Imaginary Play

There was a little spitfire in my two’s class, Gordy. If there were any rule he could break, he would. He came from an affluent family that had a big name in the town. Therefore, he and his entire family were “entitled” to many things…in their opinion. There were times I would wait an hour after closing for his mom to pick him up and she would walk in with no hesitation, no apology, no remorse…pick up her son and leave. Gordy was learning from example. Despite the sense of entitlement, he was a character.

We always took the kids to play outside. Usually, we would try to find a common theme to play, but other times they would play freely; choosing whatever method of play they wanted. They explored and discovered. Gordy decided to explore his imagination during outside play, which can be a dangerous thing, as we discovered.

Gordy was interested in the restaurant management system. He ran his own place…distributing food to his patrons and picking up the table once they were finished. Business wasn’t going too well this one day, apparently. We were interacting with the students when Gordy began his advertising spiel. In the middle of the playground, at the highest peak of the playground set, amongst the entire passerby’s…we hear Gordy declaring his current restaurant special, “BEER!!! FREE BEER!!!”

…come on by March 1st.

Potties and Toilet Paper

I know that there’s always room to learn and I have not “seen it all,” but I have seen a bit. From what I have seen, I quickly learned many things. I know that when high school students “go to the bathroom,” it’s really code for grabbing a snack and soda from the machines. I know that you can’t fool children of any age. I also know that you should keep anything involving toilet paper away from two year olds unless you plan to clean up a mess.

There is a certain fascination children have with the potty. Whenever you are going through the potty training process with a child, keep an eye on their interest. Are they happy that they used the potty? Probably, but I assume most of their excitement comes from your praise. Do they get excited with the clean-up process? I don’t think anyone is excited about that part. Are they interested in the potty functioning? Most definitely; the flushing and watching the water swirling down the pipe never ceases to amaze them. If you are lucky, you will meet a child who is interested in the potty the entire time of usage! Those are the fun ones.

One of my students – we’ll call him Paco for the sake of privacy and legalities – had always been an energetic handful. He hit the initial stage of potty training (showing interest in the potty) and did he surprise us all. The very first time at the potty, he spent a few seconds inspecting the toilet. Paco must have been mesmerized by the sparkling water or just really thirsty, because, in no time at all, he bent down, elbows deep in water, and began drinking from the toilet. When he began using the potty, number two to be direct, Paco would stand and watch his masterpiece. We had to be watchful, because several times he had tried to preserve his hard work by grabbing it to put in his pockets and “save for later.” As he progressed, Paco became interested in the toilet paper and the cleaning process. My coworker –feeling confident in the fact that Paco was next to her and, if he were to try anything, she was able to react quickly – had decided to help another child wash her hands. When she turned back to Paco, she found the toilet water had been completely absorbed by the insurmountable amount of toilet paper left in the bowl. Yes, Paco was one of the students interested in the entire potty training experience…before, during and after potty use.

…swirl on by February 20th.

Topic Expansion

Well, hello to all of you who have stuck along during last month. I appreciate your loyalty. Plus, I feel like I’m writing with some kind of meaning…rather than sending blogs into the abyss of, well, nowhere.

Today, I am sending a blurb on a topic expansion. Because of my experience with children, I have learned that there is always one thing that never changes when working with children…things change. Yes, my family, friends, fellow bloggers and readers…things change. With change, I can guarantee you one thing about children…you will always be surprised. Children and pets are magnificent creatures that constantly change and surprise the heck outta’ you.

Therefore, my topic expansion will include stories of my experiences with children…with pets…with teaching…name it. Granted, I will change the names to protect the innocent…as well as the not-so-innocent. They will be true stories, though. Do not doubt that.

Please note that these are stories based from my experience and the knowledge acquired through my experience. I am sharing this to offer another point-of-view, but I am not saying that I know everything. If you were to ever run into someone who “knows everything,” run the opposite way, because they, probably, know nothing. No. I’m not a guru. I am just sharing the funniness of my mistakes and dumbfounded-ness.

…meet me back here on February 10th.

Google AdSense

Google AdSense?!?

You mean I can make money blogging?!?

This shows how new I am to blogging.

As I mentioned, I am still unemployed…per sé. So, this Google AdSense sounds great. As, I share my reflections, contemplations, and considerations with you during this blog, past blogs, and future blogs…please feel free to contribute by clicking on these ads. It will be interesting to see how far this will go.

I am the oldest cousin and, jokingly, made that my informal experience of twenty-three years of child care. My formal experience began when I was the dance assistant instructor, at age thirteen, making my formal experience seventeen years of child care. I spent my entire life hating child care. I fought and rebelled against watching children. Finally, after several years of college, I analyzed my work history and found that the majority of my history was related to children and ALL of my work history related to teaching. So be it…I went for education.

