This has been a pretty good week. Since my forensic class is over, I am finding that I
have a lot more time to get my assignments done as well as a little leisure time. I have
always had a deep love for forensic type work; at one point in my life, I thought about
majoring in forensics. However, I thought that I would enjoy this line of work better.
Unlike in my CD classes, forensics just seems to come as second nature to me. I can
spend hours trying to figure a case out or do an experiment without being concerned
about how much time has elapsed. It is for this reason, I always question if I chose to be
in the right field of study. My mom has tried to reassure me that I am having doubts,
because I am in my senior year and I know that I will probably be a speech pathologist
until the day I graduate. She has always told me that I enjoy my forensics class so much,
because it is a break away from the CD classes; maybe, this that is the case. Hopefully, she is right!

I have really been working a lot with my client. Yesterday, we went to Camden Park. I haven't been there in years, and I probably won't go there again for a very long time, if ever. My client wanted to ride the Sky(something); I don't really recall the name of it. Since the ride had to be balanced a certain way, I had to ride in a cart with a man, a very crazy man! There is a steering wheel in the ride that you can control; well, the man I was with controlled it and nearly killed me. First, my money came out of my pockets. Then, the side of my head slammed against the cage, leaving a big knot. To beat it all, when the ride stopped, I thought the man was being nice by picking up my money; however, once I finally got out of the cage, he and my money were gone. It wasn't a lot of money, but it is the priniciple; he was a total jerk!Today, I am covered with big bruises on my both of my legs, one of my arms, and one on the left side of my head; I look like someone has beaten me up or something.

Now, in regards to the class, a quick run down to this week's tasks. Early in the week, I submitted my research bibliography; I have really been finding a lot
of informative sites. I also did some other tasks that were not part of this week’s
assignments but really needed to be taken care of. For instance, I spent time a
great deal of time trying to organize and fix my webliography; it still isn’t the exact way I
want it, but it is definitely getting closer. In addition, I changed some of my genres. One
thing I decided to do was make the poem be written by the mother rather than the child; I
feel this really helped to tie things together better. Also, instead of using a newsletter
from the mother, I chose to delete the newsletter all together, replacing with a pamphlet. The reason for this is that I feel that I can use the pamphlet as part of the introduction for the MRP. Another change I may make is to replace the lesson plan with a journal or story from the child with Asperger Syndrome. Originally, I wanted to, first, present the lesson plan and then show how it should be modified to meet the needs of the individual with Asperger Syndrome. However, I am now working on a new approach that I feel will work out better after talking to a few professionals. Instead of addressing what we should now about the Asperger Syndrome, I am going to focus more on accepting. I kind of
know what I want to do, but my new angle is still a little rough.

When working on my genres for this week, I created a really nice pamphlet; however,
when I added it to my webliography, it is completely different. I am really proud with
how my poem turned out. To create it, I took words from a mother of a child with
Asperger Syndrome and words from my mother since she works one-on-one with a client with this diagnosis. I found out earlier this term that I am an aural learning, and I really
agree with the results; although I have read all of this material, talking to my mother
really caused a light bulb to glow brighter.

My goals for this week are to try to tie this all together and once and for all find the angle
I want to approach, so I won’t have to keep modifying my project. Also, this week, I found out that it is "Asperger Syndrome" rather than "Asperger's Syndrome", so I need to edit all of my entries.My question for this week concerns the pamphlet. Is there a way to present my pamphlet in my webliography to appear the way I created it rather than looking like a really poor excuse of an outline?

How can the educator transform a need for literacy into a want for literacy?

In order for an individual to be literate, he/she needs to have a good understanding on the three Rs-reading, writing, and research. As a mentor, I have found that when any of the 3 Rs are discussed to a child, the child responds by either addressing a negative comment or making a face. Why is it that children are not interested in wanting to be literate? Is it for the fact that their superior are constantly presenting the ability to be literate as a task rather than a gift? For children, there is simply no fun in becoming literate; they don’t understand how rewarding it is and will continue to be. So, how can we as educators make the need for literacy be a want for literacy to children?

First, we need to realize that not all learning requires structure and does not have to occur in a classroom. Children love to be outside; therefore, the outdoors would be an excellent place to begin. They could find insects,leaves, flowers, etc., research the specific names. Then, they could be responsible for writing about their findings and reflecting on their experiences. To take it a step further, the children could share with one another or present to the class in a speech what they discovered and how their discoveries made them feel. That is only one of the numerous ways that literacy can be presented in a fun, yet constructive way. In return, by allowing the children to enjoy learning, the need for literacy becomes a want for literacy in the eyes of the children.