Sticky Post #1: Quotes to Prompt Students' Thinking

Hey, everyone!

What is a "sticky post," you ask? Well, this is the part where I let you know about a new thing I am doing with the blog. I am going to start doing posts where I keep collections of useful information, ideas, and/or teaching methods, which I will constantly update. For these type of posts, I will put them under the tag "sticky posts" so that they will be easier to find. These won't make up the whole of the blog, but they will be something that I try to do whenever a new idea strikes me.

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For this particular post, I will be collecting what I feel are important and thought-provoking quotes to include in lessons mainly for the purpose of prompting my students to think about life. Some of these might connect to specific ideas or lessons and others might just be quotes for further miscellaneous use.

See below and as always with my sticky posts, feel free to revisit them periodically to see if any new ideas have been added to the collection:

Altruism/Kindness:

"If you're helping someone and expecting something in return, you're doing business not kindness."

Thinking for Yourself/Taking Initiative:

"You've always had the power my dear, you just had to learn it for yourself." -The Wizard of Oz

Writing

"I wrote my first novel because I wanted to read it." Toni Morrison

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More quotes to be added periodically! Please let me know if you have any other quotes you'd like to see added to this list!

Grit and Growth: Responses to TED Talks and Journal Questions

Below are my responses to questions I received about TED Talks we watched for a class assignment.

Grit:

Link to TED Talk: http://www.ted.com/talks/angela_lee_duckworth_the_key_to_success_grit?language=en 

Question: What might you do to help yourself develop more grit?

• Having a set schedule each day and following it to the best of my abilities.
• Making sure to get enough sleep each night to build up consistent energy every day.
• Not taking on too much in order to avoid a burnout later/Knowing my limits.
• Preparing for assignments and lesson plans way ahead of time. 
• Not waiting until the last minute to get my work done.
• Remembering why I wanted to teach in the first place.
• Making my work areas neat and fun to encourage productivity.
• Drinking lots of tea and a little coffee (I love them both equally, but tea is typically better for me).
• Knowing all of my resources in case problems come up in the classroom and/or in teaching.
• Helping to nurture this wonderful community of graduate students, teachers, and other professionals. 

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Growth:

Link to TED Talk: http://www.ted.com/talks/carol_dweck_the_power_of_believing_that_you_can_improve 

Question: What might you do to help yourself move toward the growthiest mindset possible?

• Dismantle misconceptions about how only certain children are "gifted."
• Finding out what each student needs from me in order to best the best he or she can.
• Not assuming I or someone else "can't" do something.
• Believing in others and myself.
• Encouraging others and myself to follow our passions.
• Keeping a positive attitude as often as possible and leading by example.
• Having an open mind about students, their abilities, and their unique ideas.
• Constantly being willing to try new things in the classroom.
• Being open to constructive criticism from others around me and using it to grow.
• Updating my opinions on teaching and education when I see good reasons or evidence to do so without being stuck in my own ways or stubborn.

Introduction: Welcome to my MAT Blog!

Hi! My name is Bri Neves and, obviously, this is my first post. I am currently a 24-year-old graduate student working towards an MAT degree in Secondary Education with a concentration in English Education. So, yes, you guessed it! I want to be an English teacher. I've wanted to do this from an early age and I'm so excited for the opportunity to study with people who have similar aspirations.

A little more about me: I love to write and I want to publish books one day. I also love music, theatre, and interdisciplinary studies. And humor. And research. And changing the world (or trying to). And being ridiculously happy as much of the time as possible. And making my way downtown, walking fast (faces past and I'm homebound).  And many other things. But blog posts are supposed to be short, I'm told, so let's get to the point!

You may be wondering, "Well okay, haha, I get it, the MATtress Musings title thing is a play on words, but what does it really mean?" Don't worry, my fiance basically asked the same question. The basic idea idea is that after a long day of attending classes, studying for graduate school, and (eventually) student teaching, it's good to just lie down on your bed and reflect on things. It's kind of day dreamy. I'm kind of day dreamy. So, in order to create a space for me to ramble on about all the things I'm learning in the program without endlessly annoying those around me who don't want to hear it, I've created a blog

What kind of thing will I be reflecting on in this blog? Well, lots. Things like what went well and what didn't go well. Things like ideas and movement and everything you're supposed to be learning in such a short time period. Things like how to best engage a student and strategies for writing the most effective lesson plans. My program is a one-year intensive program (that means two years worth of material in one), so I know that I might only get to write posts in this blog every once in a while, but I'll try my best.

Thank you for reading and if you are interested in following an MAT student's journey through teaching, feel free to keep up with this blog, comment, and/or contact me with any comments of questions about what I'm learning. See you soon!