Marijuana anyone?

Ok, so some of you may be waiting for me to write about my experience with confiscating Marijuana from a kid. Well, here is the story: I opened my door to the classroom to let everyone in, and all of a sudden I smelled a skunk. However, that skunk smell went away so I realized the smell was pot. So, I sweetly went up to the front of the room and said, "When I opened the door it smelled like pot, so I don't care who it is or why you have it but I strongly suggest you get rid of it." This kid in the back started laughing and said, "I'm sorry" and threw it in the trash... hahahahah CLASSIC. I didn't know he would have actually thrown it away.. it was funny!

Electoral College

Ok... so today I studied the Electoral College. For some of you this may be a relatively easy concept to comprehend. For me, it poses a bit more of a challenge. I can still remember my Senior year of High School when this lovely voting concept was being taught to me and my very thought being, "This guy is talking and I'm pretty sure my brain is supposed to understand the words however, my brain is rejecting the words." So with that been said I thought hey 5 1/2 years later I would now understand it... hmmm I thought wrong. So after about a half hour of diligent reading and research, and 2 phone calls to a friend and husband who are passionate about History... I think I now have the concept. So this is MY understanding of the Electoral College for all of you who may not know what the crud that is. (Please note this is MY understanding)...

The Electoral College is the USA's standard of voting. So each state has a certain number of Electoral votes. California for example has 55. Each of those votes are split up into "districts." So, the popular votes are counted and put into one of the "districts" based on where you live. So La Mirada is in the (30th District). With that information I can deduce that my "popular vote" goes towards the 30th district in California. If my District decides to vote Republican then there will be 1 of 55 Republican "electoral votes" for California. If my District decides to vote Democratic then there will be 1 of 55 Democratic "electoral votes" for California. A Candidate wins a State by receiving the most "electoral votes" Whew... and there you go!

Navajo Code Talkers!

Ok, so fun History fact for today: During WWII 400 Navajo Indians served in the War for the U.S. using their language to transmit information back and forth to Generals, because no one else in the world knew the language. They were a vital part to the U.S. winning WWII.

Study, Study, and more Studying

So.. it's Friday morning the end of my "Spring Break," and all I have done so far is STUDY! Oh the joys of trying to teach! So with this studying I have learned a lot about our History, and how it affects us today! One thing interesting I learned through this audacious studying time is that; the U.S. acquired it's political ideals from two main things: John Locke, and the Greeks! Being the ignorant History student (up until now I might add) I thought the Founding Fathers came up with "democracy" all on their own. So here is to you John Locke and Greeks, thanks for helping to establish our Country!

Teaching

Teaching has been a passion of mine for about 3 years now! In college I majored in Psychology/Counseling. I really enjoyed my classes and thought God had me pursuing Counseling at the professional level. Sometimes what we think and God thinks are two very different things!

The summer of my Sophomore year of College I stayed in La Mirada so I could work and save for the next year. I happened to find roomates who were ALL teachers! One of them mentioned Subbing for the next 2 years because of my background in Counseling. Thus began my journey. I looked into subbing, interviewed, and went into my first classroom (sweating). I LOVED it... I got to impact kids in a way only few people (teachers) can ever fully comprehend. So I spent the next 2 years subbing. Then when I graduated I received the opportunity to teach as a long term sub at Corvallis Middle School! I was teaching 7th grade LA... The students at this school challenged me to be a better teacher, and better person. It was from this experience I came to understand and realize God had me teaching!

In November I began my journey of praying and thinking about a program called, "Teach for America." It took about 5 months of interviews, paper work, and patience. Finally... in March I found out I was accepted, and I would be teaching Special Education in Los Angeles!!!!

I will be going through 6 weeks of INTENSE training starting in June this summer... pending I pass my CSET in Social Studies... if I don't pass I will be starting June 2011... so please be praying about the test on May 8th! I am currently studying about 5 hours a day, and learning VERY interesting facts about History I never knew.

Thank you for embarking on this journey with me! Updates to follow!