Eleven years ago

I found this old entry I wrote when Janie was about 9 months old... Over eleven years ago!!!

10.12.2004 @ 10:57 am

everyday



janie is growing more and more curious every day. she can even stand up by herself now! well, maybe that isn't exactly correct... i have to stand her up, but she can stand there once someone else stands her up. understand?

she is also getting closer and closer to standing on her own literally. she will pull up to her knees. or she will put her hands down in front of her and straighten out her legs so that she is bent in an upside down "v". i keep worrying that she is going to topple over head first, but as far as i know, that has yet to happen.

she is getting more and more beautiful everyday.

Apparently I had an aversion to using any capital letters when I was blogging back then.  It is so very strange to look back at entries from my old blog. It goes from 2004 to this year. Thorough the births of 2 children and two marriages. Through 2 c-sections (one very uneventful and another almost too eventful). Through 3 different jobs and a hundred different friends.

There are so many things that are different, but yet so many things are the same... It doesn't make me sad to read through my old entries, but it does make me feel as though I have grown. Grown as a teacher, as a wife and especially as a mother. It has a been an amazing journey so far and I can't wait to see where it goes next!!

Aspirations in Computing

How and why do you encourage young women to pursue technology/computing?

My teaching philosophy is based on an old Chinese proverb that states, "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day.  Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime."  Teaching has been nothing less than a joy for me these past few years. My base objective as a teacher is to be sure that my students learn the fundamental content of the courses that I teach.  Currently I teach courses aimed at business and computer technology.  Beyond the fundamentals of business and computer technology, I want my students to develop other proficiencies such as analytical thought process and life-long learning skills.  Developing problem solving strategies and helping ease the transition from an educational setting to a career world full of information technology are also goals that I have set for myself as an educator.

How are your computer/technology teaching techniques inclusive of women and underserved students?

Something my father told me long ago sums my teaching philosophy very simply. You can watch baseball all your life.  You can memorize the pitches and the batting averages of all your favorite players.  You can know the plays by heart.  But until you pick up that bat or that ball yourself, you will never know how to play baseball.  This is why I incorporate hands-on learning into most of my lessons.  I want my students to know how to hit every ball that comes across that plate when they leave my classroom at the end of the term. My parents instilled in me that it was of utmost importance to become independent and to not only be able to support myself but to help support a family. Some girls are taught that the pinnacle of their existence is to become a wife and a mother. While I am a wife and as well as a mother, I hope to be able to instill in my children (my daughter and my toddler son) how important their contributions will be to society.