It's Official

I got the letter in the mail today that says I've graduated!!!

It's a little strange to graduate in August. For one reason, there is not a graduation ceremony now. The closest one is in December, and I probably won't walk in it just because it's so far away. Also, I completed five hours of class this summer but it was all independent/culminating project so I wasn't in classes and I couldn't tell classmates, 'Yeah, this is my last class!' I can't complain too much, as it was always my plan to graduate in August so I'd get the pay bump for the new school year.

The "I'm done" feeling has set in slowly. There have been three moments lately that I've really felt celebratory:

1) Going to the school district office to get the paperwork for my raise. The secretary said, "Yes, we need your transcripts by October 15 to get you the money for the entire school year". Money!

2) Saturday morning I woke up and was extremely confused. I didn't have to go to diving practice, but on top of that, I didn't have any schoolwork (reading or papers) hanging over my head. What do I do with free time on the weekends (other than watch football)? For three years it hasn't existed.

3) I returned the last of my books at the EMU library before my "classes" were done this summer. I had a 50 cent late fee to pay. After I paid that 50 cents, there was an incredible feeling of "I'm done paying EMU!" I was almost skipping as I went back to the car, knowing that all of my obligations to the university were taken care of.

Michigan on Top

With the debacles surrounding Michigan football over the past year, I was happy to hear that Jake Long is being drafted #1. I don't have any idea when that last happened.

I don't quite understand why they are drafting before the draft starts. So I am knocking on wood that it holds up.

In about 52 hours, I will be done with taking classes for the master's degree! Hopefully I'll get my sanity back. We went on a field trip today and I left my car keys there. That wouldn't have been such a problem if we knew where the second set was...

I Love Being a Student

Today is snow day #9. I think.

I did get to fall back asleep after getting the call- they actually called school before my alarm went off. Other snow days this year I've stayed awake.

Today I had a meeting at EMU regarding my master's, so I didn't get to stay home and relax. That's ok, because last week I read for 8 hours instead of doing any homework or schoolwork.

Instead, I feel like a student. I had a meeting with professors, scheduled an independent study for the spring term, went to the computer lab, ate lunch at the student center, came to the library, checked out some books I need, and am at another computer lab now.

I am very happy because I will be done with my master's this summer. I have no more classes after this semester (which means no more textbooks to buy and no more parking to pay for). Unfortunately, I don't think I'm going to be part of a graduation ceremony. I am not going to participate in April, and by December I don't think I'll want to take the trouble. I'll just have to get another degree later so I can wear the cap and gown.

Gobbledygook

On my way home today, I was stressing out over how to get my papers written for my class Thursday night while at the same time getting the writing my students have done graded (which I've put off way too long). I started thinking about my graduate class. . . and my students. . . and my graduate class . . . and my students . . . and all of a sudden I remembered why I was taking the graduate classes to begin with! I remembered a conversation I had with my principal a few months ago- we were attending the funeral of one of my student's fathers (he had been shot and killed) and were conversing about my graduate work. I told her then that I hoped to connect my learning in this class to my students, most of whom are African-American.

The light bulb finally came on today on my way home. I am enmeshed in learning about the continuum of individualistic vs. collectivistic cultures. Individualistic cultures (in a nutshell- I've read about 200 pages worth of material elaborating on this point-a lot of which has seemed like gobbledygook to me) are those that emphasize self-worth through individual accomplishment, while collectivistic cultures strive to promote group goals and unity. Westernized cultures (America, England) tend to be individualistic, while Asian and African cultures tend to be collectivistic.

My students are primarily African-American and low-income. Both of these categories tend to place more emphasis on the collectivistic end of the continuum. Relationships are more important than accomplishments. The major 'aha' moment I had today was about behavior and the importance of allowing my students to save face in front of a group. When I am correcting their behavior (and often punishing) lately, most of it is done in the public arena. This is a major embarrassment to the students. Collectivistic cultures are supposed to accept the idea of hierarchy and power- that those above them need to be listened to. At the same time, though, THOSE ABOVE THEM ARE SUPPOSED TO PROTECT THEM- especially their face. The senior members of a collectivistic group are supposed to help the juniors look good.

So then I asked myself the question- If unity and group harmony is so important to collectivistic cultures, why don't my students worry more about unity in our classroom community? The answer is that it isn't fully a community this year. They haven't bought into the idea that in our classroom, we are family, and everyone is it in together. There is too much antagonism, and to many of my African-American students, they are identifying with each other and I am part of the "out-group". Can a teacher be part of the student group? I think so- it is what I have accomplished in other years. I think one major area I went wrong was resorting to public behavior correction out of frustration.

I swear this would make a lot of sense to anyone taking this class with me.