Giving Up

As I was growing up I learned that some things I had to give up. I gave up locking mean boys in a box since all it got me was expelled from kindergarten only a few weeks into my first year of school (1st grade at a different school turned out better, no boys).  I gave up hoping someone else would get up and feed my horse before I had to be in class. I gave up trying to launch metal trash cans into space with one of my siblings on top (I used my sisters' dolls instead). I gave up eating an entire box of graham crackers in one sitting (now I just eat a sleeve). I gave up thinking I was going to get sleep when my sons were babies (sleep is overrated).

There are two things I haven't given up. 

The first is going to concerts. My brother wanted to go to a concert but in order to go he had to take one of his sisters (there are 6 girls in my family) he took me because he knew I'd keep my mouth shut, I was 10 years old. I fell in love with going to concerts that night.  The music, the noise, the people, everything was magic. I have never given up going to concerts.  I'm going to be that 90 year old lady still yelling at the top of my lungs at concerts.  This past Thursday we went to the VBC to see Hunter Hays, it was great.

The other thing I didn't give up on was working on this class.

This week we had to:

1. Create and present a lesson on one of the assigned partnering pedagogy.  Emily, Betsy and I were assigned Project-based learning.

2.The BrainShark torture.

3. Create a lesson plan of our own.

4. Do a Wimba, that didn't work.

The fourth requirement we ended-up doing in a totally new group hug software in the blackboard.  It took us an hour just to figure it out and even then it wasn't 100% right.  I never could see the slides I had.  We all stayed connected by way of our phones because I couldn't hear them through the computer, but they could hear me.  We did the recording and once Betsy stopped recording we cheered and laughed, it was over.

Of all the students that started with us, there were only four of us that never gave up, in spite of the fact that all of us wanted to. The fourth person had to take an incomplete but she'll get it completed, she was not a quitter either. Even better our teacher never gave up on us.

It hasn't been easy, but come H - E-double hockey sticks or high water, I was not going to let some software program beat me. I still have 5 more classes until I have met the requirements for a minor in Technology Education but I'll get there. 

The best part of the class was gaining Emily as a friend.  I don't tend to make a lot of friends at ASU since most of the students were younger than my sons but I've made a few and Emily has been added to that list.  She and I will be taking Curriculum Integration of Technology for Elementary Learners this summer.

The only thing I'll have left to complete for this class once I post this weeks blog is the final exam, so I think that warrants a short song.

The song is about bullying, I wish it wasn't such a terrible occurrences that singer-songwriters feel they need to expose the problem but I'm also glad Hunter Hays has stepped up and voiced how hurtful bullying is. The link below the photo will take you to the song.

'Invisible' by Hunter Hayes