#Educationproblems

There are so many problems with the education system in the United States today and a lot of those problems lend themselves to money. My parents always told me that education is a business and I didn't really understand what they meant until I got my first teaching job. Unfortunately, the world revolves around money and there is nothing we can do to change that. I find it absolutely appalling that money should dictate the education of a child. For example budget cuts are ruining our children's futures. If there isn't enough money to pay the teachers, class sizes sky rocket limiting the amount of student-teacher contact. This is extremely upsetting to me because there are celebrities and huge business owners who live their daily lives with so much money that they don't know what to do with it. How is that helping our society? Why are professional athletes getting paid millions of dollars to play a sport that a child wants to play while at school but can't because their school can't afford equipment or can't fund the sporting events. All of these facts make me so nauseas.

Another thing that came up recently was the closure of charter schools around the city. Mayor Bill de Blasio decided that the Success Charter Schools should be closed because they are getting "free rent" at a public school. Again, money is the culprit in this situation and now several children's educations are at risk. These children go to charter schools to either give their child the best education possible because the public school that is in their area is not up to par, or there is a lot of crime associated with the school that is in their neighborhood. Now, these children are forced to go back to a public school or to find another charter school for the following year. Education should be the most important thing in regards to our country's success. If we don't breed educated and worldly thinkers, how is our country supposed to grow and prosper? It won't.

Vocabulary:

revolves- to focus or center on

appalling- unbelievable

dictate- guiding principle

budget- estimated amount of funds

fund- supply of money

culprit- person guilty of fault

associated- linked with

Vocabulary Activity: Match the vocabulary word to its definition.

revolves                                                         

person guilty of fault

appalling                                                        

linked with

dictate                                                             

unbelievable

budget                                                             estimated amount of funds

fund                                                                 

to focus or center on

culprit                                                             

supply of money

associated                                                      

guiding principle

Grammar Point: Possession is shown by using an "'s". For example: children's futures. It is their future.

Grammar Activity: Write 3 sentences showing possession.


Success Charter Schools Closures

Un mundo de acro iris

 I have read many poems in my lifetime but it wasn't until I started my undergraduate degree that I found poems that were the most beautifully written poems I have ever read. I came across this poem while researching for a project that I had to do for one of my undergraduate classes. The poem uses color to represent different races and colors around the world and that all of these colors make up a beautiful "arco iris", which means rainbow. I think that this poem is extremely helpful in guiding students to become more accepting of not only other people but of themselves. I love the imagery that is used in this poem to represent the different races in a lighthearted and tasteful way. The rosas, roses, represent people as well. When you think of a rose, you automatically think of beauty and love and that's how all people should be viewed. This poem forces the reader to see that without all of the different colors of the rainbow, or different types of people in the world, the world would be a boring and bland place to live in. The message behind this poem is so powerful, but was made in such a simple and beautiful way.        

Un mundo de arco iris 

por Florencio Santos Arranz 

                                         Si ves una rosa azul

dice una mariposa.

Si ves una rosa

roja

dice un arroyo.

Si ves una rosa

amarilla

dice una nube.

Si ves estas rosas

verás

todos los niños de este mundo.

Pero me faltan los niños

me faltan las rosas

negras.

¿Es que no son hermosas?

¿Es que no son hermosos?

¡Claro!

Combina los colores

y tendrás

rosas

todas las rosas.

Rosas azules rojas amarillas

y negrasy niños negros amarillos rojos

y azules,

con todos los colores del arco iris 

que yo para vosotros, queridos

niños,

yo quiero.

-Dicen la mariposa el arroyo y la nube

Vocabulary:

lifetime: the term of a life

represent: express

races: group of related people

guiding: force to move in certain path

imagery: use mental pictures to convey meaning

lighthearted: cheery; joyful 

tasteful: good taste 

Vocabulary Activity: Unscramble the words using your definitions as clues.

1.the term of a life

temiefil                       ________________

2. express

tnreperse                    ________________

3. group of related people

sarec                          ________________

4. force to move in certain path

gugdini                        ________________

5. use mental pictures to convey meaning

ygemair                      ________________

6. cheery; joyful 

reathilhtgde                ________________

7. good taste 

luastetf                     ________________

Grammar point: In english, we add "s" to show plurality of a noun. ex: one bike; two bikes.

Grammar Activity: Circle all of the singular nouns and underline all of the plural nouns written above.

Scandalous

I have never been a fan of politics and don't plan on becoming one anytime soon. In my opinion, politics are all about popularity and are built on a foundation of lies and persuasion. I feel that majority of politicians don't truly believe in what they stand for when in the running to clinch the title that they have been campaigning for. My view of politics became more solidified after watching three full seasons of the show "Scandal". 

