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Formal Letter of ApplicationThere are six main skills that we as education majors must
define, study, then implement in our own personal way in order to
succeed as a teacher in today's society. Those six skills are
planning, teaching skills, interpersonal skills, decision-making
skills, diversity, and professional commitment.
In Education 200 we were given all of the assignments the first day
of class. We could put them off or do them right away. I planned to
do them right away before I had other assignments. This gave me the
opportunity to give my full attention to work in my major.
Our work at Sumner allows us to use our teaching skills. I have had
to come up with new teaching skills because they were not working
with the girl I was tutoring. When I adapted my teaching skills to
her she understood better.
The main use of our interpersonal skills right now is
interaction with our peers. Speech 111 gave me the training to put my
thoughts into well-organized verbal form and improved my
interpersonal skills.
When I made the decision to make the girl I am tutoring work
on her math instead of reading, I exhibited good decision-making
skills. Letting her read would have been easier but not what she
needed.
Having had the opportunity to grow up with people outside of
my race, I have learned that not everyone is alike. We must learn to
respect that uniqueness and to work without emphasizing the
differences.
The whole objective of this portfolio is to exhibit our
personal professional commitment. I grew up wanting to be a doctor
but that changed when I went to college. When I first entered the
classroom to observe, I was visualizing me having my own class and I
could not wait. That excitement has only grown more and more the
closer I get to my goal. Who knows, I just may be a doctor still but
this time it will be of education.
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English 101
I took this class with Dr. Gilliand at Marshall University Spring of 1996.
This was one of our writting assignments and was to be about an activity
in our life and what we learned from it.Many activities through out school effect your life. The effects may only last a short time, or in my case, last a lifetime. Also, activities may have a positive or negative effect on the person involved or other people in that activity. Cheerleading is an important activity to me. This sport, cheerleading, has taught me many life oriented lessons that would help me through out life and improve personal qualities such as speaking in front of a crowd, leadership, and patience. The ability to speak in front of several people is essential in almost every job field in today’s society. When I first began cheering, I was ten years old, very shy, and soft spoken. In school, I was often frightened to speak in front of the class because I was worried that they would laugh at me. The first speech I gave was in my science class and I was so nervous that the note card I was holding was shaking. My first year cheering, the first performance we had was at the mall. This was the largest crowd I had performed in front of and was scared that if I messed up they would laugh at me. Afterwards, I realized that they had no idea what the original looked like so they had no idea if I messed up or not. The same thing applied to the speeches at school, the teacher had no idea what I had planned to say, just the general idea. Cheerleading taught me how to “perform” in front of a group of people and not to worry about how they viewed me personally but how they viewed the subject I was portraying. Leadership is another quality highly sought after in today’s work force. Today, there are leaders that are the first in line and then the followers that are last. The leaders in life get as far as they want to go, but the followers can only go as far as the leaders in front of them have gone. Everyone wants to be a leader, but very few posses the qualities that a leader requires to do his job successfully. A good leader is someone looking for someone to help and not there to boss them around. Leader is the root word of cheerleader. Cheerleaders are expected to lead the crowd, to support the team, and to lead the crowd away from unsportsman like behavior. In a very close game against our rivals, a referee called a questionable call against our team. Our crowd followed the call by chanting back the song, “Three Blind Mice.” Knowing that if they continued, our team could receive a technical foul, I tried to divert the crowd by starting a cheer. After the whole gym was yelling, this time with a positive message, I knew that I had succeeded leading the crowd away from unsportsman like conduct. Patience is a virtue that needs to be learned by everyone to have successful interactions with other people, which make it essential in today’s world. When I was a coach of my younger sister’s cheerleading squad, I learned patience. All the skills that I was teaching them, I already knew by heart and had done them often in the past. This caused me to sometimes make myself take a break and remember that this was the squad’s first time doing any of the activities and skills before. I would then slow my teaching down, and instead of just having them do the skill, I would explain exactly how to do it, one step at a time. Being patient would help me get along better with my peers and superiors in life because I could take the time to see it from their point of view, not only from mine. Through cheerleading, I accomplished many things, both by receiving awards and in the lessons that I learned. I qualified for national cheerleading competitions, was part of two record-breaking squads, and one of the first freshmen to make the varsity squad at Marshall University. More important that the awards and accomplishments are the important life lessons that I have learned through cheerleading. I have learned how to put my ideas into words and then express that to a crowd in a convincing manner, to be a positive leader, and most importantly to be patient. Cheerleading to many people is not even considered a sport, but to me, it is more than a sport, it is a teacher, helping me to learn important life lessons.
