BOOOOOOOOOO Finals.

So I am trying to write my fifth paper today and I am all most done but my brain is fried. I have been doing 15hr days for the past week and I hate my life. Thank God, Allah, Buddha (I know), Shintoism (yes), Yahweh, Shiva, Ganesh, Vishnu,what the heck thanks Confucius. Oops I almost forgot, I will thank this In advance. Thanks BEER! If you see this 'I' have a great break, maybe i will see you out on the trails in Mission Trails Park. Oak Canyon Trail Is my favorite. I also like Fortuna Mt. North.

Would You Like some Cheese with Your WINE?

So I was bored and decided to red a few of the other students blogs. My first impression, they stink.

I don’t understand how people who didn’t even participate in JA can complain about something they never did? Obviously they don’t have a clue!!!! A#*, etc… It was an amazing experience!

Secondly, if people are not understanding economic concepts or don’t feel like they are receiving enough information, than say something !!! We are adults, ask questions, do something to help your self teachers are not mind readers- or maybe some of you are?

Third, don’t complain about something you don’t like until the bitter end. It is self-indulgent to take pop-shots at people, when you clearly had a problem for an extended period of time. And I am not being a hypocrite !

The Last Econ 349 Lesson

To actually review this semester is actually a difficult task, but here it goes.

When the semester began I had tribulations about economics because I had not taken Econ for some time. However, I was ecstatic when the class was not centered around formulas and Keynesians crosses. That said I think I have learned something exceedingly more valuable than economic jargon. Economics 349 has reminded me how much I actually like economics not despise it.

I think the class was built in such a manner to give the professor valuable lessons in what not to do for future students. In other words, we are GUINEA PIGS ! but I didn’t mind.

The Junior Achievement. If you want to read more on what I think about JA, simply look further down. But here is the condensed version. I Loved It! At first I was not totally sold on the assignment but after going into a high school class and then teaching the class; I realized the assignment was giving me something that I could NEVER attain through a lecture, book, or college class- valuable first hand experience!!!! On a side note. I think next time you should make the students who could not participate in JA do more work than teach one class. Even if it took them two or even three weeks to prep for one class 6 - 3= 3 the other students had three additional weeks of prep, drive time, etc….

The Blogs. Like the Junior Achievement assignment, I was extremely hesitant and jaded about blogging. However, I have learned to like it! I think its fun and playful. In addition, it’s a useful teaching tool because it makes you think about the assignment and what worked and what did not. And to those who complained- get over it!! I can think of much worse things to do!!! Professor give people an option, if you don’t want to blog then take a quiz.

The lesson plans. For me, this was the most difficult task of the class. This assignment actually taught me a great deal about my self. I learned that I need to convey my ideas and thoughts in such a way that it is a simple task to understand. I also discovered that I place too much trust in other people- Lesson plan #3. Overall, this was a hard yet tremendously useful learning tool.

Lastly, the professor. It is just my personal opinion but I feel like I was….. an irritation? I am a naturally inquisitive person and no matter what the class I have lots of questions and I think that annoyed you –Sometimes. I also got the feeling that you just wanted to yell “WHAT”!! that is the bets way to put it? However, I think you are a awesome teacher who excels at what you do. I would definitely recommend you to any student because I loved the way your class was put together. I wont do it in person, but I just want to thank you for the amazing experience!!!!! This class is in my top 3!!

The Best for Last!! My JA Education.....

Sadly, I have to say today was my last Junior Achievement education experience. It was the summary of all the long hours and hard work that I put into this gratifying experience. If you do not know I have been implementing a JA program that centers around the interview process. The last project JA suggests was a mock interview, however the students in this semester and in the next semester (essentially all economics students) are going to do mock interviews at the end of the year. The school and the social science department decided to do all interviews at the end of the year because myself and Mr. Rose, have developed some great ideas combining the JA material and our own.
However, today’s lesson was sad for me. I created the entire lesson on my own and connected it to the JA information they have gathered, the information Mr. Rose has given them, and the outside information I have given them. I created a cover letter, so the students could have a diagram on how to make one. Additionally, I left areas blank so the students could put in their personal information, dream job information, and other vital information need for a cover letter. Basically, today’s lesson consisted of a cover letter, a short 8 min film on failure, and then me explain to the class that they will fail in all aspects of life and especially in an interview. However, I explained to the class that “failure is not your undertaker, it is your teacher. It develops courage, motivation, and attitude. The courage to… I could go on but I wont. Basically it was a summery of all the info I have given them; then I gave then doughnuts.
The most important information than I have learned from this great experience, is not all aspects of your lesson will go as planned. In other words, as the teacher you have to be ready to change the lesson at the flick of a switch and have the knowledge and strength to do so.
Professor, I think if you are going to assign Junior Achievement over again, you need to develop a clear alternative to JA because not all students can go and participate in the JA experience. That said, I also think the people that possibly had a difficult time in obtaining a class were probably not the most diligent in their attempts in obtaining a JA school.
The BEST for last. My JA experience was fantastic and I loved every minute. I have gained knowledge that is impossible to obtain within a college classroom! And I will be a more prepared teacher for it. My best experience happened today! After the class one of the students came to me and asked me if was going to be a teacher? I said yes, then she proceed to tell me that I have a visible passion for being a teacher and to never to loose my passion. She said kids can see that and they respect that the most! She thanked me and then walked away. I was shocked and left with a smile!!!! WOW, this was a girl who has never raised a hand, asked a question, and just seemingly blended in with the other students. I guess I did my job and I will never for get what she said to me nor the feeling that I had after her comment. Thank you, students at Santana High School!