Although I am aware that "Scandal" is completely fictional, I can't help but think that some of the plot is based off of true events. Olivia Pope, played by Kerri Washington, is my absolute favorite character on this series. In the preliminary seasons, Olivia was so poised, responsible, and emotionally detached. She was a strong and fearless character who lead a team of "lawyers" who stood by Olivia's side through anything. Together, they are called "gladiators". As the seasons went on and new secrets were revealed, Olivia began to crack and became an emotional wreck which forced her team of "gladiators" to question their loyalty towards Olivia.

Olivia's trustworthiness was built on a web of secrets that she shared between her and her gladiators. Once her team figured out her own secret, their regime began to crumble. Olivia had been involved in an affair with the president and was also involved in a lot of behind the scene cover ups, in which, if they were revealed, the president would be impeached and Olivia would be the most talked about campaign manager in history. 

As the seasons continue, I can't help but wonder if these stories could be true and if the government hides its true identity behind its politics and campaigning. And for this reason, I am very skeptical of the government and the politics that go along with it.

Vocabulary:

popularity- favored by the public

foundation- the base of something

persuasion- force an opinion on someone

majority- most 

fictional- imaginary, not true

poised- stable

detached- divided

revealed- made known

Vocabulary Activity: Match the word with its definition.

popularity                                                          made known

foundation                                                          force an opinion on someone

persuasion                                                         most

majority                                                             stable

fictional                                                              divided

poised                                                                 base of something

detached                                                             not true

revealed                                                             favored by the public

Grammar Point: The present tense is used to locate a situation or event in present time. ex: I am tall. This sentence is not talking about how tall I will be or was, but right now.

Grammar Activity: Underline all of the verbs in the present tense.

Blast From the Past

Volleyball has been a big part of my life and always will be. I started playing volleyball in 7th grade and continued all the way through my senior year of college. During that time, I won many awards and even captured the state championship title my senior year of high school. I remember those days like it was yesterday.

Last night I was invited to the annual Massapequa Girls Volleyball dinner. I still keep in touch with my high school volleyball coach who was nice enough to extend the invite. I helped out with her varsity team this year and aspire to become a coach and follow her legacy one day. Upon arriving at the dinner, I could not help but think about the last volleyball dinner that I had the pleasure of attending my senior year of high school. Since we had won states that season, we had numerous award dinners to attend. But, that night was the last one of my high school volleyball career.

Countless memories flooded my mind with each step that I took towards the school's cafeteria. When I walked in, it was like I was 18 again, experiencing my last and final high school volleyball event. I looked at all of the young girls who were sitting together, laughing, and sharing memories together. I was so jealous of their youth and how easy their lives are. The speeches went on and the players received their rewards and then the night was over. Another season ends as another season begins.

I look back on the times that I was a high school volleyball player and I can't thank my coach enough for teaching me how to be the person I am today. I credit her for my success and achievements because she truly cared about her players and taught each and every one of us how to be a classy and outstanding individual as well as an athlete. I will always keep her advice and encouragement in the back of my mind because, still to this day, I strive to be just as good as a person as she is.

Vocabulary:

capture- acquire/ take

aspire- yearn/strive

legacy- tradition

pleasure- enjoyment

numerous- multiple

countless- infinite

jealous- envious

credit- honor/ acknowledge

Vocabulary Activity: Draw a line from the vocabulary word to its definition.

capture                                                                             infinite

aspire                                                                               enjoyment

legacy                                                                               acknowledge

pleasure                                                                           yearn/strive

numerous                                                                        envious

countless                                                                         multiple

jealous                                                                            take

credit                                                                              tradition

Grammar Point: A noun is a person, place, thing, or process. ex: car, library, swimming(sport), etc.

Grammar Activity: Read the text above and underline all of the nouns that you see.


County Championship game

Grandma Peggy

Tomorrow, I will be traveling to Massachusetts with my Kindle and textbooks in tow to visit my grandma Peggy. Peggy, also known as Gram, is my one and only grandmother. I haven't had the opportunity to see her as often as I would like to because of her move from New York to Massachusetts. My sister and I used to love traveling to "Upstate New York" which was only a short hour away in Westchester. To us, at the mere age of 4 and 6, seemed like a cross-country traveling experience. My family would pack up our big, clunky, red mini van and trek up to Westchester for a short day trip. My sister and I loved going to Gram's house because she always made us fresh peanut butter cookies for us to eat while we watched her collection of Shirley Temple video tapes. She also saved all of the toys that my father and his brother would play with when they were children. The occasional game of "spoons" would ensue and I remember my sister always figuring out a way to cheat and win. But unfortunately, my spoons playing, peanut butter cookie eating, Shirley Temple watching days are over.

Gram moved to Massachusetts because she could no longer take care of herself or her home. Gram refused to move near my family because she hates Long Island. She chose to move to Massachusetts where my uncle lives. She thought it was best because he had two young daughters and she could help with the babysitting. Shortly after her move to Massachusetts, my grandmother started to lose her short term memory. It didn't start getting bad until about two years ago. She continually asks me when I will be graduating from college which was about two years ago. Although her memory isn't what it used to be, she still has a contagious laugh that could brighten up any situation. I can't wait to see her because I haven't seen her in over a year!

