The New World: Registration and Classes

It's happening people. It's really happening. Adventures this weekend. Thanksgiving the next. Pre-final observation the week after that, with the final observation the week after that. And then it is WINTER BREAK. And you know what happens after Winter break? I'm in the classroom the whole time. Every day. Every week. It will be my classroom. I will plan the lessons. I will grade the papers. I will essentially be a teacher. Three months of that and then I'm done. And then off to more adventures.

I can't believe this semester has happened to me so fast. I never thought I'd survive to even October but I did that, and now I'm here in November and it's almost over.

Last week I registered for my final semester of classes. Just two classes. One is the student teaching, 9 credit hours equates to 40 hours in the classroom a week. At LEAST 40 hours. And then three credit hours to get observed and meet with my "cohort" once a week to talk about how things are going for an hour or two. It was exhilarating to register. I didn't need to stay up to midnight the day before registering because my classes were already reserved for me. Nobody could take my spot, because it was mine. It was a thrill! Granted, I'll be taking classes for the rest of my life to maintain my license but it's different. It's exciting.

To celebrate, let's look at the list of classes I've taken in college. Just for fun. Some may seem painfully boring. Some may seem painfully exciting. Maybe I'll rank them. Lemme think about that. I decided to rank them.

TOP 25 BEST CLASSES! (In no order.)

EDU 5390 Field Practicum: Elementary
Because this is the best ever. So far.
MUSC 4450 Marching Band X 3 because I took it 3 times.
Because MARCHING BAND FOREVER. (Or only 3 years until you start worrying about graduating in a timely fashion).
EDU 5310 Theories of Classroom Management
Early morning class, but we have breakfast every week. It's with a lot of classmates I've grown real close to. We discuss what's going on in our classrooms. It's great! John is the best cohort leader out there.
EDPS 5330 Intro to Children's Literature & ENGL 2330 Children's Literature
It got me reading again. It introduced me to some amazing books. Jane, The Fox, And Me, anyone? Two classes are listed because I took the same class twice at two different universities because I loved it that much.
EDU 5375 Science Methods
Amazing professor who got us doing fun stuff, who got us itching to learn more about science!
ART 2060 Non-Major Digital Photograph
It was a relaxing class in a fancy room where the lights were almost always off and we could fall asleep if we wanted. Plus I learned how to use my camera, so that was nice. And then I promptly forgot.
EDU 5360 Elementary Math Learning Methods & MATH 4010 Math for Elementary School Teachers I & MATH 4020 Math for Elementary School Teachers II
I love math. And the three professors in order of listed classes were: really sweet and positive, really intense with mind blowing facts, wore an awesome black robe and said out of character things that were funny. But the content in these classes were second to none. I could take these classes again and again year after year and be totally happy and learn something new.
ELP 3410 Teachers and the Law
Law should be boring, right? But it's NOT. It's EXCITING! Fred Shaw is an awesome ex-lawyer/ex-teacher professor.
EDPS 3140 Technology in Classrooms
It was a really guided learning experience. And the teacher made it fun. Plus she let me take the final early so I could fly out to CO for Christmas last year. But you didn't hear that from me.
EDPS 5315 Reading Methods I
Awesome professor and interesting material. She let us play with toys most of the time.
EDPS 5320 Reading Methods II
Same professor. Still awesome. Toys and stuff. Even if classmates got under my skin sometimes.
EDU 5380 Elementary Social Studies Methods
This class usually ends up in entertaining and/or stressful heated debates being thrown across a very large classroom. But I like it.
EDU 5316 Reading Practicum K-3: Next Steps
I worked with a real sweet boy here under the guide of a real sweet site supervisor. She got all excited with my wedding planning stuff and that was fun.
EDU 5321 Reading Practicum 4-6 Higher Steps
I worked with a sweet girl but my site supervisor was a little scary and intimidating. We had different styles.
EDPS 3030 Research and Inquiry
This class is just mind boggleingly boring but the professor was easily persuaded with diet coke and would steal my scooter to ride around the classroom so that was interesting.
GERM 1010 Beginning German I
The professor was actually German! With a faint German accent! Who doesn't love to listen to that all day? And I loved it when Joe would come in and talk to him in German and all the classmates looked at me as if to say "Woah Lara. Your husband is cool." And I'd look back at them as if to say "YOU THINK I DON'T KNOW THAT?!" in a nice way.
COMM 1020 Principles of Public Speaking
This class was a bit of speaking a bit of debating. The professor may have been my antithesis. But learning how to speak in front of others was a really valuable skill and one I use daily in the classroom.
GEO 1030 Earthquakes and Volcanoes
This was an online class. I never met the professor. But learning about disasters is always interesting to me. I enjoy fearing the very ground upon which I walk.
FCS 2640 Integrative Curricular Methods
This class really showed me how cutesy my major is. My big project in this class involved a lesson about butterflies. And we got to go on field trips. It was just fun.
MUSC 4460 Symphonic Band
This was with a lot of marching band friends and the conductor was the marching band teacher. Class usually involved a lot of laughing. I got to be closer friends with a lot of people and it made college more friendly to me.
XUSC 1751 Wind Ensemble X 2
Both courses of these classes were held at weird times in my life, but playing music was relaxing and simultaneously challenging.
SPAN 1010 Beginning Spanish I & SPAN 1020 Beginning Spanish II
6 hour long classes, daily, for 12 weeks, during the Summer. No one wanted to be there, but the fact that we shared that common non-desire really bonded us together and we all worked really hard to make it somewhat enjoyable.
HONOR 2211 Writing in Honors
Honors courses. Not a lot of people in the class, I think there were 15 or something. It made me feel sophisticated and fancy. It really helped me to develop my writing skills and when I struggle to want to write, I think of that class and it gives me motivation again.
ESSF 1430 Kempo, Level I

