Overall, this was a very fun. Since, I taking summer classes all summer, the longest break I have was the Fourth of July holiday break. My family and I had planned to go to our place in Tennessee; however, on Monday, my father had been sick for a week and finally we talked Mr. Stubborn into going to the doctor; there he found out that he has Shingles. Later that day, Dad's health decreased even more, and continued to throughout the next few days. On Wednesday, he phoned me to say that our plans to go to the lake would have to be canceled. I had assumed that we would not be going to the lake, so I was not surprised. Since I had already made plans to be off work, I decided to go home for the break and spend, it with Dad, with high hopes that he would be filling up to company.

On Thursday, Dad was feeling so much better; the doctor had warned him that he would feel extremely bad for a while and then have a good day, but this didn't mean that he would be better. That evening, my family and I celebrated the Fourth with a cook-out and fireworks. Matt graced us with his presence for a whole ten minutes; he was in a hurry since he had Tucker with him (Tucker is his parents' adorable puppy). Later that night, Dad said that we were going to Tennessee the following morning and EARLY! I reminded him that the doctor said that he would have good days and bad, and we didn't need to go, because we would be too far away if something happened, but my dad can be rather subborn and would not listen to what I was saying. That night, knowing that I wouldn't have the weekend to complete my homework, I worked on two of my assignments; these included learning highlights and learning needs. For learning highlights, I had a difficult time trying to decide on a story to discuss me as a learner. Finally, after some thought, I chose to describe an athletic experience rather than an academically based. As for the assignment on learning needs, the article was very interesting. There were numerous approaches, in which a probe could have been derived; I chose to focus my probe on the average teacher becoming the advanced practitioner. For some teachers, this will definitely be a lifelong process, as for others, it seems almost like second nature.

The weekend was really fun and relaxing. I didn't take any books; I just enjoyed my time with the family and the weather. Friday, we spent the day at our place taking it easy and went out on the lake for awhile. On Saturday, we went to Pidgeon Forge for the day. Today, was not as enjoyable; not only did I have to leave my family, but I had to come home to homework; my forensics paper is due Thursday. Speaking of my forensics class, this coming week is my last week. I really have enjoyed the class, but I am looking forward to it being over, so I will have more time for this class; in addition, more shut-down time to do things I want to do and need to do.

Today, when I got home, I completed the assignment where we had to take the VARK; I was not shocked that my results revealed that I am an aural learner. As for other assignments that I completed over the week, I think there were two reading assignments, and we had to surf the net using various search engines. I really need to start making little notes when I do these assignments, so I am able to discuss what I thought, disagreed with, had questions about, etc. I think when I am doing them that I will remember when it comes times to write my journal, and until this point I have, but I can't recall any specifics on these assignments; maybe, it is for the reason that I completed them so much earlier than the rest of my work for this week:) One last note, I have added more storage to my hotmail account, so I have decided to continue to use this account for this class.

This week has been so hectic. I am really disappointed in myself for not devoting as much time as I should in this class. Most of my time has been spent at my job. Normally, I don't get so emotionally involved with a job; however, this is a different matter. I have worked as a mentor before, about three years ago, but I did not have one single individual who need was nearly as high as the particular child I am working with now. It is as though I can't put my work behind me. When I am working on my forensics, CD 315 assignments, etc., I am constantly being distracted on how I can make my client's situation better. I was trainned to control the child with behavioral problems; however, that is not the problem when I am around her. Instead, I see a helpless, young girl who doesn't comprehend why the cards have been dealt the way they have for her. I see a girl that doesn't understand why she is where she is. I just wish I could tell her that the environment that she is now in will enable her to have a much brighter opportunity. I wish I could make her understand that the people who have her really love her and want the best for her; however, that would be unrealistic to think matters could be simplified so easily.

On Tuesday, I went to a nursing home. It was an interesting experience. I met one lady, Ruth, who really seemed to have her wits. After I introduced myself, I asked her how she had been. She responded by saying in her beautiful English accent, "The weather has been beautiful. My health has been great. I cannot complain." Moments later, she asked me how to get downstairs. When I told her that there was only one floor. She became very aggravated. She told me that she was only visiting her grandmother for their weekly tea, and they met every week downstairs. After I, again, told her the situation, she said to me that she must have been dreaming. She told me that, for a short period of time, she has been dreaming and cannot tell the difference between her dreams and reality. It broke my heart. Later, that evening, I went to the Alzeimer's section; it is called "Mary's Garden." It was absolutely breathtaking; there was a lanai, an arts & crafts center, beautiful flowers and pictures, and so much more. It was like being at a resort rather than a nursing home, and most of the people really seemed to enjoy the environment.

