While a vast majority of you are backing in the sun, can you guess where I am? I am here in
Scranton, Pa with the other student teachers. I'm the only one in my apartment but I guess there is nothing wrong with some "me time." I do enjoy being by myself but I would like to tell jokes at time and cannot. Luckily everyone is coming back soon.

Student teaching is going really well. My students enjoy my fun lessons and my songs. I figured I can give you a taste of one of my songs. So here goes...

Protists
Protists are eukaryotes
Which are made of one or many cells
Some go out and look for food
While others make food themselves

Protists have their own kingdom
Because they cannot be classified
As animals, plants, or fungi

Animal-like protists or protozoans
Are unicellular and move around to look for food
Once they have the food
It is broken down and then distributed in the food vacuole

Plantlike protist are commonly called algae
And are very diverse
They are an important food source for other organisms
And they produced much of the oxygen on Earth

Diatoms are a type of plant-like protist
That are called the jewels of the sea
Don’t take my word for it
Turn to page 74 and you will see

Funguslike protists are heterotrophs
And use spores to reproduce
This protist caused the Irish potato famine
And left millions without food

Just like plants fungus like protists
Have a cell wall
You can see some with the naked eye
But others are way too small

Protists are interesting organisms
Hence why they have their own kingdom
By the time we are done
We’ll be able to classify them

Now you can get a feel for why my students really enjoy my class. There are definitely more songs to come so stay tune. Continue enjoying your spring break while I patiently wait for you all to return

~Cynthia

Posted by Cynthia David at 8:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

St. Patty's Day was a blast!!!! My best friend from high school came down from Buffalo to celebrate with me and my apartmentmates. We roamed the city and we made it down to the parade. I actually saw the band of the school where I student teach at. I didnt know any of the students because they were high schoolers but it was nice to have some North Pocono pride. Shelly enjoyed her time here, after her 12 hour bus ride from Buffalo. It is really only 6 hours but she missed her connecting bus at Syracuse. The trip was worth it though!! In other news, the moment you all been waiting for.....

After 5 days of internal struggle and thinking this job thing over, I decided that..... I could not accept it at the current moment. I am very ethical person. I called the principal and told her about being a Fulbright Finalist. She appreciated my honesty and even offered me a job for next year and told me if i unfortunately did not get the Fulbright and my position was still open, I could have it. After that moment I could not sign the contract and possibly break it. I know it was a tough decision but I had to make it. The principal seems very understanding and if she really wants me there, she will hold my spot. I'll keep you posted.

Student teaching this week is going to be uneventful because they are taking the PSSAs so I am not teaching at all. I know you all are having a blast, enjoying your spring break while I'm all alone in my apartment. Campus is so quite now a days. I went to the gym yesterday and there was only 3 people in there at 5:30 which is unheard of. I can not wait until everyone comes back. I bet a lot of people are glued to their tv set watching NCAA games. I'm not into college basketball so I do not know whats going on right now. I do know that I want a Jesuit school to win so Gonzaga and Xavier better step their game up! Enjoy the rest of your break. Until next week...

~Cynthia

Posted by Cynthia David at 8:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

O what a week! This week was filled with surprises, some good and some bad but I'll share the good ones with you. Student teaching is going well. My students are very funny. Some of them still call me Mrs. David or Ms. Davis but luckily for me, there are many attentive students that correct them. My co-op is awesome and we get along well. Next week is going to be fun. For a reading class I am going to share my experience in Senegal with them after the read a passage about Phillis Wheatley. I'll make sure to share some pictures with you too.

I went home this weekend to play the "big sister" role. My brother is a high school senior so we had to make sure all the financial aid documents were situated. I know I know, you wish you had a big sister like me! The drawback of going home was I missed 2009 Hours 'til Graduation which was a senior gathering at the Scranton Cultural Center. I figured I went to the holiday party I can miss one event. I enjoyed my time at home though. I saw one of my good friends after not seeing her for two years. I also celebrated my friend Jackie's bday with her. All in all it was an eventful weekend and the excitement did not end there. On Monday, I was offered the teaching position as a Kindergarden charter school teacher in DC. My first post-grad offer!!! I was very excited about the news.

With excitement comes dilemmas. As a Fulbright finalist, I do not know when I am going to hear back from the Fulbright but DC wants to know by Sunday so what should I do?? If you have any ideas please leave a comment. I'll let you know what happened in my next blog. Enjoy St. Patty's day this weekend. Look forward to seeing you at the parade!!!

Posted by Cynthia David at 7:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I do not even know where to begin! After my interview in DC, my schedule was thrown off for the rest of the week. I thought I had everything ready but I clearly did not. I took over reading and a few science classes last week but Friday was the real deal. My co-op was absent so all 128 students were all mine for the day. I know i did a great job. The substitutes complimentented my classroom management style and teaching techniques. I thought this was a great way to get the students used to me because on Monday I was going to take over. I reviewed my rules and expectactions and everything was history after that. I know you are eager to know how my first full week went, and I will let you know after a few brief messages....

My weekend was full of excitement. One of my friends from back home came up to visit. We had a wonderful time with my apartmentmates and classmates. We just relaxed and talked at the apartment and met with other friends later on that evening. When will my friend return? I do not know, but hopeful soon! Sunday was a day to come back to reality. No more relaxing. It was back to preparing lesson plans. But before I did that, I went to see Columbinus. If you have not seen it, please go see it as soon as possible. The show is playing this weekend (6th-8th). Columbinus is definitely worth watching. It was so real and powerful and is def. a must see.

Now back to student teaching. My first full day of teaching went very well. I only teach 2 subjects, reading and science, so after the 1st two science classes I felt much more comfortable with the material and the classroom. My co-op just observed from the back of the classroom and gave me a lot of constructive criticism, which I appreciate. We even sang a Domains and Kingdoms song which I made up. I would put it up online but the song is not copywritten yet lol. My goal is to have one rap/song per week. I already started to work on the virus song for next week. Later on this week, I am going to get observed by Prof. Chambers so I must make sure everything is ready for the big day. I'll keep you posted. Have a great week.

~Cynthia

Posted by Cynthia David at 8:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)