Week Five: Charting a Course-due March 2, 2018 @ 11:59pm

Rye, NH (photo credit Bent)

Welcome back from vacation.  I hope you are all rested and ready for the next seven (7) weeks before the next vacation.  I know that the end looks as tough as navigating these steps, but with proper planning you will make it to end relatively stress free. 

What I want you to remember is that you have chosen what you want to do with this class, so be PROUD of what your plan is, and follow through with all the details.  This is your time to shine as an independent, strong, young adult.  Do not disappoint yourself, "stay the course" and finish strong with something to share and celebrate in May. 

This week I want you to work on creating the perfect project proposal using the form that is posted on Google Classroom.  This is the one that you will be providing to your community partner.  They sign three copies: one for them, one for you, and one for me.  The final proposal will not be given to them until you have submitted it to me for a grade and possible corrections....this means that you are looking at giving it to your community member(s) as early as the week of March 5th, but no later than March 16th.

You should also be about a third the way through your research book, and you should have about half of your annotated bibliography done. 

The month of March is for refining the proposal and writing the research paper. 

So, my requests for this week are short and sweet:

1. In great detail tell me where you are, and how you are going to divivde the work for March.  Do not be vague, and do not just post a calendar.  I want details. 

2. Then find me a picture that represents you working through the process....it can be a real picture or a cartoon, or even an origianl drawing.  Attach it to your post.

Week Four: Planning.... due Friday February 16th by 11:59pm

Cairnes, Queensland, Australia (photo-Bent)

Week Four is here, and that means when we come back from February vacation, you will only have another seven (7) weeks of "seat" time in class.  YIKES!  You are beginning to think more deeply and looking forward towards the horizon, or at least I hope you are.

Reflect on, and share some feedback from your meetings or emails with the person/community you are planning to work with or in.

What did it feel like to "pitch your idea"?  Was it easy, or did you find that you really need more information before you move forward with your plans?

What are your feelings about where you are project-wise, research-wise, reading (that book I keep talking about), and workload in this class?

How is all the independence working for you? Do you find yourself using it wisely, or do you find yourself wasting time?  Are you using your leadership skills on yourself? Be honest, and then re-evaluate what you do....

Share what your actual research paper is going to be about:

Share what your actual project is going to be:

Where do these two things overlap?

Second to the last thing: By now you have looked at your published grades.  Some of you have not taken advantage of the resubmission for both the planning sheet and the resume, so your grade is reflective of your choice.  For those of you who have not done even step one for either of these submissions, your grade is also reflective of your choice.  This is my last....the final....invitation to take part in creating a positive experience in this class, so please submit or resubmit your work by the end of the week for grading.  For all of you reflect on what it means to be given a second chance in life (here I am talking grades).  Share with me what you think...

Last thing: Make a plan for yourself for the month of March....print a blank calendar if that helps, but plan your time in this class wisely....it goes by fast.  Show me the plan...take a picture of the calendar and paste it here, or take a picture of your notes and put it here...but show me evidence that you are thinking ahead, and looking at the horizon.

You do not want to be caught...out of breath and in a knot, just hanging around waiting for the work to be done... (Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, Australia. (photo Bent)

Week Three: Perspective,Time, and Challenges - due Friday February 9th by 11:59pm

Looking at the world through different perspectives, Narragansett, RI ( photo credit Bent)

Perspective:

Have you thought about how you look at things, or approach tasks?  If you notice this beautiful stone structure above has a variety of windows.  They all look out over Scarborough Beach in Narragansett, but each window provides a different view.  What I would like you to do this week is work on different ways to approach your tasks....find a different "view".  For example, when you are researching the topic for your research papers, try a variety of sources.  Do not just stick with one, shop around the data bases, and see what you can find.  Yes, you will have to do a little tedious work, meaning reading so that you can make an informed decision as to whether to add it to your folder in Google.  

My questions for this piece:

How did you go about researching in the data bases?

How much time per day did you spend on these searches?

Which data bases did you use?

How was the frustration level?

Be honest, how much progress did you make on the research this week?  

Time:  

It is one of those things that we either think we have a lot of it, or we think we do not have enough of it.

How do you manage time?

Give me a typical day, and how you designate time before and after school?

Where and how can you improve your time management? Be realistic, and be truthful.
What does time management look like to you? Show me a picture......

Challenges:

My daughter Dana  has a roommate, Emily, who is part of the Bristol Fire Department.  When I asked her, (Emily), how she ended there, she said that she had the same type of opportunity you, (yes you my class), have when she was a senior in high school.  At the time she could not imagine a fire department, but after some consideration, and a willingness to do something so far out of her comfort zone, she joined a junior fire academy in her home town as part of her leadership class.  Fast forward to college, and she liked the experience in high school, so she joined the department in Bristol., and has been a member for the past two years.  My daughter, pictured in Emily's firefighter outfit, was just accepted into the driver/EMT program....she too took a chance, challenged herself, and chose to do something really out of her comfort zone.  By the way, Emily is a biology major, and Dana is an education major...neither one wants a career in fire fighting, but they wanted something new and different for an experience.  My point is, make yourself uncomfortable, and try to do something that challenges you in this class.  

What will you do that is challenging and out of your comfort zone during this class....or what do you think you will do?

What might scare you about this challenge?

What sounds exciting (safe) and do able during this class?

What might hold you back?

Taking a risk, trying something new...getting out of your comfort zone (photo credit Bisanti)