Spring Break is Over. Now What?

Last week was my spring break. No, I didn't go to Daytona Beach or Cancun. I stayed home. I took a break from my school work but I did know that I had to read Books 1 and 2 of The Aeneid. (another epic like The Iliad and The Odyssey). Yesterday was my first day back at school. I was sick. Did I stay home? NOOOO! I made it because I did not want to miss another class. If I was on death's door, then I would have stayed home. I had a really bad cough. I brought water and cough drops with me. I sat, took notes, and coughed. I made it through the day. Some of you like to take off if you have something wrong with you that is very minor. You have to stop doing that. If you don't have a fever and can walk, come to school. Ask your parents for some medicine for your symptoms and try to come to school. You won't be 100% but at least you won't miss work or be marked absent (remember, too many absences can lower your grade). You are getting older and you can't take a day off for every little thing when you have a job. You'll lose pay or worse, you'll be fired.

I got my midterms back. I got a 90 in my history course and a B+ in my literature course. I was pretty happy. I rewarded myself by buying yellow tulips for my house! My family was very proud of me, too. I was just assigned a 7 - 10 page research paper which is due on May 1st. I am going to get a topic and start it so I can finish it way before the deadline. I hate being a last-minute-person. I hope you are trying to manage your time better and get your assignments done in a timely fashion.

I hope you are all well.

Breathing a Sigh of Relief

I had 2 midterms yesterday, back-to-back. I forgot how stressful and tiring it is to take exams like that. I completely feel for you when you have more than one exam in a day. I was stressing out over it! I thought about how you, my students, get through it. First, if you don't study for the exam, your stress level is going to go through the roof and you'll get angry. Not only at yourself but to those around you. I've seen it. You know, when you say, "That teacher is stupid" or "Who cares?" Well, obviously you do and you are employing a defense mechanism to try to cushion the blow of NOT STUDYING. Studying really works, kids. I'm not talking 10 minutes before the exam. I'm talking about going over your notes over and over again days before the test. You should redo problems that you had for homework. Read over your homework assignments (assuming that you do them) because your teachers take the exam questions from there! Trust me! My professors told us what the exams would be on and they didn't steer the classes wrong. If you are all caught up with the homeworks and reading assignments (and whatever else you get for HW), then studying shouldn't be that difficult. Maybe the question I should pose to you is: DO YOU KNOW HOW TO STUDY? When I come back in September, I plan on working on this A LOT! Start practicing now!

The only good thing about these exams was that I found out that my memory does work. I can actually remember facts and use them on the tests! I did not have a "senior moment" when I forgot things. When I wasn't too sure about an answer, I made a note on the paper and went to the next question. Then I went back to the ones I was shaky on. I'm glad they're over. No, I'm ecstatic they're over. My college is on spring break next week. I joked around with my husband that I was going to go to Daytona or Cancun. Naaah, I'm going to be right here in good ol' New York!

Now that I have a little break, I am going to whip out those knitting needles and finish some projects. You know how knitting is my love! It keeps me sane!

I just wanted to know that I love hearing from some of you! It keeps me in touch with you, my dear students. Keep it up!

Some Interesting Comments from my Professor

On Monday, the papers I wrote for my 2 classes were returned to me. I am proud to say that I received A minus on both of them. However, my literature professor gave a brief speech before handing them out. It made me very tense and I want to share with you the gist of his talk. I believe that the students must take a college writing course in their freshment year at Purchase. My professor said that when he read the papers, he felt that the students are not understanding how to write a paper. This paper was an example of expository writing. This means that the writer is providing information for the reader and must convey it in such a way that the reader understands it. You do this when you e-mail your friends. You are giving them info and they are responding to it. The professor stressed how important it is to write correctly and that this has real world applications. In all occupations, knowing how to write is very important. If any of you are considering going to college, you must get your writing skills sharper!

My professor then offered his services to help these students. On my comment he wrote that my writing was a little bumpy and he wanted to show me how to fix it. I was going to blow him off but then decided to see him. What he meant by his comment was that I should have read my paper out loud and fix up some awkward sentences. I totally agree with him and will do that on my next assignment.

What does all of this mean for you? Well, get more serious about your writing. It is never going to go away. You must be able to convey ideas to others. Ask your teachers for specific directions as to what they want. Ask your resource room teachers for help. You can read the writing out loud to them and they can help you edit the sentences. One good idea the professor gave was that each sentence should be able to allow you to write the next sentence and you should consider writing the introduction LAST. Once you've written your paper and you know what it's all about, then you can introduce the topic because by now you have become an expert on the subject. Think about the information the reader needs to pay attention to. The more you do it, the better you get at it. Finally, I can't emphasize enough that you must read. Reading will introduce you to more complex, more mature sentence structure. You get to see the language as it should be, not what you speak to your friends.

I hope this helps you. It certainly has helped me. I was really glad I spoke to my teacher.

Be well. Be brilliant.