Spring Semester 2009 Week In Review

It has been a long week. There has been so much to do between school, shuffling kids, sick kids, potty training, and home & family stuff that I feel like I could sleep all weekend - and that's not something I usually like to do.

So far I enjoy all of my classes. I am taking two that fill my general education requirements, one is math and the other is an education class. I'm also taking two classes toward my major, one is Creative Writing and the other is Intro to Poetry. I've lucked out again in the professor category - they are all there to assist in my education, not make the classes as hard as possible.

My two English classes are going to be challenging, not in the way that makes me think I can't do this, but in the way that motivates me to do it well. Intro to poetry is actually not writing poetry but analyzing poetry, something I have never done. I've analyzed other things for English classes, but never poetry. It's a different process because it's not straight forward like prose tends to be. Poetry could have many different interpretations depending on what the reader gets out of it. In the near future I have to write two 2-page analyses of assigned poems, and one 4-5 page analysis of a poem of my choosing. I haven't written academically in about nine years, so that is going to be a bit of a challenge - but a good challenge. I don't mind writing papers (kind of goes with the territory) but getting back into the swing of writing, especially for a literature class not a composition class, is where my anxiety lies.

My other English class is seriously my favorite class - mostly because of the professor. She is truly there to help our writing come to fruition without interfering with our creative process. Our first unit is poetry, and in this class we're actually writing poetry. We are given a trigger subject every day (class is only Tuesday and Thursday) and our poem is due a week from that day. My first one is done and I liked what I wrote but I'm definitely stuck on the next one, and the reason why is a long story. I'll just give you the words Lizard King and you can make what you want out of why I am stuck.

My math and education class are fine. My education professor said it's nearly impossible to fail his class - I love when teachers say that. My math professor is quite funny, and she's good at teaching. She doesn't just lecture as she writes on the board, but makes the class tell her what to write as she goes along. It makes the learning going on more concrete. If I do well in this class, I'm considering taking another math class. I think I might be crazy.