human nature. Nobody wants to be last. Anyways, back on track, I was given these terms to use, and I was looking at the list, and I didn't know a couple of them myself. Now I know that doesn't automatically make me a bad teacher, and I know I still have time to learn about the things that I don't know, and heck, I know that even if I don't know it, and I am unable to give my students answers right away, it is not the end of the world. It just makes me nervous though. Despite all that, I am still nervous. Is that normal? I am told by my professors that it is, but then I look around me, and people know all the names of their students, and they are comfortable, and I am not like that right now. I don't know anybody right now. Part of that has to do with the fact that I am bad with names, but is part of it because I might not be right for teaching? I don't know right now, but I think it is about time I find out.