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English 112
This class was taken Fall of 1997 with Prof. Zipf here at WVU-P.
This is the main outline for our term paper.Introduction Subject Television has been airing programs about families for
decades now. In the past,the family structure that was portrayed
was a mother who stayed home, a father who worked, and that couple's
own children. This portrayal has been translated, by society, as the
traditional family. The "traditional family," that is aired on
television and in the programs, is as fictional in real life as it is
on television.
Statement of Problem Society is calling for a return to the traditional family as
an answer to all of our social problems. In this section I ask how
can we return to an institution, such as the traditional family, when
one really never existed.
Purpose In this proposal, I examine the controversy over the
traditional family structure according to two main views, television
and real life. I then offer suggestions that would establish new
family structures without discrediting the traditional views and
morals surrounding the fictional traditional family.
Sources Angier, Natalie. "New View of Family: Unstable but Wealth Helps." New York Times 29 Aug.1995, late ed.: C1+. Clayton, Richard R. The Family, Marriage, and Social Change. 2nd ed. Lexington, KY: DC Heath and Comp., 1979. Frazier, Hervert H. Psychotrends: What Kind of People Are We Becoming? New York: Simon & Schuster, 1994. 90-122. Fuller, Mary Lou. "Today's Demographics Don't Leave It to Beaver." The Education Digest 58 (Feb.1993): 54-56. "Marriage's True Ends." Commonweal 123 (17 May 1996): 5-7. National Data Book. US Department of Commerce Bureau of the Census. Statistical Abstract of the United States. 1996. Washington, DC: 105- 106. Oliver, Charles. "Family Affairs." Reason 26 (July 1994): 58-59. Taylor, Ella. Prime Time Families: Television Culture in Postwar America. Los Angeles: U of California P, 1989. US Government. US Bureau of the Census. Historical Statistics of the United States: Colonial Times to 1957. 1960. Washington, DC: 15, 58, 63, 66. Woods, John. "'Leave It to Beaver Was Not a Documentary': What Educators Need to Know About the American Family." American Secondary Education 24 (Dec. 1995): 2-7. Needs Society needs to realize that there is no traditional family
structure. Then society must look at other ways to answer the growing
concerns and the lack of morals in this country. These actions would
then give more parents a new sense of confidence that they are not
failing their children and include groups that were previously
excluded.
Body Materials Angier-- Family structure unstable in humans, other
animal families support that fact.
Clayton-- Different types of family structures and
predictions on how the family structure will be in the future.
Frazier-- Family is moving from an institution to a
hobby, nuclear family only existed for short periods in time,
declining divorce rate just a calm in the storm, planned single
parent families, and more inter-racial and homosexual families.
Fuller-- Definitions of family, statistics to prove
that there was no real traditional family, and family is a myth that
television has created.
Marriage's-- Traditional family definition influences
life and choices of people and excludes many groups including
homosexuals.
National-- Statistics that prove traditional family
never existed.
Oliver-- Television's portrayal of family used to gain
viewers, and even controversial families such as the Bundy's on
Married... with Children, still portrayed the traditional morals
surrounding the traditional family.
Taylor-- Television established the stereotype of the
traditional family and how those television programs depicted the
family.
US Government-- Statistics that show traditional
family never existed.
Woods- Statistics to prove that the traditional family
only existed for short time, and the portrayal of that family was
falsely supported in television programs.
