The End...

As the year is coming to an end...it's time for my final blog. I will be completing my program this summer with three electives and completing my final portfolio due May 6th! This year has been an exciting and intense experience...from taking four classes per semester...to being a GA in Admissions...work-study @ Children's Hospital of Philadelphia..and fieldwork in three of Philadelphia's public schools Its truly been a amazing experience...one I'll never forget. I've grown so much...be exposed to a lot...and have meet a lot of people. Looking towards the future...I plan to stay and work in Philly as a literacy specialist for a year or so, while looking for a position overseas at an international school, or teaching English. I would like to live and work in Brazil, Japan, East Asia, London, or West Africa. I think starting my teaching experience abroad will be a priceless experience!
While this is my final blog...feel free to contact me @ mrobi@dolphin.upenn.edu with any questions or concerns...anytime!
I wish all my readers good luck in your future endeavours!
Peacccccccce
Monique

2nd Annual Diversity Weekend

This weekend the Graduate School of Education (GSE) held its 2nd Annual Diversity Weekend. The purpose of the weekend was to invite students from Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic Serving Institutions, and Tribal Colleges, to UPennGSE to give them a taste of graduate school. The 13 students came from various schools such as, Spelman College, Philander Smith College, University of Mass-Boston, Morehouse College, and Lincoln University-PA. The students were flown in and stayed at the Inn at Penn. The first day, Friday, we had an icebreaker and mingle, reception and dinner, and then a no faculty/staff allowed student panel (made up of current students of color from various programs in GSE), where the student's asked any questions they liked. Saturday started off with breakfast, tips for applying to graduate school (admissions process, financial aid etc), two mock classes, a tour of Penn's campus, a tour of Philly, we visited the Frida Kahlo exhibit at the art museum and then topped it off with dinner downtown at Maggiano's.
The weekend was grreat! The students were clearly good students, juniors and seniors, who had deeply thought about the next step of their lives, and had come with good questions and intentions. We had fun during our time out in the city, and later that night went to the infamous South Street. I honestly connected and bonded with many of the students and was quite sad to see them go. I look forward to keeping in contact with them..and helping out at the next Diversity Weekend!

Working on the portfolio

I'm currently working on the my portfolio, with is the equivalent of a final comprehensive exam in most other masters programs. Just when I get frustrated by the work...I have an aha moment, which leads to a deep appreciation for my program and faculty. The purpose of the portfolio is to provide a holistic lens on the experience of the student through various works, very parallel to the very theories and ideologies of my program, Reading/Writing/Literacy. The fact that a student should not be assessed or "seen" solely on an exam, or test is an essential belief of myself, and the programs focus. As a future reading specialist, I believe and have been taught, not to view, approach, or assess my students, their abilities or experience through a narrow, standardized approach. In that, all students have unique experiences, beliefs, etc, so why not let the final "exam" be a portfolio of their reflections, essays of selected topics and conceptual territories, as well as, what the portfolio means for them.
While I am still a bit stressed, I know have a deeper appreciation for my program and the idea of holistic approach to learning.