Tuesday, August 18, 2009

SUMMER IS DONE!!!

Ah yes...Summer school has LET OUT!!!

What does that mean? Mad scramble for a real job. EEP! Holla atcha girl if you know ANYTHING in the NYC area =) Thanks for lookin out!

I'm a free agent!!! But bills are piling up. You know how it is. Will work to get out of the house.

Siigh but yea. Summer is done. I've more or less taught a whole year's curriculum in 6 weeks. 6 weeks. 33 days. So we didn't do a LOT of reinforcing of the information and I couldn't help every child individually but I think I covered a lot and they learned a lot considering the time constraint. I wonder how it is possible that teachers have 6 times as much time with these kids and most don't seem to be doing THAT much more than what I have with them!

AGHHHHHHH what's going ON?!

I'm no expert, obviously. But I've spoken to the licensed public school teachers that teach with me at the tutoring center and I've spoken to my boss who has seen a decade's worth of kids come and go at her company. The kids seem to start at lower and lower reading and math levels. The kids seem increasingly less able to do any critical thinking. Don't get me wrong. It's not like bright kids aren't still out there. They blow us away and blow the rest of the class out of the water. But they are so few and far in between.

It seems old school methods and curricula worked. Then for whatever reasons (I can take a stab at a few but I won't) the school system decides that we need to have one big ol' cookie cutter method that aims at personalizing education to each child. But in the end, children get lost in the shuffle because a teacher can only do so much for each individual child one at a time. It's a good theory. But like communism, just doesn't work so well in reality.

All this griping about the underachieving kids being lost in the shuffle, but what about the kids that are at the tops of the class? Does anyone really pay attention to them anymore? Take a look at this vid my best friend made at work:

Fun Fact Friday! - Waiting.... from Education Gadfly on Vimeo.



By the way, all the smarty pants play-doh kid did that put itself ahead of the class was FACE THE RIGHT WAY!!! LOL did anyone else notice the underachievers weren't facing forward? How true is that in real life? Very much mirrored in a real classroom. HAHAHA

Not to pat myself on the back, but I was one of those kids. I didn't always feel like I was being held back because my mom always pushed me to my limits with outside tutoring that taught way beyond the regular school curriculum. But there were many times in elementary and middle school where I felt the homework and classwork (at least for math) was SO mundane and frustratingly slow.

That was then. It seems it's worse now. What can we do to promote and provide top notch education for EVERYONE in the class?



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Monday, August 17, 2009

Chew on This: Rethinking Your Job Search

Do you practically LIVE online? Order food online? Find dates online? Even...Job Search Online?

STOP IT!!



Applying online can actually HURT your job search!!! According to this article, Search Engine Marketing only makes up 3% of hires!

What were the most effective methods of getting hired?
Referrals and face-to-face interactions/networking!

"Online can be a great starting point, but that face-to-face communication has to take place. Someone has to know about you, and know your story. I like to say it's not who you know, but who knows you."

Employers particularly like hiring via their current employees; Ever wonder why no matter WHERE you're applying (McDonald's included) there is always a line asking if you know someone who is currently employed there? Now you know...

This bias in favor of personal referral is huge[...]About one-third makes a hire for every four referrals, another third makes a hire for every 10 referrals. So instead of competing with hundreds of candidates, most of those with a personal connection are competing with a handful!

Using technology in your job search isn't all bad though!

Anyone can marry online and offline resources to maximum effect, says Crispin. "With Facebook, LinkedIn, my college alumni association, and my professional associations like SHRM, which has a member directory, there's no company I can't get an employee referral to inside of an hour." Current employees win kudos for referring a new hire, so as long as a candidate is sane and presentable, they're usually willing to do it.

Use your internet skillz wisely! Set up a networking coffee meeting with that graduate two or three years older than you through myspace. Tweet with a current employee! Do what it takes but get that personal reference!

Good luck readers! Hope this helps!





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Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Leave Your F*cking Phone On

Classic story...never gets old...


Man backpacks through Europe for 2 weeks...girlfriend FORGETS he's leaving...girlfriends many attempts to get in touch with him during his trip!

<
Really busy at work today (too busy to make a real post) so I'll leave you with this diddy for today. Planning on posting on the coonery of Real Housewives of Atlanta shortly (I will be doing extensive research and forcing myself to sit through the train-wreck). :)

<3
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Monday, August 10, 2009

Baggage

There's too much baggage on my shoulders. It's digging into me and fast.

Is it strange that emotional baggage can become a crutch? The person I feud with the most just came to me asking me to put everything out on the table. I know, or suspect however, that if I divulged the reasons for my persistent bitterness & conflict, that person's world would come crashing down (...that is, if they actually listened to and received what I was saying).

I pray so often that our relationship would get better, but everyday I'm reminded of why I feel so negatively. Whether it's the cold past, the past fused with the present obliviousness, or the expectation that the future will be more of the same...I don't know. I just can't seem to get to where I need to be with this person - a positive place. And after years of being so internally angry, I actually fear what an open and positive relationship would be like. Bitterness has become my terrible comfort zone.

Well, I realized today that I hold the key to making our relationship rise or fail miserably. I have two options:

A) I lay all my baggage out for that person to see. They'll likely be so hurt and devastated by the reality, which is so obvious (and thus more damaging), that their spirit will be broken. But in the end, they'll know exactly what they need to change so that we can move forward. Essentially, my confession is the ignition to get our relationship moving...

B) I continue being an emotional martyr. Maybe I'm masochistic, but despite the intense residual disdain from the past (and present) experiences, I don't want to break down the person. Ultimately, I do care for them, and I don't believe I'm spiteful enough to knowingly cause them pain... no matter how temporary.

I could easily stall on choosing my path...except I can't. Because TIME is not on anyone's side. You never know what the next second holds, and a moment's delay could mean a lifetime of regret.

What do I do? The person I call myself sparing is telling me I'm "torturing" them. They say they can and want to take the brutal truth, but who's to say they really can?

It's true when they say all good things have a price. If only I could make the right choice.

Be well,

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Sunday, August 9, 2009

*Highlights* Lady Gaga's Penis





I have to say... I have bought into all of the hype. I think her songs are catchy (isn't that all it takes these days?) though I wouldnt venture too far to say that this girl is an amazing singer. Nice beats...silly songs...over-the-top videos....lesbian hype...

Then...there's the crazy outfits....





The internet is abuzz with the supposed leaking of parts of an interview in which she mentions actually being a hermaphrodite (no source is ever given and no article has come out yet...you be the judge).

"It's not something that I'm ashamed of, just isn't something that I go around telling everyone. Yes. I have both male and female genitalia, but I consider myself a female. It's just a little bit of a penis and really doesn't interfere much with my life."

Is this all a ploy to sell more records? Rumors have been swirling for months that she is a transsexual (man hands...Adam's apple...) so is this just our minds playing trick on us? Or did she do this on purpose to keep us guessing? I mean...its clear she likes the attention and the mystery of "GaGa".

Thoughts?


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GI JOE & Teacups!

Movie Review

and

Food Review

later today!

Check out the other posts from this week past week while you wait! =)

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