Mock Interviews

I dreaded the day of the mock interviews. I always get so tongue tied and lose my train of thought. Also it doesn't help that o'm shy...I know, I may not appear to by shy but I'm horrified of talking in front of people! The interview didn't go so bad, we'll then again that's my pov. I think its a great way to get accustomed to speaking in front of people and answering hard, but important questions. I think it was a great benefit to the class. Minnie, though it was a great experience and I helped her practice a bit. SHe was a bit nervous, and I told her that's OK. The class was good, I did learn some things I didn't know so that's always great.

Chapter 6

This was a great chapter and a real eye-opener. A lot of people, including myself find it difficult to make choices. I, myself am always analyzing and reanalyzing things. I really though about what Professor B, said in the beginning of class with his 5 tips about letting go of shame and its ok to have more than one goal. So i thought to myself, sometimes you make choices that may not be exactly right, but it's ok. You live and learn and with the next decision your better prepared.
I chose to do activity 6.2 which entails making a plan.
It was a tad difficult for me because i sometimes fly by the seat of my pants! I'm not a big planner but after doing this activity i can see how it would be helpful. Also, being a teacher your days are pretty planned, students need to be taught certain things at certain times and although i don't fully agree with it, it is the way things are. I think having some form of plan is good, but always allow for some wiggle room.

Chapter 5

This chapter was about all the different ways one can gather information regarding four year schools and graduate schools. I believe I'm pretty well-versed in obtaining information. I have already decided on a four year school for my Bachelor's but have been on the fence as to where to get my Master's from. The college comparison activity was great in helping me narrow down the choices. Over the next few weeks I'll try to do some more in depth research about the 3 colleges I am thinking about going to.

Chapter 3

This chapter was a big help in confirming my hunch. I guess I always knew I wanted to be a teacher but never thought it was the right career choice for me. All through high school and even up to my first semester of college I thought making money was the most importan thing. I know so much more now and money does not lead to happiness.

The Campbell work orientations further confirmed I should be a teacher. After answering a few questions I found that, I like to help people...a lot! I also love being able to influence people to better themselves down the road. I think this ties in greatly to being a teacher. I'm not much of an analyzer so I would stay away from careers that dealt with numbers and charts!

The Portable Skills Profile was a breeze to take!
I find myself to have excellent interpersonal skills, I can talk to anyone and am very easy to get along with. My interpersonal skills tie in with my communication skills. I can get my point across very easily and professionally.

This chapter was very helpful to me in pointing out I could make it as a teacher with the skills and knowledge I have currently and showing me where I need improvement.

Class of 07/01/2010

How can blogs help people?
By sharing information with them in a supportive and useful way.
Why write a blog?
The subject matter that is interesting to one might also be interesting to someone else.
How does the blog postinbg help expand your knownledge?
How does it make you feel?
Responding to a blog can be a little tricky...
A good blog response...
...does not make your classmates cry...according to Colin, but it should offer constructive criticism.
...Expresses gratitude when information is useful/interesting/entertaining
...Points of comparisons and contrasts to you understanding

These are really good tips to for creating a blog and I hope through my blog, I'll help people find answers to some of the same questions I have been pondering over.

After watching the video Frontline: College, Inc I had mixed emotions. I felt bad for those people who got heavily invested with some of these "higher education" institutions and, found in the end they were still stuck in the same position. Some of the students had no or really bad jobs and student loans in the excess of hundreds of thousand of dollars! This is sad, they are fighting with collection agencies and still struggle to become something in society. On the other hand some people did really well. I then begin to wonder if the motivation or circumstances were different for one student over the other and of course the answer is yes. Everyone is not on the same playing field. Some people go into "for-profit" schools because traditonal schools cannot accomodate their work schedules and have no choice but to attend online schools. Sometimes these people get caught up with thinking it's a quick fix and don't see how bad they can be. I have a friend who attended the University of Phoenix and he found it to be very demanding online, sometimes he felt as though he was on his own. In actuality he was on his own. He was repsonsible for a lot of the coursework and would have preferred being in a traditional school, face to face with students and professors. He graduated with a degree in business but is not currently working.

There should be a lot being considered in choosing a college such as :

- Determing an area of interest and looking for school that offer it.
- Develop a list of attributes you want your potential college to have such a: teacher-student ratio, cost per semester, campus resources ( labs and libraries), Student body - is the school diverse or not?, graduation rates.
- Make a list of possible schools you might want to attend.
- Cut the list down to a size you can handle.
- Visit the colleges if possible and feel out the atmosphere...can you spend your time there? do you feel comfortable?
- Talk to your family get their imput and advice regarding finacial aid and pricing
- Start the application process to the school you really like and can see yourself at.
The list goes on but these things can really help weeding out the good, bad and the ugly!

I'm already in college so the video really didn't affect my decision.

Chapter 2 Activities

The activities in chapter 2 that I completed were helpful in determining what I saw as successful. In one activity I chose to write about my brother who I saw as a success. He is smart and personable with a good work ethic. These are skills I find to be important in getting ahead in life. I want to persue a career in teaching and having skills like being personable and understanding will help me better help my students. Money is not really something that would make me necessarily happy so I don't put too much emphasis on that. I would be very much content doing something I love. I learned a lot from this activity such as what i consider to be important.
I like our "speed dating" activity, I found it very refreshing and a great way to meet new people.

Myers-Briggs

A mother-daughter team, making up test about people personalities...pretty cool. So I took the test and it actually steered me into the career I'm trying to pursue. I thought that was eerie. I really should have took this test a long time ago. I spent a lot of time trying to figure out what i wanted to do. If I only knew there was a test. On the Myers-Briggs test my personality type is ENFJ. ENFJ's are people who like assuming the responsibility of others. That is exactly me! i can;'t help it but I love seeing people happy and taking care of them. One of the careers that came out of my personality test is in teaching which is what I want to do so that made a lot of sense to me. I mean why not take care of the minds of our future generation and teach them about history and how it is so important to the present. ENFJ means extraversion - intuition - feeling-judging.
Extravert
I am energized through contact with others and action oriented. I;m not always loud and outspoken though.
iNtuition
I often over speculate and always imagine the future. My intuition sometimes leads me into trouble because I tend to move too quickly before taking everything in. I do like detail and being precise, which is different from most people who rely on their intuition.
Feeling
I am so easily influenced by the feelings of others. I can't stand seeing people cry without me joining in...damn tears!
Judging
It does describe me somewhat, i do plan but sometimes, it's late planning. I do respect deadline...except when it comes to writing papers! ha ha

Some famous ENfJ's are - Oprah, Prez Obama, Abe Lincoln, Michael Jordan...I keep good company!

CEP 121

First off I was mad I had to take this class. Especially since I work already. What do I need to know about professional advancement? After finding out the course description I think, after all it might just be useful...I guess only time will tell. The first 2 chapters of the book are about exploring career options and personality types. I can see how personality tests can be useful in picking a career. It is something you invest time in, so might as well like it. Chapter 2 is interesting. The Meyers-Briggs test is actually pretty accurate, that is when it comes to me. I thought, when I was younger I wanted to be in business and make a lot of money. After graduating from high school, I surely did not want to spend time in school...especially for business. I hated it...should have took that test!