isearch worksheet

What do you want to write about?  Education/Teaching

What do you want to find out about your topic?  How has teaching changed since I was in school and where is it heading.  Is teaching really what I want to do.

What are your questions about the topic?

1.  What’s taught in schools now that wasn’t taught when I was in school?

2. What is No Child Left Behind and its role in education?

3.  How big a part does technology play in education now?

4.  What skills will children need to learn in order to function in today’s society?

Subquestions?

1. How has No Child Left Behind changed teachers and teaching.

2. What are the best methods for teaching with today’s technologies?

3.  How do teachers today keep their students interested and motivated to learn?

How does the topic connect to your life?  Don't say 'curious' or 'interesting.'  Or don't stop there anyway...

I plan on becoming a teacher so learning about these things are important since it’s my career of choice.  Also my mother, as well as many other relatives and family friends, are teachers and I’m amazed at their knowledge and skill. They have such an influence on their students and have inspired me to follow in their steps.

Give three reasons you like the topic

1.  It’s information I should know if I’m going to become a teacher when I grow up.

2.  I want to be well prepared for the changes that will be expected of me

3.  So many people in my life that I love and admire are teachers.

Give three ways your life might change if you answer your questions

1.  It can help determine how far I want to go with my education

2.  It may help me decide what grade level and subject I want to teach

3. It may help decide if I’ll even want to be a teacher after learning the answers to my questions.

GRAF #4 [Reaction to advice]

I am by no means an over achiever when it comes to anything in life. I always try and usually succeed at doing my best.  I have attempted college a number of times in the past six years since I have been out of high school, and each time has been a challenge that I failed.  I think it was my third attempt at school that I took an English course online.  There was no advice, there were no examples, and it was less free writing and more specifically assigned topics.  After reading through the advice, I wish I had thought of those things during my previous writing experiences. They not only make the writing process more fun, but I'm noticing that after finishing a piece of writing I can go down the list and find myself adding to or taking away from the piece or sometimes even starting over. It's making it much easier to self edit instead of going instantly to another person for a second opinion and feeling self conscious about the rough draft.

Graf #3 [Inventory]

I do most of my work in my room.   I'm looking around trying to pick something to create an inventory of, and first I think I need to clean my room. Finally I decide to go with one of my bureau drawers.

•               Poster of a tiger from when I liked cats (I prefer dogs these days)
•               Trapper Keeper full of my 8th grade English assignments
•               Birthday cards ranging from my 1st birthday to my 24th
•               Pictures from my 5th grade science class
•               A stuffed bear I received between the age of 5 and 8
•               Tiny spoons with teacups on the handle, which was a gift from when I was 12
•               Notes folded into tiny squares from my entire high school career
•               Notebooks filled with high school class notes
•               "The Baby Blue Cat" children’s books
•               One hot pink sock with black skulls
•               An assortment of dusty candles
•               A drawing pad full of art I drew on a plane when I was 10 on my way home from Australia

What an assortment of memories. At first I was thinking she was a pack rat that can’t throw anything away and heading towards a life of being a hoarder.  However when I continued down the list I saw that it’s things that have been important to her.  To me it seems like junk of course, but she values the idea of "it's the small things that matter." Some of the things are her own creations in life. The art and writings of her adolescent years can remind her how youthful she was, and how big a difference there is between the creativity of a 10 year old and 24 year old. Though this isn’t a big list, I can tell she is a person who cherishes the memories and the things that remind her of the "easier days".

Graf #2 [Worst Teacher]

I can only imagine the thoughts that were flying through her head when I saw that first glare as I walked into her classroom.  "She must be Satan’s girlfriend.  What’s so torturous in a 15-year-old’s life that she would dress like that? Fishnets and army boots!? She must be doing drugs to be wearing so much dark make up. She's probably hiding something." Little did she know I was a normal teenager from a great loving family, a well-rounded group of friends, and had a brain in my skull untouched by any drugs.  I just had a different sense of fashion. At one point in my first year with her, I was having a bad day and spent the morning crying.  The first thing she asked me as she looked into my saddened, blood-shot eyes was if I was high. I had never been so offended in my life. She continued to tease me as every assignment was given. "I bet you will only use red and black and draw images of death and decay.” THIS WAS ART CLASS! This was a place to express myself in anyway I chose.  If I wanted to use only red and black and draw dead things, I could.  But I took pride in breaking the stereotype she had placed me in by creating beautiful pieces that reflected the person I was not the person I looked like.  Not long after that she realized I was not the "Average Goth" and I like to think I amazed her with every new piece my mind had created. By the end of my 4 years in high school that I spent with her she had become a great mentor and close friend.  To this day I know I'm still her favorite student.  She is supportive and is always willing to lend a helping hand in my endeavors.

Graf 1 [Hands]

Here I am, staring at my hands. I'm examining every wrinkle in each knuckle, the length of each finger. I’m looking at the jewelry that’s on them, and my nails that want to grow, but I keep biting down.  I’m thinking of all the things they have done for me over the years.  They've shaken hands with every introduction to a new person.  I've used them to create art.  And over the past few years they've been my greatest asset at my job as bartender.  But I continue thinking and observing them.  I can’t help but wonder what about my hands can tell a story about me?  As I stare long and hard, I notice it’s not how my hands look or what they have already done, it’s the action they're making now.  There's a shake. My hands are displaying my anxiety and excitement of writing for what seems like the first time in years.  They are writing for my future.  I consider myself to have given up on school the moment I graduated high school 6 years ago.  As I'm jumping back into it, I realize that my hands are going to shape and mold me into the career I want and no longer be useful in just a job I have.  They won’t be used JUST to push buttons on a register, or answer a phone, or serve people. My hands are here to serve me in taking this incredible step in my life.  They show me how scared I am to take this step, but they are leading my way to success.