Can one person have two many blogs?…

Well in my case YES!!….I don’t know I guess I thought if I had several different platforms that I would get the best each site had to offer. Really it has just slowed my writing down. I have a hard time deciding which site to use. My problem is that both my blogs mirror each other.

It really makes better sense to have more than one blog if your blogs have different topics. Mine don’t. Plus wordpress has upset me a time or two when it came to formatting my widgets.  I am a widget junkie, so although I have enjoyed some of my time here  I have come to learnthat Blogger really does suit my needs much better. I like the functionality of Blogger. You can get a lot there for free too. I must admit I am addicted to Google too.  The sad part for me is that I cannot export this blog into blogger.  I donno….I may copy/paste some of my older posts one at a time and one day delete this blog, but until I make that decision….I guess I will have this one still floating out in cyberland with a few old posts on it. 

Stinks really…..As far as my new stuff goes…you can find it at my blog on blogger Okay so What’s Next?… or http://colethabrowning.blogspot.com

Retro Kidz

Too too cute…a new group doing a retro thing. Brings back old memories…ENJOY!!!

I just got my first teaching job due to start in the fall of 2008.  To say the least I am both excited and scared to death.  I took parenting my only child very seriously.  Her educational needs were important to me too.  I never had a problem speaking out if I felt like she was not getting something she needed in school.  Back to school night was so important to me.  I can’t remember a time that I didn’t attend.  When my daughter started middle school we lived very close to my grandmother.  She attended almost every back to school nite us.  She and I took turns dropping my daughter off at school and picking her up.  I have been a single mother most of my daughter’s life. I would not have made it if it hadn’t been for the loving support of my grandmother.  It was fun having her there as support.  My daughter and I have had a difficult time adjusting to her absence since her death in 2002.

In those days what was important to me was that my daughter’s teachers knew I cared about her education.  I think back then I though that if I didn’t show I was involved that they would ignore her.  After all I was trusting my child’s care and keeping to a stranger, some randomly changing adult figure that I had to start all over with every school year.  Some individual that I “didn’t know from Adam” as my grandmother would say. 

I rely on my experiences as a parent to help me as a teacher.  I decided after many years in business that I wanted a change.  Several years ago I had worked with disabled children as a respite care worker in the early 90’s. I had even worked for a time as a group counselor, but in regards to teaching, unlike those who have taught since graduating from college, I am flying by the seat of my pants. 

Now don’t get me wrong.  I am enrolled in a teacher training program, and I am working towards a Master’s degree in Special Education, but the real test is in the classroom.  That is where teachers are born….in the trenches.  I think my biggest fear is not creating appropriate lesson plans, it’s classroom management….getting my students to listen to me and take instruction from me.

Fortunately, I did get an opportunity to work as an instructional aide or teacher’s assistant (some call them paraprofessionals) for a few months this year.  That was a lot fun.  I worked in a special day class with elementary school age children dealing with moderate to severe disabilities and conduct problems.  It was a rewarding experience.  I fell in love with those kids right away.  All children are special and no matter what their circumstances are they deserve love, and a chance to succeed.  I keep in mind too that the trust I put in my daughter’s teachers some other mama is putting in me and I don’t want to let her or her baby down.  For me teaching is a privilege.  I am being given a great responsibility, and therefore a lot to live up to and look forward to it.

Special Education is my passion. For so long there have been so many injustices in how students are referred to and placed in special education programs.  There is a higher number of minority and low income students in special education programs.  What is really alarming is that there are very low numbers of these same students in gifted and talented programs.  That sterotype needs to be eliminated and the real issue addressed.  My father grew up in a single parent home in the 40’s and 50’s in the segregated south.  He went on to earn his master’s degree in ethnic studies and music and worked as a college professor until his death in 1990.  Today in our so-called “integrated schools” based on his family arrangement the chances of him being placed in a special education program would have been high.  As an educator I have a real problem with this….I found an interesting article I wanted to share from http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/060208/met_285279469.shtml

Found an article I wanted to share.  This is about my girl Oprah who is my “She-ro”…..I know not real original is it?  Well some have Barbie, I have Oprah….I found this article to be of some interest today and wonder what others think.  Has Oprah finally hit a peek?….will she overcome this last episode on the ups and downs of being a talk show diva?

http://blogs.bet.com/news/newsyoushouldknow/?p=3146

I have always wanted to keep a journal.  I guess this isn’t the most private way to do so, but for the most part I love to share, so this seems like a good format for me.  I love technology, so getting a handle on blogging sounds like fun too.  Several years ago I decided to buy a domain, but it took some time before I put it to use.  I wanted my own private email, and I wanted a web page with my name on it; but I had no idea what kind of content I would put on it.  I probably had my domain for three or four years before I knew what to do with it.  At some point  decided to try Internet marketing for a while, but it turned out to be  more work then income. I did make some friends in the social networking arena that I enjoy exchanging ideas with.  I have an online mall that I don’t really make any money with, but I love the discount shopping.

I also love technology, so it is no surprise that I enjoy shopping on-line.  I also like trying on clothes before I buy, so nothing has replaced the joy of going to the mall when I can.  I started blogging about marketing, but soon discovered I just liked to write.  I learned that I liked blogging and joining forums just to share ideas.  I am also a student so doing research on-line got me in a writing mood too. 

My blog may jump from on subject to the next, but my main focus is education.  I am working on two teaching credentials and for the first time in my life I feel as though I am doing something worthwhile.  I didn’t realize how much I would enjoy education and teaching.  My dream was to become a software engineer.  So this in many ways is not really what I expected to be doing at this point in my life, but I can’t imagine doing anything else right now.  I can’t tell you how much money I spent on CD’s and books (Microsoft press) in order to see this software dream come true.  I haven’t given up on it, as a matter of fact it is a hobby, but my focus is my life as a classroom teacher.  My kids are really funny and sharing some of their experiences, my woes in school and my adventures in teaching (while protecting the identities of the innocent) and the new lessons learned is the highlight of my days so far. I can assure you this journey into the world of blogging may turn out to be more therapeutic for me than entertaining for anyone else, but I am excited non the less. 

So the saga continues…..