Blog Post #1

About Me
Hello everyone! My name is Melissa Canterbury and I just turned 22 years old. I am an elementary education major and this is the end of my junior year. I started out as a nursing major for the financial aspects, however I quickly changed my major to K-6 because I have always wanted to teach children. My freshman year I knew a couple of the football coaches and started working as an equipment manager. I absolutely loved it! However, it took up way too much time and I needed to focus more on school.
I grew up in Mobile but at about age 14 my family moved to Oklahoma. It was alright but very boring most of the time. The school I went to was middle and high school in the same building and I graduated with only 60 other students. The town had one stop light and absolutely nothing to do. When making a college choice, South was number one because I knew I wanted to come back to the south.
Friends and family are number one to me. My grandparents raised my brother and I, and I honestly wouldn't be where I am without them. My older brother is married and has the most precious two year old boy ever, Wilson Ace Canterbury. I know everyone says this about their own, but he really is the cutest baby boy in the world. :) I'am a big family girl and spend all my free time with my nephew. I currently work at Outback Steakhouse and although it's not the greatest job; it's a job! I love sweet tea, it's kind of an addiction and of course, ROLL TIDE!
A Look into the Future
Before now I have not really put much thought into what direction I really want to go with my classroom. I haven't taken many education classes but I know I want to teach the younger kids, preferably kindergarten through second. Right now a big issue I feel I need to work on is patience. With younger students I know I will need more patience. That is just something I will need to work on.
I have taken Art in Elementary and I absolutely loved that class. I think that's one thing I will really focus on especially if I get the younger students. I really enjoyed learning all the ways to incorporate the arts in the curriculum.
Randy Pausch on Time Management
This was a video for me. I have always been the procrastinator and really horrible with my time management. A lot of what Randy Pausch said was stuff I have heard before. However, he put solutions in a way that I can see really helping.
One of the key points he made was to think about why you are doing something and what happens if you do not do it? It can help me when putting time into this course. If I procrastinate on a project then I need to think about what will happen if I do not do it. Another thing Pauch talked about was "Doing things right vs. doing the right thing." This is a good thing to keep in mind in everyday life.
I have never heard of Randy Pausch before now, although I do think he made some valid points and some good solutions to procrastinating. Hopefully this class will help me with that problem and I come out with an A!