Now, with a degree and without a steady job, I have become a glorified babysitter. I work with children who have special needs and/or considered “at-risk.” I, also, work with children who don’t have special needs or aren’t “at-risk,” but they are few. There are many babysitters that are willing to work with “easy” children. I like the challenge. I believe I am good at what I do. I am able to enjoy what I do, because I have the knowledge and experience to back me up. I’m just working on the paperwork to back me up, now.

I am also a pet sitter. I watch pets with behavioral disorders and un-socialized pets. Just like my glorified babysitting jobs, I have the “easy” pets, as well. However, because of my education from Cesar Milan’s shows and reading material combined with my alpha-dog personality, I discovered that I’m good with pets, too.

So, until the job availabilities open up for me…here I am; Glorified babysitter, pet sitter, blogger.

…meet me back here on February 1st.

Obama's Higher Education

I have my bachelor’s degree in “Individualized Studies.” This, basically, means that I have been in college long enough and took a variety of courses to get a bachelor’s degree. I can say I am a college graduate. I can, also, say that I am still unemployed. As it turns out, I am overqualified for some jobs and under qualified for others.

“Higher education can’t be a luxury; it’s an economic imperative that every family in America should be able to afford.” Barack Obama[1]

Everybody should have an opportunity to go to college, but not everybody deserves to go to college. As a matter of fact, everybody does have an opportunity to go to college…but not everybody is willing to work to go to college. If we were to allow the “illiterates” to attend college, because it is imperative that we do so, what kind of message are we sending to those who have studied much and worked hard to become well-informed and highly-educated? If we give a college education to those who cannot afford one, because it is imperative, what kind of message are we sending to those who have worked hard or worked several different jobs to pay for a higher education?

In order to preserve the value and quality of earning a higher education degree, we need to maintain the “luxurious” nature that higher education holds. We are quickly providing financial aid for anyone wanting a higher education without asking if they deserve a higher education. We are dumbing down the quality of education to allow those uneducated to survive in college. We are catering to those who want a higher education degree, but unwilling to work hard enough for a higher education. At what point do we say, “Enough!” and make people work for what they want?

We are devaluing the quality of a higher education by allowing “every family in America” to get a higher education. We are creating cookie-cutter graduates and their degrees become meaningless. Hence, we, with bachelor’s degrees, are, now, considered under qualified; whereas, if we allowed colleges to be select, the value of a degree would become more worthwhile. We need the “luxurious” nature attached to higher education in order to dole out highly qualified individuals.

…see you January 30th.

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[1] Obama, Barack. “Higher Education.” SearchQuotes: Higher Education Quotes. SearchQuotes. Web. 28 March 2013. <http://www.searchquotes.com/search/Obama_Higher_Education/>

My Bachelor's Degree

I was so excited to graduate high school – my last year of high school did not go very well – and begin my path towards a higher education. I enrolled in New Mexico State University…that very summer of 2001, after my graduation. Looking back, the quality of New Mexico State University’s higher education can be disputed…but there is no question regarding the quantity of education. However, I digress.

I do cherish every moment at New Mexico State University. Every moment both positive and negative contributed to my life education. I learned the injustice that existed, the politics that dictated much around the goings-on of education and life, and the relief from human kindness. I admit, now, that, back then, I had no clue what I wanted to do with my life; even though, at the time, I could have sworn I did. I spent eight years and, at least, seven major switches at New Mexico State University. My final major was in Secondary Social Studies Education.

I “dropped out” of college due to a lack of finances and some karma payback from political choices I made during the beginning of my college career. Two years later, I visited every department to see if eight years of college counted towards something…anything…any kind of degree.

I got my bachelor’s degree. I, finally, received a degree. Granted, it wasn’t the one I had spent the majority of my college career striving for, but it was a degree…none-the-less.

…catch you back here January 20th.

Welcome to My Blog

Hello to my family, friends, fellow bloggers and readers. I am here to share my thoughts, experiences and other musings of my mind. I have, finally, given in to this social phenomenon of blogging. It seems that everyone has a blog for almost any reason. Anyone can have some form of internet social networking and it feels like everyone takes advantage of those opportunities. So, although, I am not really sure what to blog about…I do have a blog.

I am excited to see where this endeavor takes me. I plan to make this a positive and, hopefully, enlightening experience for all of us. I look forward to hearing any feedback or suggestions…as I am ne to blogging and wouldn’t mind the constructive criticism. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy reading.

…stay entertained until January 10th.