The New School Year is Upon Us

Oh, how I love the first day of school. The excitement, the new teacher, the fellow classmates. Now my excitement is getting new students. In a few weeks, I will start my graduate courses at Marylhurst soon. Learning, being in the classrooms, collaborating with fellow cohort mates, etc. My orientation is on Sept. 22nd. They will also feed us dinner. So sweet! MU is a better school for me. I know they will give me a qualified education, good training and a supportive team of people helping me reach my goals as an elementary teacher. I've been working out in the real world. My real world experiences will be a beneficial asset for my grad school studies. Anyways, the first day back at work will be next Tuesday afternoon. Yep, I am on my fifth year at the after school program.

Moving on...I went to see my former teachers at W.E.S. They couldn't placed me right away. But I brought my class photos which helped jogg their memories. They remembered me as a shy, quiet and sensitive child. One of them said that I was a tiny little thing who hankered down/be inward. Well, I was a very shy student. In some ways, I'm still shy, well in big social functions and unfamiliar settings.

My kindergarten teacher, Ms. Smith is teaching kindergarten. At one point, she taught first grade for a couple years like a few years ago. My first grade teacher, Mr. Aase is now teaching 3rd grade. Wow, he has changed. He is no longer that young teacher I remembered. At that time, he was in his 3rd year teaching at W.E.S. He must have been in his early 30s. I found out that he has a daughter one year younger than me. Now he looks like a typical middle age man. But he still have his youthful joy in teaching children. My second grade teacher, Teresa Doss is now teaching kindergarten. She might be a K-1 combined classroom if the first grade student population increases. She is going to retire in 2 years. I can't believe she is close to retirement age. She looks too young to retire but she said she's 60 now.

Those three teachers are actually one of the oldest at Woodstock currently. Though, Ms. Smith and Ms. Doss started at Woodstock close to the same time and they were there a year or two longer than Mr. Aase. You know, it's weird for me to call them by their first names. Did you ever see any of your former elementary teachers and call them by their first names? It's just a weird feeling. I keep call them Mr. and Ms. I found out one of my former teacher's daughter is teaching at an elementary school of N.Clackamas S.D. Anyways, my former teachers were happy to hear that I want to get into the teaching field. They probably was thinking, "Wow, my former shy and quiet student is going to be a teacher. Look how she blossom over the years."

So yeah, I passed by the Chinese teachers in the hallways. (W.E.S. has a Chinese immersion program since '99, I believe.) As I was leaving Mr. Aase's classroom, someone said hi to me. Next door is this Chinese teacher who will be teaching 5th grade. She is really pregnant. I asked her if she needed some help. Her EA was out of the room at this point. She said that she really wanted to hanged up some Chinese characters on the walls. I said, "I'll be happy to help."

She was like, "No, no. You must be busy." I responded that I was happy to help her. So I helped her hanged the characters up and even did a simple chore. I talked with her. This school year is her first year teaching at W.E.S. I told her that she will enjoy the school environment because the staff there is special. Well, I don't really know all the current staff. But since my former teachers are still there, I know the school is in good hands. Back to the Chinese teacher, she thought I was a teacher. That's so funny. Anyways, she already feel grateful to have Mr. Aase as the next door teacher. He helps her a lot.

Here's a fun fact I learned from reading the display case, the last eight grade classed graduated from W.E.S. in 1986. That was just 2 years before I enrolled there as a kinder. I forget that W.E.S. was a K-8 school back in the day. W.E.S. is the oldest elementary school in the PPS system. It was built in 1910-11. They did celebrate the 100th b-day at the end of last Spring. I wanted to go but I was busy that day. It would have been fun to meet up with any alumni that I went to school with. But probably the alumni who went was much older than me. By the way, Ms. Doss taught the daughter one of my former classmates like a year ago or so.

There Will Never Be a Shortage of Love

The MAT program starts in late September. I am looking forward to get back to school and obtain my teaching license. It has been a long, hard road getting to this point in my life. When I left the WOU ed program about 4 1/2 years ago, I was heartbroken and depressed. I know God has a plan for me. He has given me determination to continue on with my dreams of becoming a school teacher. It's his power that keeps me going. If I had it my way, I would have given up my dreams and continue to live life miserably.

Here are two good resource books for new and veteran teachers:
1.The First Days of School:How to be an Effective Teacher by Harry K.Wong & Rosemary T. Wong. This book was used for my classroom management class at WOU.