15 LEAST FAVORITE CLASSES! (In No Order)

LING 5811 Educating Language Learners
You'll find that a lot of these classes are on this least favorite list. It's because we were forced to take essentially the same class (only with a different name) about 20 times. You get sick of it. You feel like you're being force-fed stuff you're sick of.
EDPS 5005 Writing Methods II
This could have been an interesting class with interesting materials but a professor who is unwilling to hear opinions of students or admit when a mistake has been made is the same kind of professor who can make an already difficult class (because it was late at night) even worse.
MATH 1210 Calculus I
I wanted to be a math major, did you know that? Three math classes are on my top 25 list! Why isn't this one? Well, because this professor motivated me to become a teacher. Not because of good reasons either. It wasn't that they were mean. It wasn't that they were overly difficult. It was just that some people aren't meant to become teachers, and this person was one of them.
SPED 5021 Assessment and Data Based Decision Making
Just as boring as it sounds.
EDU 1010 Exploring Teaching
Isn't this ironic? You'd think I'd like this class. But when you write a philosophy statement, a statement that describes what you believe, and you receive a failing grade on the paper because the professor doesn't agree with your ideals? It wasn't that she thought they were bad, she explicitly stated they were simply different than hers and she didn't agree with me. Then it becomes a bad class. Thank goodness I was too far over my head into the program already otherwise this class may have spoiled it for me.
BIOL 1210 Principles of Biology
Trust Rate My Professor. If people are saying it's an insanely difficult class, then it is. I was a wee freshman. I didn't deserve this...
ECS 3150 Intro to Multicultural Education
Another one of those force-feeding classes. The only class where I was frustrated enough on a regular basis to get up and walk out of the classroom and not come back. It was happening to many students.
ECS 5645 Assessment of Linguistic Populations
This class is low on the list just because of the insane level of difficulty it is to get into this class. You have to notify a director a year in advance! A YEAR! WHAT. And know what I retained from the class? Nothing. It was one of the most pointless classes.
EDU 5200 Teacher Language Awareness
Another force feeding class with a professor who was unwilling to try different teaching styles that would have fit the class situation better. If it's 7:30am and you're in a lecture style classroom with 100+ chairs and 80 students, stop making them get up and walk to opposite sides of the room to share 1 minute of conversation with them. That doesn't work.
EDU 5201 Language Awareness
To be fair, I don't remember this class. Maybe it doesn't deserve to be on here. But judging by the name and number, it seems to be another one of those classes that I didn't like.
SPAN 2020 Second Year Spanish II
This class was at WSU. It wasn't a bad class, but it is surrounded by bad memories. By no fault of the class. Sorry class... It's better that we parted ways.
XBE 1501 Word Processing Competency Exam
XBE Microcomp, Operating System,s and Electorals
XBE 1503 Spreadsheets Competency Exam
XIBS Informational Navigator
All four of those were some silly computer class that WSU made me take. Very silly. Unnecessary.