Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Spring Break Day 5

I do have to share with you the story of my developmental notebook.

For the class Social and Psychological Conditions of Learning (5 credits), we have to create a developmental notebook.

In this notebook, we have a section for our notes, five papers biographing major developmental thinkers/theorists, four current articles on technology, exceptionality, assessment and multiculturalism, each with an executive summary, a developmental table covering the five thinkers/theorists, and a master reference list.

All the other students who'd taken this class groan and sympathized when they'd heard I was in the class and working on the notebook. "Wow. Good luck with that. It is a load of work." etc. So I borrowed a notebook from another student who had taken this class before to use as a guideline or model. A chatted up some other former students, "where did you lose points? what did you do for this? that? the other?" etc., and set to work.

When mine was done, I was SO proud.



Mine was so much fuller. Bigger is better, yes?

So I took it to school and bragged about it to people not in my class. "Look at this, see how much bigger it is?" Brag brag brag, boast boast boast.

Then I headed to that class. Waiting in the hallway were all my classmates and sweet baby gherkins! mine was one of the smallest notebooks! I was so dissappointed. Imagine going all your life thinking you had the biggest thingy and then you see someone else's.

Then I started hoping that size really didn't matter. But my balloon had been deflated.

A week passed and the grades came in. The notebooks were worth 60 possible points and the instructor told us "Count yourself lucky if you got anywhere near 60. There were a couple 59s and a few 58s, 57s and a handful of 50s, but there was only one 60. And some of you, well it's just unfortunate."

[inward groan from everyone]

The grades were passed out on 8.5 by 11 sheets of paper, folded in half and stapled closed. When I got mine, I peeked at the grade and put it away and continued to work on the current assignment. Other students were looking at their grades and other student's grades, and decyphering the notes and looking at their notebooks. Until finally J. looked up at me and narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

Guess who got the 60 ! ! !

Out of the original 25 things to do during Spring Break - (and since it's raining and I can't work in the yard) I'm off to work on numbers 1, 4 and 7. (With a trip to the library and Patterson's Pharmacy.

1. Observation Grid (Due that Monday)
2. Paper - Triangulated Reflection
3. Paper - Learning Principles
4. 8-10 Page Essay on a specific literary aspect of one or two books of the bible
5. 4-5 Page Report on Acts Chapters 1-15
6. Study 10 Characteristics of Apocalyptic Writing (Due that Wednesday)
7. 10 Page paper on blind obedience and willful disobedience (Outline due that Monday)
8. Read MacBeth (Due that Monday)
10. Finish reading and write about We Make the Road by Walking (Due that Wednesday)
13. Cut out weed growth / cut back big bush in back yard
14. Rake the back yard
17. Sweep, dust and air out the house
19. Paint the living room
20. Collect 'favorite things' for birthday party the 29th.
24. Clear the altar - set it for Spring

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