the daily grind

Procrastinating?

2006-12-12T19:39:00.000-08:00

I feel the urge to spew what is on my mind and type it into this text box yet I am contrained for time. Should be reading the rest of my articles but I wanted to blog about the kids I am currently tutoring.
Everytime we receive back an assignment from the teacher there lacks to be constructive criticism. Instead, the rubric is circled with either level 2 or 3 capability. The teacher has an interesting, lack of a better word to get her instructions across to the class. She delegates work by giving little points as to what she is expecting but when the project is all said and done, it does not meet her requirements. There is never a sheet outling what the project/assignment is to consist of. Just little points she says out loud without any clarification. Nothing ever meets her expectations. Her aim I found out was to get the class to think outside the box. BUT, shouldn't we reward those for completing what was asked of? I admit Jake has come along way since last year and it would be nice to have some generic comments such as "keep it up". So what if it is just grade 7. We all were there at a point in time and I firmly believe praise along with suggestions goes a long way. Maybe it is just me and she is just preparing them for high school, the real world. Who knows. All I know is being the tutor, I feel like even my work is being neglected. Sometimes recognition for small things are so pertinent to social development of a child.
We recently worked on 3d model and report on an imaginery city of his choice. We followed the outline to the bone yet when results came back we could only question her method of marking.
The report was oustanding at a grade 7 level and the city even more so. Every week I see him bring back yet another thumbs down project which does not recognize the hard work he has put into it. He gets worked up over it and I understand where he is coming from but tell him there are larger things ahead and this is just part of the learning curve, unfairness and inequity.

Couple songs in my head:

Ciara - Promise (love, love, love it!)
Christina Aguilera - Hurt
Beyonce - Listen

Schedule for the next little while...

December 12 - Last tutoring session before holiday break
13 - GGRC46 EXAM 2-4
14 - ANTC32 EXAM 9-12
15 - ANTC35 EXAM 7-9
16 - jj's 2-6
17 - jj's 3-7:30, work holiday party @ jack astor's @ 8
18 VPMC85 EXAM 2-4:30
19 - Prime Mentors session, pick up bub from kingston
20 - fly out to cali @ 9:05

okies... gots to go study! ><

Future post

2006-12-06T22:27:00.000-08:00

I realize I haven't touched this in a while..... exams have been holding me up.

I would however in the near future like to touch upon some current affairs
I am making a note of it for a later posting

- Auditor general's report on money useage for the CAS, Ontario Hydro, school boards, etc.
- Andrea Johnson's murder-suicide
- the meaning of gift-giving. what does it mean to you?
- being politically correct. Merry Christmas? Happy Holidays?
- conflict diamonds and the Central Kalahari Game Reserve Bushmen

nonsense notes:
- those large TNA bags will hopefully be a fad in the new year. the entire UTSC population owns one.
- there are toooooooo many sales going on. hard to resist >< and since they don't have boxing day in the states (who knew?) I decided to swap up my fair share now =)

I like this dress. Maybe one day I can afford it.
http://www.neimanmarcus.com/products/mp/NMT0UCA_mp.jpg

so exactly what is anthropology?

2006-11-25T22:06:00.000-08:00

The number one question I am bombarded with when I tell people my specialization is
"so, you study dinosaurs eh?"M y response is NO, I am not Ross from Friends. This misconception of my major has led some people to believe I work with either animal bones or at the zoo. Anthropology rather, deals with the origin, develpment and nature of humans and their culture. It begins to examine societies today and in the past, both complex civilizations and relatively small-scale non-literate societies. Anthropology attempts to understand the common factors underlying human existence and to isolate the causes that have led - and continue to lead - to both social and cultural change and to differences between peoples and cultures.

oh, and to add in some of my pet peeves...

- when my name is spelt with 2 n's (jenn)
- when rocks flick at my car when I'm driving
- receiving early morning phone calls (I generally won't pick up)
- stupid people (those that do it purposely to get sympathy or those who are genuinely dumb. refer to margarita)
- slow drivers in the left lane (move b!tch, get outta the way)
- when the bottoms of my pants get wet in winter =/

A bit about me

2006-11-20T00:48:00.000-08:00

A bit about me:

*Note: Im not sure if this goes into a separate section but I will post this up cause I'm still a newbie and can get away with it :)

Little facts about me:
- I have had 3 rottweilers and intend to get a labrador in the near future
- my homepage is set to thestar.ca (since I was in about gr. 5 I subscribed to the paper and read it religiously and to this day I insist on getting my online dose although I would pick up the paper (Economist and Sun included) anytime with a cup of tea
- I have written into the editorial section of the Economist and Sun and had two letters of mine published =p
- I get a kick out of cleaning my car ANDY
- favourite foods include: anything with cream sauce, shrimps, mushrooms, dark chocolate, butter chicken, dumplings, shanghai fried noodles, crepes
- there are some favourites I have that I won't budge from: mint chocolate ice cream (baskin robbins), honey dip donut from tim's, pineapple malibu :D
- yucky to: onions (green, white, you name it), cheese, dasani water, flavoured water,
- I am a water guzzler meaning I will out drink you anywhere/anytime
- my dream city to live would be in NYC (I love everything about the city) --> big city lights :D
- I need at least 8 hours of sleep a day to function properly... if not I will be crabby and will have to nap later to make up for lost sleep
- if I could rob a store it would probably be sporting life

Most importantly, I have people till this day that inquire as to my major at school. This surprises me as I would like to think I know what everyone is studying and they either 1) do not give a crap as to what I am doing or 2) are just forgetful. I hope it is the later. Here is the rundown: this is my 5th year @ UTSC (victory lap) doing a specialist program in anthropology. Now for those that actually know, I was doing a double program in both anthropology and sociology but I have now reverted back to doing a specialist program. Perhaps I shall elaborate in my next post as to what anthropology is, my current/future goals, etc. It is currently 4:06am. I am beyond tired. Night.

First post

2006-11-20T00:42:00.000-08:00

I have finally succumbed into subscribing and hopefully sustaining my blog. Chances are it will outlive my asianavenue and friendster account which I barely touch. The purpose of starting up this blog is to have a online outlet to share what I have learned in lectures/life and of course random events which I'm sure will be read by no one. A continually unfolding chapter in my so-called life.