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Name: Anna
Interests: alphabetizing, baking bread, camping, dances of the middle school variety, early mornings, fires, going to Rapid, helping friends, ice cream, jumping around my apartment, kite flying, learning, movies on netflix, new places, organization, planning my life, quitting bad habits, reading, spelling words correctly, teaching, understanding crazy people, vying for attention, wishing for nearby targets, x's and o's on a game plan, young people, and zeroing in on the target
Message: message me
AIM:  adibs92
Member Since:
4/14/2003
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| I'm moving my blog to a new site:
adibley.wordpress.com
I've still got some work to make it look right, but I hope it will look nicer and offer me more flexibility.
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| I love visiting home, but it does present it's problems.
Trying to see everyone I want to see while still having a relaxing weekend, and not running all over creation is a fine art which I have yet to master.
In the SoDak social scene there is one event going on, and I can count on all my friends attending. | | |
| It requires all Americans to realize that your dreams do not have to come at the expense of my dreams; that investing in the health, welfare, and education of black and brown and white children will ultimately help all of America prosper.
In the end, then, what is called for is nothing more, and nothing less, than what all the world's great religions demand - that we do unto others as we would have them do unto us. Let us be our brother's keeper, Scripture tells us. Let us be our sister's keeper. Let us find that common stake we all have in one another, and let our politics reflect that spirit as well.
-Obama
Over the summer I had a long conversation with a friend about Teach For America. One of the main criticisms she had about the program was that she felt some people join TFA not because they really want to be teachers, but because they have political aspirations and feel that it will look good on a resume.
"That's what I love about you, Anna", she said, "it's not about politics for you, it's about the students".
"Yeah", I said, and was instantly confused.
Because it is about teaching for me, but what I do is in many ways inseparable from a political act. And while it's not my main motivation - it's not what I think about as I walk through the mud in the morning, or answer questions, or plan lessons from my couch at night - it is an essential part of teaching in the community that I teach in.
It's not something I've figured out by any means, but it is something that has been coming up a lot lately both because it's an election year, and because I've been thinking a lot about where I'll be after South Dakota.
Continuing in the vein of pointing you towards my friends who are better writers than me, Marion did a great job of researching the views of many of the presidential candidates when thinking about issues that affect our students. You can find that here if you're interested.
http://marionkatz.blogspot.com/2008/03/candidates-and-indians.html
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| The tally of kids who have accidently called me Mom is up to 2. | | |
| College feels like so many years ago.
This spring I am taking part in a professional development opportunity paid for by a grant through Dakota Assets called TakeOne. It allows teachers to submit just 1 out of the 4 submissions required to become certified by the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards. As part of the program I am also matched with a South Dakota National Board certified teacher to be my mentor through this process. My mentor is so awesome.
While this is a really great opportunity, it means that I am spending my precious Friday night writing my paper so that I can send a draft to my mentor by tomorrow to provide feedback on.
If you ever read my blog when I was in college you may remember a little something I liked to call a paper blog. Basically I would update my blog throughout the night with page counts, favorite quotes, observations about other people in the computer lab, information about the music I was listening to or what I was doing to avoid writing. This one will be abbreviated, but still gives me an opportunity to take a break from discussing why I chose to have my students share their opinions on how the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is or is not similar to the conflict over land between Native American tribes and the United States government.
4:15 - Started my paper
6:15 - Shannon came over to have a work party because she awesomely also works on Friday nights
6:45 - I switched from The Hold Steady to Andrew Bird and thought about my brother's great taste in music and my great taste in brothers.
8:59 - I have approximately 8 pages written and I am so bored with it. I'm seriously thinking of taking one of my student's up on their offer to write half my paper.
9:56 - I'm rewatching the video for my entry, and it is so funny.
me: M can you move over here, and S, if you could sit up in just one chair that would be great.
S: I'll try, it's hard.
me: Well, use your ab muscles.
11:39 - I might be done for the night. I'm four pages over and need to do some serious editing.
Tomorrow morning is breakfast at Shannon's house and then studying until we take the Praxis PLT in the afternoon. I know, I live an exciting life. | | |
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