Methods Everyone wants to feel accepted. When society and television
uses the term traditional family they, exclude a large number of
members of today's nation. Society wants to eliminate social problems
and feels that the return to the traditional family would resolve
those existing dilemmas. That action can never occur due to the
large number of differing family structures that exist. By
redefining the existing family structure and eliminating the term
traditional family, we can reinstate certain values; respect, trust,
acceptance, and tolerance, in today's society.
Results to Be Expected By not being able to blame the predicament on the traditional
family, society must find new ways to fix these social problems. In
this paper, I will give suggestions to resolve those issues. Some
suggestions will include; the end of all racial, and sexual
discrimination, increase in morals, decrease in television fictional
portrayal of life, and the increase of family interaction. If these
suggestions are followed then there would be a decrease in the social
problems that exist today.
Feasibility People's thoughts can not be controlled. Society can not
fairly tell people to not discriminate and leave the issue alone. As
a civilization, we need to be taught a new way of thinking.
Television has been blamed for increase in crime, decrease in morals,
decrease in literacy and decrease in family. By reforming
television, society can eliminate those imperfections in our society.
To reform television would be easy as long as large groups ask for
it. By making people aware of how important family is, rather than
making them feel excluded, would make them more apt to increase
family values.
Conclusion People have been calling for the return to the traditional
family for years. Society wants the family to, once again, be at the
top of our list of priorities in this country. I feel that society
is almost to a point that they will try anything to solve their many
problems. By accepting my proposal, society would return to family
values, while at the same time solving plaguing social problems.
This proposal will not exclude anyone, in fact, would bring society
closer than ever before. The sure success that would then arise from
the previous suggestions would bring up the question, how can there
be a better plan?
Conclusion and Recommendations Society has called for the return to the traditional family
even when there are numerous statistics that show that such an
institution never really existed. By including all family structures
and eliminating the term traditional family, everyone in society will
gain a new sense of belonging. Also, this change would give each one
of us a new sense of confidence in our own unique family structure.
When society realizes that families are all unique and that
uniqueness is special, then we eliminate one major social problem,
prejudice. As a country, we are then one step closer to a better
country.
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Math 114
This class was taken Fall of 1997 with Prof. Stienbeck. This was our
second test. To view a larger version, just click on the paper.
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Return to the table of contents Computer Science 105
This class was taken Fall 1997 here at WVU-P.
I had the oppertunity to do a web page for extra credit in this class.
This site has continued to grow and now contains all kinds of differnt educational site links.
Click here to go to My Educational Web Page!
Speech 111
This class was taken Fall of 1998 with Professer Beaty.
This is the speech outline for our local problem and solution speech.Speech #4 Local Problem and Solution
G.P. To persuade
S.P. To persuade my audience that there is a problem with the sport section of the Parkersburg News and what they can do to solve it.
C.I. The missing game reports, bias coverage between local schools, and unequal coverage between sports can be solved easily by you the readers.Introduction
I. Attention (quote) There is a bias of the coverage. Each person has their sport they like to report on and the ones that they don’t really like. We do honestly try to keep things equal though. Jay Bennett
II. Relevance
A. about 2/3 of those surveyed read the news
B. 11/17 think that there is a problem
C. Dave Poe said he honestly takes in all advice to consider for the future
III. Credibility
A. I played a sport that was not given hardly any coverage
B. I read the paper and have been bothered
C. Interviewed and now know some inside information
IV. Preview
A. The bias coverage of the local schools
B. Unequal coverage of the different sports especially between guys and girls
C. Problems that may cause the unequal coverage
D. You can do some very simple things to eliminate this problem
Body I. Bias coverage between PHS and all local schools is very evident in the Parkersburg News sport section.
