Theme Verse

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go."
-Joshua 1:9 (NIV)

"Ya te lo he ordenado: ¡Sé fuerte y valiente! ¡No tengas miedo ni te desanimes! Porque el SEÑOR tu Dios te acompañará dondequiera que vayas."
-Josué 1:9 (NVI)


Wednesday, March 9, 2011

A Poem I Wrote About Costa Rica

Pura Vida
By Holly Melgren

July
I live in a valley surrounded by mountains
but I can't often see them
because of the clouds.
These same clouds hide my wide-open
skies
and bring more rain than I knew existed.

I live in a city full of smoky loud cars,
and odd signs from two different worlds.
I stay in a nice house with
strangers I can't always understand
and who I hope I'm not offending.
I eat strange, delicious food,
and spend lots of time in my dictionary.

I wonder what God was thinking
in bringing me here--
or was it my idea?

November
I live in a valley surrounded by mountains
and I've seen them light up
like a hill full of stars.
I've seen them wear
clouds like a scarf
and stand tall and proud
on a clear blue morning.

I've been soaked by rain
and more so by sun.
I can give directions using
only landmarks, and have
a love-hate relationship
with rice and beans.

I've learned that you don't have to understand
everything that is said
to know you are loved.

And that you don't have to know
what God is up to
to know that He's still there.

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Teacher Aiding

Here's some exciting news: I have officially started Teacher Aiding!

For those of you who don't know what that means, allow me to explain. As part of the education program here at North Park we have three "clinical" experiences. The first is called Teacher Aiding, where basically we go and observe. Sometimes the teacher has us work with small groups or one-on-one with students, and they may even let us teach something, but the goal is to just get in the classroom and start to get familiar with how it works. This is what I'm doing now.

The second part is called Mini Teaching, and that's where you teach for one hour every day for about 7 weeks or so; you're in charge of the lesson plan, teaching, grading, everything for that one class. Then the third part is Student Teaching, when you teach all day, every school day, for 10 weeks. My plan is to do Mini Teaching and Student Teaching next Spring.

So anyways, I'm now Teacher Aiding several days a week. I've only been twice so far, but I've really liked it. My cooperating teacher (the high school teacher I'm working with) is great; she seems like a good teacher and I think the students really like her. I've sat in on a regular Sophomore English class and two AP lit classes that are a mix of juniors and seniors. It's really weird to be back in high school again; it's even weirder to be known as Miss Melgren. So far I haven't done anything but observe, but she wants me to help with small group work when they get to that, and I'll be helping some of the sophomores write papers when they finish the book they're reading (Catcher in the Rye).

Well that's about all for now. Happy March!