How Fast Time Flies

After the fall semester at Clemson, I always wonder what I am going to do during school when there is no football! Every year the same thing happens: spring semester seems to go by faster than fall semester! You would think that without football games to look forward to every weekend, time might go by a little slower! It takes a little while for spring break to get here, but once it does, the semester seems to absolutely fly by! It's hard to think that once we get back from spring break, we only have five weeks of class until we are out for summer! This means, that in most classes we have about one test left, or at least a big project still to come. Although work does not seem to let up, the time just disappears! I was trying to think about what makes the time go by so fast and I came up with a few answers. I think that the baseball games have a lot to do with it. When there are games during the week, it acts as a little break from school: it is almost like a mini-weekend. We get out of class, go meet up with friends, and go out to dinner and then the game (or vice versa). I think another factor that speeds up the semester is the gorgeous weather! This weekend may have been an exception, but for the most part the weather has been great! After class, my roommates and I always sit out on our porch and just relax. I think this relaxation really helps us to calm down about school and just takes things as they come. The weekends also serve as a great time to either go out on the lake, or take little day trips to nearby sites. Whatever it is that causes time to fly, I can't say I don't like it!

Class Presentations

I really enjoyed all of the presentations that were given in class this semester. It's very hard for me to pick one favorite because of all the different topics that were covered. All the presentations were interesting in their own way, whether it be about traveling, sports, culture, or hobbies. The presentation that grabbed my attention the most was the one with the chicken and how to show it. It could have been because I was focused on the chicken the whole time and was ready for it to fly around the room; either way, the presentation was different and interesting. I also enjoyed the presentations about travel, whether it be about studying abroad or just going a couple of hours from here. I love to travel and take little trips, so these presentations were right up my ally. As for the rest of the presentations, the ones that stand out are consist of the off season football schedule, the slang terms, and the coastal conservation association. I think the football was a great topic because it educated us about all the work they have to put in year around and not just during the season. The slang presentation was very unique and the words that were introduced were just great. As for the CCA, this really caught my attention because I am from Charleston and I am familiar with the effort. I could really relate to the pictures because the increase in population effects every aspect of my home life.
The presentations were a great way to get to know our classmates better while learning something about their topic. I think that this project is very fun and meaningful without consuming too much preparation time. The openess of the project is a great tool to get students to talk about what they know and practice their public speaking skills!

Interview Reflection

I felt that my mock interview went extremely well considering my experience with interviewing. The questions that were asked were very appropriate and hot topics in the educational field. Because I was being interviewed by a teacher, the questions were very helpful in making me think about what topics would most likely be covered during an interview for a teaching position. The advice that I received from Ms. Rogers was very thoughtful and meaningful. I realized that I really need to be up to date on political issues dealing with education such as the No Child Left Behind Act. With the up coming elections, this is a sure topic that would be covered in an interview.
Being prepared is very important and having questions for them can leave a great impression. I had questions in my mind, but I never thought about writing them down so that they can see that I had spent time preparing for the interview just as they did. This helpful suggestion is one that I haven't thought of and now I really appreciate it.
Because I haven't been through student teaching yet, there are still many questions that were somewhat difficult, but I felt that I handled them well.
Overall, this mock interview is a great idea that results in great preparation skills and knowledge about interviews that most of us will face in a year.

Spring Break

With March only a couple of days away, one thing seems to be on everyone's mind: Spring Break. Trying to find a low cost, fun, and warm destination seems to be most people's priority and the aspect of life we are most willing to work on at this time. Last year, my roommates and I were extremely lucky when it came to planning an amazing trip. Two weeks before Spring break and we still didn't have any plans, so we were just going to all head to our homes to spend a week with family and friends. To our surprise, we received a phone call from Advantage Property Management, who we rent through, and we had won $3000 to go towards any vacation within a years time. Of course, we immediately thought Spring break and headed to the travel agency where the money was in our name. Lots of places were booked and with that short notice, flights were out of control. Finally, we came across Punta Cana located in the Dominican Republic. Everything was great and all we needed to do now was get passports in only two weeks. That same day we went to the post office, filled out a form, got a picture and spent a rediculous amount of money for a little book. Not only did we have to overnight our information there and pay for them to overnight it back, but we had to expedite the passports as well. In reality, this is a stupid thing to complain about seeing how we all just won an amazing trip that ended up costing $200.
Unfortunately, we are not in any raffle or contest this spring but we have managed to find some fun things to do. We are all going out separete ways, mostly in Florida, but I'm sure that we will manage to have a great time, somehow !

