Okay, so we are to blog about 'hitting the wall' regarding our tech class or the MASTL program in general. There have been times in the last 10 days when I've hit a fence, but I'm not at the wall right now. I am, however, and have been numerous times, completed blown away by how much material there is on the web. Many times I sit in front of my computer, dazed at where to begin. When we are told to explore websites, podcasts, blogs... it's like giving someone a telescope and saying 'go look at a star' (Rob, you'll appreciate the analogy). There is a universe of information out there and to try and go see what's out there, as our tech prof says, is such an immense task.
I have also gone through several series of hitting mini-walls with all the information we are held accountable for here in MATSL, and all the final products we are expected to produce by ... holy cow! ... NEXT FRIDAY?!?!? That's like 10 days!! Okay, no more blogging today, I've hit a concrete wall of panic and must go work! (notice my fire/panic red font of today)
Oops, I just realized that I was supposed to be blogging for my tech class about how my students often hit the wall in their languages and how that must feel. I can certainly relate in that when I am bombarded with too much information here at MATSL, I've found that I very much need reassurance that I'm doing alright, that it's supposed to be this hard, that I will not fail out of this program -- all irrational places that my mind has tended to go this past week. And I also learned how my mind and psyche respond when I do not receive the reassurance that I am seeking. It's completely crushing to call out for help, maybe just a little word saying that I'm doing okay and to keep going, and to not receive what I think I need. It's a valuable learning process about how I function and work through this kind of pressure. If my own students aren't having a strong self-confidence day or have been through things that push them beyond their perceived limits, and reach out for a little reassurance, I will very well give it to them, in piles, so that they are able to get beyond that self-doubt, and are able to continue with the difficult, seemingly impossible tasks at hand.
Whew. Okay, outta here. :)
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Hi Lisa,
I have to agree with you on the fact that how it can be overwhelming when we are bombarded with a lot of info in a short amount of time. It is something that I am definitly going to keep in mind as a teacher. It goes hand in hand with our pedagogy class discussion about covering a lot of material in a short amount of time. It would be a good idea if we make people that design a long curriculum for a short school year (and expect us, teachers, to cover it) go through the same experience. I wonder what will happen???
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