JA or Econ 349? That is the question.

So i have been reading a few of our class mates blogs and they all seem to think that going in front of the class is quite hard. I completely disagree. Teaching is teaching no matter if they are twenty somethings or in their teens. I personally like going in front of large groups and talking. Yes it can be nerve wracking at times but, I think teaching one class is extremely simple compared to six weeks of teaching JA. That said, I love doing my JA and I've became a better person, student, and future teacer because of it; I would not trade it for anything else.

Turkey day, the Great Depression, and my Question?

Turkey Day! Wow am I stuffed today was a fantastic day! Now for economics. I forgot who presented on Monday but I think she did a better job than the other two. I don’t know what it was but I think she simply had more spunk in her step. The other two talked about unemployment but they failed to mention when and how unemployment was created. What was the unemployment prior to the Great Depression? What was the government spending their money on? EX: Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), Dams, etc… I saw lots of holes in their lesson but did not want to say anything because we are all new at this stuff. For the girl who presented on Monday I thought she could have done a better job in some areas, for example explain the context of some pictures, she got some dates wrong, and dive into her question of why was the employment of women rising when the number of unemployed was on the rise? (I know it’s not an exact quote but its close)

That said, I think she did a great job and I left with a smile. However, her lesson gave me a question that has been rolling around ever since. Professor maybe you can help (if you get this far)

Q: Does technology create necessity, or does necessity create technology?

I am thinking about this question in the context of after WWII and the consumerism that has developed thereafter. However, I know there are times in history where it has worked both ways. (Do I truly need the internet on my phone?)

Black Friday- Not Black Tuesday!!

So today’s lesson went fairly smooth and we had no problems, thankfully. I began the day with an interdiction of what red and black means in the business world. I asked what day is Black Friday and what other day dose it relate to? (Black Tuesday, 1929 stock market crash). A female student explained to me that Black Friday is the busiest shopping day of the year. Then I went over why this shopping day is extremely important for the economy this year. Additionally, I reviewed the national unemployment rate, SD unemployment rate (6.4 as of Sep-08), and what is full employment.
Moreover, then I preceded to review the material that we have been doing for the last few weeks. The mantra is W.C.W. which = Will you do the job, Can you do the job, and Will you fit into the job? In addition, I discussed appearance, language, body language, and communication to prep them for a future interview for their dream job (any job). So today I gave them interview questions which Qualcomm directly uses in their interviews; then I had the students look over the questions and place them into the categories of W.C.W. and had them answer 10 questions based on the interview matter for homework, which is due on Monday. This was a downer for several of the students because I NEVER give them homework.
When the students were working on their HW, my self and the teacher would walk around the room and ask the students how were they doing and if they needed any help? I ran across one student with a blank sheet of paper who was talking, I asked him what is you answer to Q#1? And he replied that he dose not know what he wants to do. In this predicament I always ask the student what he or she likes to do in their free time? Or what his he or she good at? This typically gets the student involved and they find an answer. However this kid was lost. I began to provide some open ended questions and some possible answers to his questions. I asked him what attributes could he offer an employer? He ask me what was an attribute? And after my explanation he told me that he was “lazy” to which I replied, that is not a quality you want to tell an employer. I worked with him a bit longer and had to explain the definition of FIVE different words- wow, I asked myself “am I using big words, or is this guys vocabulary tremendously minute?” it was the later because several of the students around him helped him understand the words that I was using.
On a side note, I am disenchanted that I will be unable to complete one of the goals that I developed for this JA assignment. My goal was for the students to create a resume and have mock interviews, unfortunately there is no time in the semester for such a project. However, Mr. Rose said that I have inspired the social science chair and he loves my idea! He proceeded to tell me that they will do mock interviews at the end of next semester to prep the students for graduation and give them extra credit. I am sad that they will not be conducting the interviews this semester because I feel that I have bonded with some of the students, I also get this feeling at the end of each soccer season.( If you are reading this professor “I” do you get sad at the end of the semester?) But i will go to the interviews next semester, for sure!!!