Vocabulary:
opportunity: a chance

mere: nothing more than

clunky: bulky; big

occasional: rare; infrequent

continually: repeatedly

contagious: spreading

Vocabulary Practice: Unscramble the vocabulary words. Use the clues to help you.

1. yitnupopor:  a chance                         _______________________

2. reem: nothing more than                    ________________________

3. kynclu: bulky                                     ________________________

4. laoacsnoi: rare                                    _________________________

5. lylocuntina: repeatedly                       _________________________

6. sigctonau: spreading                          _________________________

Grammar Point: Adjectives are words that are used to describe a noun. Ex: the blue car. "Blue" is the word describing the "car" which is the noun.

Grammar Activity: Underline all of the adjectives in the passage. Then, draw an arrow to the noun it's describing.

"The Worst But Best Experience of My Life"

There have been many ups and downs in my life, like I'm sure most people have. Some may be able to pin point one particular moment to deem the best or worst experience of their life. Why can't life, in general, be the best part? I feel that I haven't experienced enough to be able to name any of my experiences the best or the worst, so I'll pick my most recent experience: applying for a teaching job.

Upon my arrival at SUNY Cortland, freshman year of college, I had my eyes wide open, ready to experience all that college had to offer. It wasn't then that I realized that I only had a few short years until I would be forced into what they call the "real world". Sadly, graduation day came sooner rather than later which made me more depressed than happy. I knew the field that I was going into was not as promising as I had been told years prior. Millions of questions flooded my head and clouded my dreams with thoughts of hopelessness. Will I ever find a job? What if I can't handle it? Am I going to live with my parents forever? These were the questions that haunted me day in and day out until, one day, I landed my first interview. Of course, hours upon hours of résumé building and endless applications consumed my life prior to this interview, but I won't bore you with those details. The day of my first interview was one of the worst and best days of my life. I remember my palms being sweaty like my square dancing partner's hands in phys. ed. class. I stuttered like I had never stuttered before, trying to fit in everything I could about how I would be the best candidate for the position. I don't even think I took a breath of fresh air for that grueling hour of torture.  Finally, the interview was over, and I felt like a weight had been lifted from my shoulders. But, it wasn't until I heard, "You're highly qualified for this position," did I release the tension from my shoulders and crack a smile out of joy rather than anxiety. I had earned my first "real" job!

To me, there is not one particular moment that can be called the best or worst moment of a lifetime. That is life. We wouldn't be able to compare of there wasn't a best or a worst. Life would be boring if it wasn't filled with its ups and downs. It's about how you take those moments and turn them into a positive learning experience to make your future filled with the best moments of your life. And for that, I am truly looking forward to.

Vocabulary:

experience:  an occurrence 

arrival: when someone has arrived

depressed: very sad

prior: before

hopelessness: no hope; desperate

haunt: to reappear continually; cause anxiety

stutter: interruption of speech

Vocabulary Practice: Complete the following crossword below using the clues from your vocabulary list.

1. occurrence

2. someone arrived

3. sad

4. before

5. no hope

6. reappear

7. speech interruption

Grammar point: In English, we sometimes use the ending -ed to let the reader know that an action occurred in the past.

Grammar activity: Past tense- Write 3 sentences about a happy or sad experience that you had recently. Make sure to use at least two examples of a past tense word with the ending -ed.

"To Twerk or Not to Twerk?"

           Today, I showed my students a traditional folk dance from Ecuadorian and Panamanian culture. My goal was to have the students compare the traditional dances to a dance that is native to their own culture, whatever it may be. I should have anticipated the responses that I had gotten from my classes. The popular responses were the "Wop", "Twerking", "The Wobble", and other recent dances that they have learned from social media. Unfortunately, once the students had started comparing the traditional dances to their own percolation, the class became unruly which made it hard to refocus their attention. I thought that a video of the traditional dances would help. To my satisfaction, I was right! Simultaneously, as I started the "Youtube" video, every single student stopped talking and watched the video. From here on out, I know that I have to guide my students to ascertain a specific response that is beneficial towards their educational experience in my Spanish I class.

anticipated- To figure out something before it happens 

responses- an answer

percolation- dance/movement

unruly- misbehaved/hard to manage

simultaneously- at the same time


beneficial- has worth

ascertain- to discover something
 
satisfaction- pleased or happy about something 

Match the following vocabulary words with its synonym:

1. anticipated                               a. at the same time

2. responses                                  b. misbehaved/ hard to manage

3. percolation                               c. to discover something

4. unruly                                       d. pleased or happy about something

5.  simultaneously                        e. an answer

6. beneficial                                  f. dance/ movement

7. ascertain                                   g. has worth

8. satisfaction                               h. to figure out something before it happens

Grammar Point: Commas are used frequently used in the written language. Commas can be used to separate clauses or to separate things in a list.

Grammar Activity: Underline the phrase or phrases that use commas to separate clauses. Put a square around the phrase or phrases that use commas to separate things in a list.