So, it’s almost midterm, and I can definitely tell. I am so overwhelmed with classes right now…midterms, papers, projects…all pretty much due in the same week! Such is life. I’ll stop complaining…sort of. For this class, the problem is that as the semester goes on, I am finding it harder and harder to remember to write in this blog unless it is a “required” post. I usually find inspiration in just surfing the Internet and finding interesting articles, but where’s the time now. Seriously.
ANYWAY- there is one thing that I do want to share. This past weekend I met some business majors from KSU, nothing against business majors at all , but these particular ones were a little too harsh when I told them I was an English Education major. I really wish I could be like Taylor Mali and go off on them, but it really caught me off guard. They gave me the “you’ll be making crap” and when I said, “well that’s not what it’s about” they just came back with “oh yeah, it’s about making a difference but that’s what they all say to make themselves feel better. We will be rolling in the big bucks while you have meager life with a teacher salary even though we both will have a degree from KSU”. They claimed to be just kidding with me, but I got really defensive. I hate how ignorant people can be towards the power of education and the potential impact on childrens’ lives. I hate when people think the best part of being a teacher is the summer off (when in actuality “summer off” is “summer planning”). I guess all occupations are scrutinized in one way or another, but call me crazy, I just never realized how much some adults really do not appreciate teachers. To me becoming a teacher will be so much more than a “job” and despite what they think I know my life will be far from “meager” (at the least I will not be stuck in a cubicle). 
. I really want to thank all my professors and fellow education majors for creating such a positive and motiviating environment in all of my education classes…it really gives me reason and encouragment to stay strong and be PROUD to be a future teacher!
On that note: This is a forward I got and thought some of them were true & kinda funny:
HOW DO YOU KNOW YOU ARE A TEACHER?
by Jeff Foxworthy
1. You can hear 25 voices behind you and know exactly which one belongs to the child out of line.
2. You get a secret thrill out of laminating something.
3. You walk into a store and hear the words ‘It’s Ms/Mr. _________’ and know you have been spotted.
4. You have 25 people that accidentally call you Mom/Dad at one time or another.
5. You can eat a multi-course meal in under twenty-five minutes.
6. You’ve trained yourself to go to the bathroom at two distinct times of the day: lunch and prep period.
7. You start saving other people’s trash, because most likely, you can use that toilet paper tube or plastic butter tub for something in the classroom.
8. You believe the teachers’ lounge should be equipped with a margarita machine.
9. You want to slap the next person who says ‘Must be nice to work 7 to 3 and have summers off.
10. You believe chocolate is a food group.
11. You can tell if it’s a full moon without ever looking outside.
12. You believe that unspeakable evils will befall you if anyone says ‘Boy, the kids sure are mellow today.’
13. You feel the urge to talk to strange children and correct their behavior when you are out in public.
14. You believe in aerial spraying of Ritalin.
15. You think caffeine should be available in intravenous form.
16. You spend more money on school stuff than you do on your own children.
17. You can’t pass the school supply aisle without getting at least five items!
18. You ask your friends if the left hand turn he just made was a ‘good choice or a bad choice.’
19. You find true beauty in a can full of perfectly sharpened pencils.
20. You are secretly addicted to hand sanitizer.
AND LASTLY:
21. You understand instantaneously why a child behaves a certain way after meeting his or her parents.
October 2, 2007 at 1:39 pm
There comments raise some interesting questions about what’s meaningful in life. Is there nothing more to life than making a lot of money? That might be an uncomfortable idea to ponder for some people.
There’s no shortage of rich, unhappy people. And certainly most people would prefer not to be poor. But how much wealth is enough? Part of society tell us that that getting rich is good, desirable, and a sign of a worthwhile life. Other social forces say the opposite (“it’s easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than a rich man to enter heaven” is one such admonition…most religions argue for moderation and spiritual richness over earthly gain).
These are interesting issues, worthy of thought and discussion. We might ask what’s motivating your business major friends in their comments. Mockery says as much about the mocker’s fears as it does about its target.
Here are some excerpts from an interesting article (“Money-Happiness Link is Complex”) on the topic:
They noted that in one study, people with household incomes of $90,000 or more were only slightly more likely to call themselves “very happy” overall than were people from households making $50,000 to $89,999. The rates were 43 percent versus 42 percent, respectively. (Members of the high-income group were almost twice as likely to call themselves “very happy” as people from households with incomes below $20,000.)
But other studies, rather than asking for a summary estimate of happiness, follow people through the day and repeatedly record their feelings. These studies show less effect of income on happiness, Kahneman and colleagues said.
There is still another twist to the money-happiness story. Even though people who make $150,000 are considerably happier than those who make $40,000, it’s not clear why, says psychologist Richard E. Lucas of Michigan State University.
Does money make you happier? Or does being happier in the first place allow you to earn more money later, maybe by way of greater creativity or energy? Or does some other factor produce both money and happiness? There’s evidence for all three interpretations, Lucas says.
http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=2680034&CMP=OTC-RSSFeeds0312