A Class Assignment

So this might seem a bit odd for most of you but a little explanation should help ease the confusion. I am currently taking a 'Technology in the Classroom' class and this weeks assignment included building [or using a current blog ( :] and answering a few questions on the blog so, while this isn't a family update, it might be fun for some of you to read the questions and answers.

1) Why do you want to become a teacher?
    I have always loved working with kids, especially teenagers but after my divorce I found that I was unable to get a job using my degree which did not involve travel so I decided to go back to school and get my teaching certificate. Teaching puts me back with a group of people I love working with and thoroughly enjoy. I look forward to all the new experiences and things they will teach me.
    I chose social studies partly because it used so much of my first bachelors degree (Asian Studies) but also because I truly love the subjects entrenched within the subject realm, history and geography especially.

2) What plans do you have for teaching?
    My plans at this point are very simple and basic. I want to get a job teaching in a middle school or Jr. High  and I hope to spend the rest of my time until retirement in that same district but we will have to see what life decides to throw at me.

3) What is your basic teaching philosophy?
    I believe it is vital for today's students to understand the cultures and histories of the world around them. If today's students are not tolerant and accepting of those outside their own cultural and ethnic sphere, it will cripple them in their future careers and daily lives. To help in this process, I hope to help my students learn about other peoples and cultures through a historical and/or geographical lens. It is through knowledge and understanding that our world will truly become one of tolerance and acceptance but that first step has to be taken.

Ok, off my soapbox. No worries family, the next update will be more on the lives of the Anderson girls!

The Randomness of Life

Well, Cele's back. She had a blast. And eventually I will get her to send out a letter/email to family and a blog entry on here so she can tell you all all about her adventures in the nations capital. We will also be trying to get thank you cards together for everyone that helped us out with her trip. I cannot thank you all enough! Without all of your help, from your $5.00 donations to Grandma Eiko who literally ended up paying for 1/3 of the trip, every bit was received with much gratitude from both of us. So here are a few pictures for you from said trip. I promise, I will make Cele give you more details later. It will be better to here the stories she has to tell from the 'horses mouth' as it were.

This digital slideshow generated with Smilebox As for any other happenings, not much has changed. Life is still hectic, crazy, and oftentimes hairsplittingly insane, but then that's normal for us. Cele just completed her honor band auditions for this year. She already made the band and the auditions this morning were just for her seating assignment. She had so much fun last year with it that she is super excited to get to do it again this year This month also marks the fourth anniversary of my mothers passing. I have decided to honor her memory with pictures and stories at least once a week on facebook about her. If you knew her, feel free to share your own favorite memories of her. Here are the pictures I have shared so far.  This picture was in memory of my mother as a grandmother. Her two granddaughters were her world. She adored them both and was very grateful to have both of them in her life. From being able to claim that she was the first to give her older granddaughter her first bottle to the many Amma-Cele adventures the two of them embarked on, these were the sparks that kept her going for the last almost twenty years of her life. They were her world. This picture was taken shortly before my own grandmother, my maternal grandmother that is, passed away. It is our family's four generation picture. We went down to Hurricane to visit my grandma one last time before she died and the adventures in the car on that trip are ones I will never forget, though there are some I wouldn't mind forgetting! My mother was most certainly NOT the best driver out there, especially when she was in her chair and your toes just might be involved! You learned to move fast when mom was backing up. It was also one of the last times I had spent any significant amount of time with that side of the family since I was a teenager, certainly it and my Grandma's funeral were the last times my mom saw all of her living siblings in the same place at the same time. Mom wasn't the best at keeping in touch with family. Sadly, I seem to have inherited that tendency. Bad Joy. On a separate note though, the fun thing about this four generation picture is that my mom was my grandma's oldest, I am my mom's oldest, and, of course, Cele gets to claim any place in the line-up she wants. Well that's all for now folks. Have a great day/week. We shall disturb you with more inane news at a later date!