A. Playoffs of South in 1991 and this year of PHS
B. Counted up number of articles in the sport section of this past Sept (98) 1-16
1. PHS had 11 stories and 3 pictures
2. South had 8 stories and 2 pictures
3. Catholic and Belpre tied at 5 stories and 1 picture
4. Wirt and Tyler only had 1 story and no pictures
C. This week the number of articles were drastically different Nov 26-Dec 2
1. PHS 8 stories and 5 pictures
2. South 4 stories and 2 pictures
3. Marietta 4 stories and 2 pictures
4. Wirt, Tyler, Ripley, and Ritchie County not mentioned at all
D. Poe said that as long as PHS can put 13,000 people in the stand and South has a loosing season he will keep it PHS, South, and Belpre in that order
II. There is also unequal coverage of the different sports especially between the guy’s and the girl’s sports
A. Football
1. 8/11 said that Football gets the most coverage
2. Poe justified this by saying that if it was not for football there would be no athletic departments and no other sports
B. Guys
1. Guy sports do get more coverage than that of the girl sports
2. PHS girls win state in Volleyball but football loosing in semi-finals is a bigger story
3. Poe said that when you take the fans in the volleyball stands that are parents out there is not many left. That means there is not much outside interest. The newspaper does not create interest in the sports it just reflects the interest already present
III. There are some simple reasons that some stories are not in the paper or are late.
A. The coach simply did not call the score in
B. There are only 6 guys that work in the sports section and can not possibly be everywhere at once
C. Delay in the game causes the story not to get in before the deadline
D. There may simply be not enough room on the three pages for all 20 local teams that are covered
IV. You as a reader are entitled and urged to ask for change if you are not happy
A. Make the coach call the teams score in
B. Call Poe and tell him that you think so and so school is not getting the coverage you think they deserve
C. Ask for more sport reporters so they can cover more of the less popular sports
D. Ask for more pages and less National sport coverage (ESPN has all you need at the national level but nothing about Parkersburg)
Conclusion I. Visualization
Picture if you would in the future a sport section that has one section (equal sized of course) for each of the schools. That space is divided (again equally) between the sports of the season.
II. Summery
A. The bias coverage of the local schools
B. Unequal coverage of the different sports especially between guys and girls
C. Problems that may cause the unequal coverage
D. You can do some very simple things to eliminate this problem
III. Final Statement
I really hope that you will realize that our paper does do an excellent job covering Jr. H. and pee wee that other papers would never dream of doing. There are problems and I hope that you will call up Poe and demand as one survey said stop being the Football section and try actually being the sports section.
Education 100
This class was taken in Fall of 1997 with Dr. Dunlap.
This is an
exerpt from my Education 100 journal. To view a larger version, just
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button.
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Education 200
This class was taken Fall of 1998.
This is an exerpt
from my Education 200 journal. To view a larger version, just click
on the paper. To return to the portfolio, just press the back button .
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Elements of Fiction
This was an assignment for English 211 taken with Prof. Modesitt Spring '98
The short story, "Miles City, Montana" by Alice Munro is a great
example of three elements of fiction; foreshadowing, symbolism, and
flashbacks. Elements of fiction, if used correctly, leaves the
reader with a feeling of satisfaction and admiration of the work. If
used incorrectly, the reader is left wondering what happened in the
story. Alice Munro uses each of the three elements extremely well.
The reader is left with a feeling that they should have guessed the
ending with all the clues given.
Foreshadowing is the laying out of hints or clues through out
the work about what may or in this case may not happen in the future
of the story. Authors use this element to keep the interest of the
reader usually against the readers will or at least not to their
immediate attention. The reader will read a statement, then when they
continue into the story they are reminded by that statement again.
The ultimate goal of foreshadowing is to have the reader be both
surprised by the stories climax and to find it perfectly logical. The
clues laid out by foreshadowing provides that logic.
The introduction to the story by Munro is a perfect example
of foreshadowing. In the main characters childhood Steve Gauly, a
childhood friend, dies by drowning. She is upset and very confused
because it is inferred to her by the adults that he died because he
had no mother. This sets the stage for the climax of the story. You
are introduced to the rest of her family including her daughter Meg.
The story progresses to where they are at a park with a pool. Her two
daughters go to change and she lets her guard down and starts to
relax a little bit. She then gets a strange feeling and looks for the
girls, of which Meg could not swim. The reader is wondering if she
will find her daughter drowned just like Steve or alive. Meg is found
alive and she realizes it was because Meg had a mother unlike Steve.