JA, Unemployment, Questions, and RANT!

So today I did my JA assignment and the teacher praised me afterwards. I was fairly satisfied with his comments, although not to seem egotistical, I already knew I did a good job based on the amount of student comments, interaction, and volunteers.
However, because the teacher has fallen a little behind and need to do some catch-up today we did not adherer 100% to the JA material. Ironically the material that we went over in class this weeks was quite helpful in teaching today’s lesson. The teacher gave me a handout and we discussed unemployment, unemployment rate, and the effects of unemployment. In addition, I distributed a news paper article to the class and had them popcorn read (one student reads a clip/ paragraph and then picks another student). At the end of each paragraph I had the students stop and I explained what the article was describing. Overall I think to day was a success.
On a side note. Why do we present our lessons in front of the class if we don’t get graded for it? I could easily sit in front of the class and be boring as f—k and simply read off a sheet of paper. Instead I take an hour or two of my time and do a PP to convey my ideas and the lesson. WHY? I don’t know? I am just pissed!! I just want school to be over so I can go snowboarding in Mammoth and Tahoe !!! (END RANT)

Liberty, choices, and always be prepared.

Hello everyone I hope you all are having a great day, week, month, and LIFE!
So this post is for November 3-9. I was unable to blog due to the rain, my crappy internet was down. WOW WOW WOW WOW!!!!!!!! That’s what this week was. The presidential election was on Tuesday! I voted of OBAMA! And I was extremely pleased with the outcome. I even did a ASL video project on his victory (that did not turn out so well).
I presented my second lesson plan and I admit I was quite pleased with my performance and the result of the second assignment. Because if you have been reading my blogs you would know that I F—king chocked on the first one.
I got back a midterm that I left scratching my head, and to my astonishment I got an –A. This brings me to Friday. The day I teach the JA material.

November 7th 8am. This is the time that I teach the JA material. I don’t know if the other peeps in the class except for Britney, go and meet with their teacher each week prior to their normal teaching day? Howard Rose (the Econ Teacher) and my self meet every Wednesday to review the material and develop a game plan for that Fridays class. I find this extremely helpful because it forces you to become more organized and prepared for the upcoming lesson.

However, I found out that not everything always goes as planned. So on Friday I went into class even more prepared than normal because I wanted to be fluid and show the teacher that I can run his class like a pro. So I started reviewing last weeks lesson asking questions to get their brains working. The class was fairly responsive answered all of my questions and asked a few questions themselves. The lesson consisted of introducing problems in the workplace and how vital communication is, then you transition into a movie. However, this is where the fun begins because the DVD player was inoperable.

When Howard and my self attempted to fix the problem a normal respectful and quiet class erupted like Mt. Vesuvius! Rapidly I was faced with something that I was unprepared for- ravenous kids bent on talking! I remember thinking to myself I must do something to stop this talking. But my mind was blank. I was saying common Jordan Fucking think of something calm down think, think, think!!! Yet, to no avail my mind remained blank. I asked the class to calm down but only three students stopped talking. He looked at me and said under his breath I got to get these kids to shut the fuck up! Then Mr. Rose began yelling and the entire class became quiet. He promptly developed a new game plan and everything was golden.

After an activity a girl asked me a question: Why do you tell girls that they must wear slack to an interview? Why should I wear slacks to an interview at Starbucks? I explained the answer and I asked her if she works and how do people dress when they apply for a job at her workplace? Her response was the answer to both of our questions! She went on to explain story how a female attempted to apply for a job. The student said the girls had tattoos on neck, gangster makeup, and two giant steel balls on her chin! The entire class began laughing she concluded her story. Class was almost over and I began reviewing the lesson of the day. I told the class the following:
Do you know what is so great about America? Liberty! The freedom to choose! We all have the freedom to choose what we want to do in life and how we portray our selves to society. I have no problem with tattoos and piercings- what you want to do with yourself is your business. That is what’s so great about America. However, what I want you to think about the outcome of you choices in an interview. If you have dirty stained clothes, tattoos on your face or neck or great big balls on your chin...(hahahah)… your interview will be ruined because the he or she is not focused on you.

End of class

The New Applebees and Econ stuff!