In regards to the CD 315 class, I had forgotten that Mrs. McComas was going to be out of town. So, when I had to change my e-mail address, I kept waiting for a response so I could send my work. Finally realizing that she mentioned that she would be gone, I forwarded my work to my old account, so I could then forward it to the Yahoo group; this work consisted of subscribing and unsubscribing to a mailing list. I really enjoyed working on the personal values and history assignments; it is fun to do any assignment that requires reminiscing. I loved doing the people find assignment. I now know that if I ever need to find someone, I will know how to approach it.

When it came time to do the foundation questions, I had already thought of this before seeing the assignment. In my forensics class, we have been working on a research paper on the Kennedy Assassination. For this class, our professor gave us foundation questions to develop our research around. Those questions have been so beneficial. Typically, when I do a research paper, I gather so much information about my topic and I am left clueless as to where I should even begin to approach the paper. By having the foundation question, it breaks it into parts, which will result in the final unit. Also, by researching in this type of manner, I am less likely to procrastinate; it is easier for me to work a little at a time on it.

Finally, I want to discuss the webliography. What can I say other than-Whew! This is going to be an interesting task. When I was linking my sites, I immediately saved my work, and then I would edit it. Computers sometimes make me nervous; I was so afraid that I would somehow misplace something. The first couple of times I saved my webliography, my page layout looked good. However, now it is a mess. I kept going back to try to fix it. When I edit it, it looks like it is how I want it, but when I click save, it looks completely different. So, my question is, how can I add spaces between each topic?

As week three is almost underway, I am beginning to feel very anxious. It just seems like there is just so much material and so little time. I am becoming a little overwhelmed and tired. I am not used to starting my mornings as earlier as I have had to; since I commute, I have to get up rather early for my eight o'clock class. I am not used to my life being on a clock. In the regular term classes, I usually have a break where I can relax for a second, do some homework, etc. However, my summer class schedule is quite the contrary. After my morning class, I go straight to work, in Eastbank, with the exception of Tuesdays (since we have the MOO) and Fridays (I use this day to catch up on things that I just didn't have time to do). When I return home, I eat dinner and then I start on my homework. I must say, I really miss having leisurely time; however, I do like my schedule being tight, because there is no time left for me to procrastinate.

This week, I have noticed that I am constantly tripping over myself. Instead of just getting an assignment completed, I really take advantage of all the options that are available to use by using the net. If I read something interesting in an article, I do web searches to try to find out more information about the subject. So, what I think will not take a lot of time to complete, ends up being hours of reseaching information. When this happens, so much time elapses; this can sometimes be a scary factor since I do have a busy schedule. When I am at my computer, it is almost as though, time just stops. It is good that I am really able to obtain and learn a lot of information. However, I am really try to displine myself a little better; otherwise, I will not get my assignments completed. Usually, when I read a text book, newspaper, etc., I take in some, but not all of the information. However, when I read something on the computer, I really take it in. I am not saying that it is always easy to understand all of it, but if I am confused, I will read the material over and over until I feel that I have a good grasp on the information presented. I assume that I am able to do this because I do not pay attention to time. Unlike when I read anything else, other than a book I CHOOSE to read, I constantly look to see what time it is. I guess I just don't get bored as easy when I am using a computer. It is for this fact, I feel I should probably scan material that I need to study to aid for a better study method:)

I think it is funny how you can read the same article more than once, and each time you read it, you are left with a different impression as the time before. This happen to me when I read the articles used to complete assignment 1.1.10. As I read the article on information literacy, my first impression was positive. I thought this is the way learning should be. I thought how Mrs. McComas's class, as well as a few others I have had in the past, are conducted and how it fulfills the principles to generate information literacy. However, after I read the other articles, that discussed the same ideas, I came to a point of bitterness. I thought how there are many teachers in our school systems that deny students of this idea. So, instead of discussing the positive aspects of information literacy, I focused on the negative aspect. I am not usually pessimistic; however, since I did have such a horrible personal experience, I wanted to address the inequlity of information literacy in our school systems. I need to go back and write an essential question. I am still thinking of ways I want to address my question.

In conclusion, this week has been another week of learning lots of new information. The articles are very informative. The only big problem I had this week was subscribing to a mailing list. I kept getting responses that it was unsuccessful. I am going to reread the information on how to successfully subscribe to a mailing list. I am probably making some silly mistake; hopefully, I will be able to get it worked out.

I wish all a very unstressful upcoming week:)