The reader is left feeling kind of stupid for really thinking that
Meg could have drowned and that it was obvious that she wouldn't.
Smaller more subtle forms of foreshadowing can also be found
through out the story. While Andrew and her fight, Cynthia tells Meg
to sing a song. Meg starts singing a song about five little ducks
that went swimming and only four coming back. The first time reading
through the story may not even stand out in the readers mind but when
you know the ending and read it again it pops out. The same thing
with the game they play about the dead deer. Cynthia is playing with
her parents and assumes that Meg is too young to play. This is the
second reference to death in the story. Also, when the family is
leaving, Cynthia has a ritual of saying good-bye to the house. Meg
then asks where they will live now. Cynthia thinks that her comment
was amusing and says, "Meg thought we weren't coming back."
Symbolism is a complex element of fiction. Not only does the
reader have to make an inferred judgment about what the author means,
but there are many different meanings for each symbol. Symbols can
differ from reader to reader and even from one reading to the next
depending on the readers state of mind. A word or phrase in a story
may be interpreted to be a symbol to one reader and just a word or
phrase to the next. Symbols are usually concrete objects used by an
author to represent abstract quality or feelings.
In Munro's story I found quite a few uses of symbolism. One
was the use of a car. In America the car symbolizes freedom, wealth,
and even technology. In Munro's story and to me it represented a
retreat that the main character entered and could truly be herself.
She felt that while at her house, she had to be a certain way, the
way Andrew wanted he to be. In the car she could be herself. "I loved
taking off. In my own house, I seemed to be often looking for a place
to hide- ...But on trips there was no difficulty...A watcher, not a
keeper." The car also ment wealth to Andrew. being raised by his
wealthy aunt and uncle, Andrew always felt he had to please them and
to live a lifestyle that was not his. When he bought a new car his
uncle said that he was "intrigued by the idea of you [Andrew] buying
a small car." This offended Andrew and he replied by saying, " It
isn't that small a car."
We often say that home is where the heart is. The home is a
symbol of security, love, and being comfortable. The main character
often refers to her home as being back in Ontario and the house that
they have in Vancouver as just their house. This can mean that she
does not feel comfortable in her house and that her heart is still in
her home in Ontario. "In my own house, I seemed to be often looking
for a place to hide--"
Flashbacks are used to inform the reader of useful
information needed by the reader about the character's past in the
middle of the story line. This usually means a break in the
chronological order of the story to travel back in time and pick up
information and then return to the current story line. This can leave
the reader confused if the author jumps from one time to the next
with no transitions or this time travel. Authors can use statements
like "Now I want to go back a little and tell what happened..." in The
Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. This is very clear and tells the
reader exactly what the authors intentions are.
Alice Munro is a little more subtle than Fitzgerald in her
use of flashbacks, but not so that the reader is lost in time warps.
The story starts off with a flashback of the main character's
childhood. She then uses a line of three asterisks and states, Twenty
years later..." She continues the story about their trip till she
throws in a comment that lets the reader feel that the whole story is
a flashback. "I haven't seen Andrew for years, don't know if he is
still thin, has gone completely gray, insists on lettuce, tells the
truth, or is hearty and disappointed." She then double spaces and
continues the story line. There are many instances that Munro uses
simple spacing to let the reader know that there is a change in the
chronological order of the story. The large majority of the
flashbacks in this story are periods of reminiscence of her earlier
life.
How the author chooses to use different elements can make or
break the story. They may choose to state their purpose flat out and
do most of the thinking for the reader. Or they may plant seeds early
into the story that they water through out the story and then the
reader sees bloom at the end. The second approach takes more work
from the reader but, also leaves them feeling more rewarded at the
end. Alice Munro allows the reader to sit back a watch her story
bloom right in front of them. The ending even allows the reader to
infer what happens to the characters after they leave Miles City
Montana. Munro uses flashbacks, symbolism, and foreshadowing to get
her story through to the reader very effectively in "Miles City,
Montana."
This was one of our assignments in Dr. Dunlap's Education 100 class
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Thank you so much for taking the time to view my portfolio here on the web!
Jaime Wilson