Wow I have soooo much to talk about.
First, last week’s lesson was fairly cool. I was somewhat nervous going into the class room but I prepared reasonably well and I met with the teacher twice and we came up with a comprehensive game plan. The teacher I am teamed up with rocks and we mesh quite well. He introduced me and I explained who I was and let them know that I was there to help them succeed in life after high school in the new global economy. I introduced some new concepts that were not in the lesson such as Human-capital, Capital machinery, and yes, résumé. The class was cool, it seems like they respect me and I could tell that a few girls thought I was cute. The class was shortened because they had an assembly and the day was concluded.

Second, the book review. The book I selected was “A Deadly Indifference,” by Marshall Jevons. I didn’t like the book that I read I thought I was dry, unexciting, and lame. I hope the author is a better economic teacher than a writer!. However, there are some good econ concepts within the book. That said the book still sucks!

Third, was today’s JA lesson. Happy Halloween everyone! The class was a bit unraveled, I could tell that they were anxious for the day to be over because they just wanted to go get drunk, high, and get some candy. I know for a fact that the kids are doing this stuff because I heard them talking about it. They don’t understand that I have ears too and I am always watching them. So the lesson went fairly smooth. I stumbled once and had the teacher come and saver my ass, but that’s expected. Something that I learned from last week is that my vocabulary is more complicated than they are used to. In other words, they are stupid! No no no, I am joking. What I do is explain something how I normally would and then say in other words ….
I had them get into random groups I.E. no friends and explained that in a work environment you will not always work with someone you like. Furthermore, I elucidated that employers sometimes place you in groups to conduct mini experiments to see how people interact and if a select person can get a job done. The class went over 16 skills and we had them choose 5 that they thought were the best qualities. The mini Board of Directors as I called them, looked over 3 résumés and then as a group decided what potential candidate was most suited for the job. Something that I incorporated that was not in JA’s lesson, was a t the very end I asked each group what candidate they had chosen; A,B, or C. I listed the results on the board and all but one group picked candidate B; the other group picked applicant A. I asked the A group why they decide to pick A and then asked all others to tell why they picked B. The class was almost done and we had them put the desks back.

CONGRAULATIONS to the new Applebees, Robin & Andy!!!!!! On October 26th I had the honor of participating in their wedding!!! It was mega cool! It was at Ponte Winery in Temecula. I just want to say hi to all of my loyal readers DUB, Greg, Kelly, PIE, and the mad-dog Ginger kid Rory (sorry man but you got a girl!) and sorry if I forgot you BGA or Robby.

Synopsis of the Day

To day is Monday and I wanted to get the Blog done ASAP! But, before i start my rant on this week i just want to give a synopsis of last week. I finally was able to meet with my JA teacher and i will start this Friday O=} I must admit that I will be quite scared!
Ok, Just for today! I like to start with a quote because my
my weekend SUCKED!
However I like Confucius said
“Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall”.
I got stood up on Friday by a Dumb Girl. Anyways today’s lesson was cool! I don’t know if I am the only person but I like to listen to lectures, only if they are on cool subjects. I like externalities and think how one persons actions can affect another agent ! Just try and think about how many actions that each one of take part in each day and multiply that by all of the inhabitants of the Earth! Sorry a small tangent I am listening to music as I write this DJ Caffeine! YouTube him and see what I am talking about!
What do the rest of you think about class I probably tick alot of you off with all of the questions i ask. I even think i tick off the teacher as welll. But, I dont care I paid alot of money to get my education and that entails asking questions. See ya all on Wed!

Bassically I Choked on the Econ Lesson Plan! F--K!

So last week during October 08, 2008, I had to present my first economic lesson plan for my econ for teachers class at SDSU. It SUCKED! Or better I SUCKED! I didn’t do the assignment correctly and I got flustered when I had to present inform of the class.
Basically I choked.
However, because I F—Ked up so bad I learned how to do it the right way. Although I don’t now what type of grade I might get on this assignment I do know that I am a better student and future teacher because of it.
So I just got done looking over at two of my fellow students Lesson Plans and they were quite good. That said I also don’t know what I am looking for! There is one thing that I am not sure about this assignment , how am I supposed to create a lesson plan when I don’t know what to-do? When I teach can I teach any way that I want? Is the school going to say that I have to teach these certain subjects? I have a ton of questions and no concrete answers.

Active Learning

I like Active learning! I think as a person, student, and as a future teacher active learning can fragment some of the monotony which can accumulate over time. In addition, Active learning is a unique way to view human interactions. I personally believe that - you can teach an old dog new tricks! All you have to do is listen.
The major upside to active learning is simple. If a student dose not fully understand the concept and lesson or simply dislikes the subject , active learning has the potential to help in both process and at the very least it makes the teacher look cool!