This book is great for K-12 teachers, college professor and any type of educator. This book explain the ways how to prepare and set up your classroom. In the ed program, they don't teach you how to prepare for the teacher planning days before school starts and the first few weeks of school. The first 3 weeks of school sets the tune in how you want the classroom running. You probably won't agree to everything in the book. But there are some helpful tips and strategies. Though, use what works for you and your students.

2.The Nitty-Gritty Classroom and Behavior Management Resource:Strategies, Reproducibles and Tips for Teachers by Belinda Christian Tetteris.

This book is written by a real classroom teacher from Maryland. The advice and tips in the book are easy to read and quite practical. The book covers teaching in an elementary classroom. But there are tips and strategies in this book can be valuable for immediate and advanced grade levels. Ms. Tetteris said, "Know that you are unique, and with that uniqueness you will teach using methods that are best for you and your students, so never compare yourself to the teacher next door. There are 101 ways to teach the same objective, so find the way that is best for you and your group of students." A retired elementary teacher, I know, gave me this book as a gift a few years ago.

I hope these neat resource books are useful to you for your classroom. Both books are written by real teachers. I like to finish off this blog with an encouraging poem for the teachers. This poem comes out of The First Days of School book. Please carry these lovely thoughts into the new school year.

There Will Never Be a Shortage of Love
By Harry and Rosemary Wong

Love is the reason for teaching.
It cost nothing, yet it is the most precious thing
one can possess.
The more we give, the more it is returned.
It heals and protects,
soothes and strengthens.
Love has other names, such as
forgiveness...
tolerance...
mercy...
encouragement...
aid...
sympathy...
affection...
friendliness...
and cheer.
No matter how much love we give to others,
more rushes in to take its place.
It is, really, "the gift that keeps on giving."
Give love in abundance--
every day.

Going with Marylhurst

About two weeks ago, I received my official admissions letter to Marylhurst University, less than 15 minutes outside of Portland.

Here is virtual tour of MU:.

I was so excited when I got the letter. Currently, I have been searching and applying to scholarships. It's hard to find scholarships that is for the graduate level. I mostly have been able to apply to scholarship contests like a random drawings kind of way.

Here is a clip about the education program at MU:.

YES, I PASSED!

Good news! I checked my unofficial CBEST scores online today. I passed the writing section with 41 points. Wow, it's higher than I thought. The minimum passing score would be 37. So my overall CBEST score is 129.

Praise God! It's very funny how my dream came true. I mean a week or several days before the unofficial scores to be revealed, I had this dream as in REM sleep status that I passed the test. In that dream, I was sitting around a big conference table and I turned to a fellow cohort next to me and said, "I can't believe I'm here. I passed the CBEST. It took me 6 tries." This time I was prepared better with the help from a fellow co-worker's husband who is a high school English teacher. And I also leaned into God more. I mean in the past I did trust God. But I think God has used this trying experience to get me be more trusting in Him as well as being stronger. Thank you to my supportive friends who encouraged me.

Any day now I will received my official permanent verification card (saying I passed the CBEST) and two transcript copies of my permanent verification card (for official use for school districts, colleges and universities). Next week I will have to deal with getting myself admitted fully and get financial aid rolling. But this weekend will be relaxing and end it on the 4th having a bbq with my family. Have a good 4th!

Failed again on the CBEST writing section :'(

Yesterday I received my test scores. As I was opening the envelope, I was so nervous. I got to pass this time, I thought. My eyes looked for the new score and it's 33. What???!!!!!!!!!!! Yes, I received that score 4 times already. I know that I am doing well on Essay #1. Last month, I spent a lot more time on Essay #2 since I struggled the last four times I took the exam. I worked so hard and I thought I could have an improved score on the second essay to get a passing total score for the writing section. I don't get the two scorers on my second essay. In the note section, it says that I need to work on usage as well as structure and conventions for essay #2. (To read about how the CBEST Writing is scored and the criteria, read my April 13th post.) I thought I improved in that area of Essay #2. I just needed 4 measly points to get me to pass the test. Anyways, after I saw my scores, I started to cry a little. I will not let this get me down. I will have to fight it another day. Though, I don't want to think about it right now. I will take a week off from it and let myself have a break.