Cover Letters

Something that really struck my attention was the first piece about the reality of cover letters. I agree on some points, but I can also still see the other side to the issue. When it states that a cover letter is never really looked at unless the employer is interested in the resume, I can see two sides. First, I can see that if it is a big corporation or company that this would be the case. On the other hand, if it is a smaller, more personable atmosphere, I see the boss taking the time to look at the effort put into the resume from beginning to end- looking at the whole package, not just the qualifications.
I do agree however, that cover letters should be directed for the intended audience, not to show who you are as a person. It is important to pitch yourself to the company, not just yourself to see if they like you.
I also learned that sending out mass resumes is not a good idea. I always thought "the more, the better" but as stated in the article, big corporations have teams designed to go throught resumes, and these unsolicited resumes often get passed by.

Preparing for an Interview

I chose to read the article "A Crash Course in Interview Preparation" for this week's blog. I found it very helpful with the hints and tips on how to not only make it through your interview, but to really impress your possible employers.
The first and most helpful hints for me where the ones on supply preparation. Having ample number of resumes and any other documents you may want to hand in is a great idea. Also, simply having everything organized and neat is also a great way to impress the company you are interviewing for.
A simple, yet very useful hint, that I would not have thought of is to have plenty of tissues! We have all been in a situation when we needed a tissue and there is none to be found! It may sound silly, but I think that this is a great tip to have when going in for an interview.
Another great tip was to have an umbrella on hand. The weather in Charleston is pretty predictable, but the occasional afternoon storm can come out of no where and have you soaking wet in two seconds. Having the umbrella really goes to show you are prepared and thinking about any possible situation that could come your way.
The mock interviews with either a friend or yourself is a great tip as well. Although they may not ask you any of the questions you practiced, the mock interview can help you think on your toes and create smoothe transitions between aspects of the interview. This preparation is another way to impress your possible boss.
All these hints really helped me to realize what I will need to do when my first rounds of interviews begins after graduation.

Persuasive Speeches

In class we discussed Martin Luther King Jr's letter from Birmingham Jail. This is one of the most famous, and influential examples of rhetoric. In his letter, Martin Luther King Jr uses ethos (appeach of the speaker), logos (appeal to logic), and pathos (appeal to emotion) in order to makethe letter persuasive. King Jr. makes sure that he touches his readers in every aspect throughout the letter- not only making his point, but giving himself credibility and working with the reader's emotion to see his point of view.
In class we also had guest speakers from the Army Recruit. Their presentation was very detailed on what makes a good persuasive speech, however, they never really gave us their persuasive speech. At the end of the presentation the class began to ask questions about being recruiters for the army and what they say to persuade people to join. It was at this time that I felt the class was interested and began to see what tactics they used. For example, money was a key ingredient in their success- they would say financial benefits and incentives and then pause so that the people could soak it in and think about it.
Just like what we saw in Martin Luther King Jr's letter and the Army recruiters, I saw in President Bush's speech on 9-11. In this speech, Bush touches all the key points of the rhetorical triangle. He begins by useing pathos- the appeal to our emotion- which is very appropriate seeing the subject that he is addressing. He recognizes the severity and emotional taxing nature of the event. Bush then begins to appeal to our logos by taking the people through the steps of why we would be a target yet still giving the people confidence that we are going to not only survive but prevail. Bush uses ethos, the appeal of the speaker, throughout the entire speech. One main way of doing this is by using "our", making him a part of the situation, not a third party just stating the facts and what we should do. He makes sure that the audience is connected with him, on the same emotional level, so that we feel in touch with him, therefore giving him our support. Bush goes back to using logos when he begins to explain the actions that he has already taken to ensure our security and what actions he intends to implement in the near future. Bush brings his speech to a close by asking the people of the United States for their prayers and support. By doing so, Bush is using ethos and pathos as a final reminder that he is one of us and is there for the long run. Bush also ends with a Psalm which appeals to the audience who is reaching out for prayer particularly at this point in time, and gives himself credibility because he is one of us. His last sentence appeals to all three points of the rhetorical triangle. He acknowledges the past and what we need to do about the future (logos), uses first person and makes him on the same level as his audience (ethos) and finally, gives us encouragement and hope for the future (logos): "This is a day when all Americans from every walk of life unite in our resolve for justice and peace. America has stood down enemies before, and we will do so this time. None of us will ever forget this day. Yet, we go forward to defend freedom and all that is good and just in our world."

http://www.famousquotes.me.uk/speeches/George_W_Bush/index.htm