At work yesterday, I was talking to a co-worker. Her husband is a college writing professor. She offered his tutoring services. I will take it. This time I need to know why I am struggling. I took two college writing classes, went to the writing center for my many essays and papers and had an advanced grammar class during my undergrad years. How much writing classes do I need to get me there? I also did a Learning Plus writing program through PSU. In those classes, I received B's. Maybe having a private tutor will help me figure out what is going on in my writing. I have definitely improved my writing since high school. For years growing up, I was behind in my writing level. In college, I received many A's and B's on my papers. I guess getting tested on one's writing skills in 4 hours is pretty stressful. Plus with the computer-based version of the exam, there is the extra precaution of cameras recording my every actions and sounds. The testing site has those cameras to check that no one is cheating. How can I cheat on the writing section? All personal electronics are banned from the test room. Each time you take the writing section of the CBEST, there will be two new essay questions.

Please continue to pray for me.

Waiting for my CBEST score...My practice essay

It is nerve-wrecking to wait for my CBEST score. I should receive my score by the end of this month. I really hope I pass the writing section. I feel good about it.

As we wait, here is my practice personal narrative essay:

Everyone has someone who greatly influenced them. Who impacted you to shape who you are today? Explain this to a group of high school graduates.
*************************************************************************

The person who impacted me is my grandpa whom I called Gong Gong. The two reasons why he was so important to me was his faith and his love which I saw daily growing up.

First Gong Gong lived his life by faith. He was a Christian man. His words and actions coincide with the Christian principles. For example, he worked as a caregiver for the elderly before his retirement. He was kind, patient and gentle in his care of the elderly. In those actions, he showed the important qualities of a Christian who live by faith.

Next, Gong Gong lived his life with love. He loved his family through his actions rather than his words. As his granddaughter, he showed his love by spending time with me, sharing his advice and conversing with me. For example, he walked me to and from school daily during my elementary school years. During the walks, we were able to have some quality time with each other. He encouraged me to do my best in school.

In conclusion, the way Gong Gong lived by faith and love helped shape who I am today. By his example, he influenced me to have a relationship with God as well as to live life with love. I chose to accept Jesus in my heart and continue to live my life following God. I try my best to live life fully with love, which is one of the qualities of a Christian. For example, I am willing to just listen to a friend in need.

Hmm, Maybe add the Special Ed...

After this morning's exercise class, I had a nice talk with a new friend, Jane who is originally from the South. It is good to be heard. She pointed out that maybe I should go toward teaching students with special needs. I think Jane is the third person who pointed that out to me.

I generally understand and empathize with people that has special needs. I will share a quick background about my experience about this. First, I was born prematurely. I did develop my skills like any "normal" baby but I didn't get to speaking until I was 3 years old. The only word I know how to say before conversing was the word "mama." Next when I went to preschool, I had to learn English. The first 5 years of my life, the only language I knew was Chinese (the Cantonese dialect). When I entered elementary school, I didn't get the ESL support that I needed. (For your information, my elementary school didn't have the resources to have an ESL teacher. It depends on how many students that need the service and then the district would send support. During my elementary years, there was a low enrollment of student with ELL needs.) I was really immersed in English. But I did go to the literacy specialist during my first grade and first half of my second grade year. I am thankful for my family who taught me hard work and perseverance.

Finally, I knew that certain lessons that I need time to learn. Sometimes I will need time to process the information to understand. For example, I was not good at math right away. I hate the myth that Asians are good at math. Because of this concept, in my sixth grade year I was put in the wrong math class. It was too advanced for me. I think it took my math teacher several weeks to figure out that I was struggling. I didn't ask for help because I didn't want to be seen as stupid. I learn to personally adapt how I learn so I can master the knowledge content and skills I needed. There are certain things I can probably learn quickly.

Back to what Jane said to me, that is interesting thought. I never really thought about getting into special education. I didn't think I could be strong enough to really deal with students that has special needs. But I am learning that the special need spectrum is huge. I will have to do some research and get some classroom experience with special needs kids. Maybe I could add an endorsement in special education under my teaching license next to the ESOL one. I don't know yet. First I need to go back to school and get my initial teaching license.

Quick definitions of the English language teaching world:
1. ESL--English as a second language are students learning English as their second language. This term is old school and still used by many school districts in the U.S.

2. ESOL--English Speakers of Other Languages are use for people who know more than two languages while learning the English language. This term is quite popular to use in the college and university whelm.

3. ELL--English Language Learners is students learning English by written and spoken form. By the way, I am aware that many PPS schools use that term as well as ESL. In my opinion, this term is also true for native English speakers since they also are learning academic (formal) English. Formal English is so different from conversational English (aka. playground English).

4. LEP--Limited English Proficiency which means the students' English skills are limited. Many schools may still be using this term. I don't like this term because many students may feel limited by the term usage. If I was labeled as that, I would focus in the "Limited" part of the term and believed I am stupid.