Life Lessons with Nanny Duke

Nanny Duke is one of my favorite people of all time! She is an incredible woman who has raised 4 children and then went to night school to get her degree in elementary education. She has seen and experienced a lot .... She's 92. I had the privilege of spending the day with her last week. I love talking to her. Nothing seems to surprise her and she is always full of encouragement. She has been praying for me since before I knew her. Dixie "Nanny" Duke is who I want to learn from. And I think I am learning a little more each time I visit her. I want the hope she has inside of her, I want her diligence, her compassion, her love for the Word and Jesus. She is truly my hero. When I was thinking about what I have learned lately, my time with Nanny came to mind. I learned that this life is about the process and not necessarily the product. This brought me such comfort to keep going and not get caught up in what I am lacking. I want to be at peace with the process that God is bringing me through and not run from it because it might be uncomfortable. I don't know if all this makes sense, but this is what I am learning right now.

New laptop

I just bought a laptop!
Through this experience I learned a lot about what makes a computer a good choice. Things like the ram and memory, stuff I really knew nothing about before. My husband helped explain a lot of it. We totally lucked out though. On a whim we went to Office Depot and looked at laptops. We found a great deal and the cool thing was that it was the last day of the sale. I am also learing a lot about networking computers. I'm not sure how this will help me when I'm a teacher, but it will help me in my computer life.

Philosophy of Teaching

This past week I had my "interview" for candidacy, which was not hard or nerve racking at all. It was very informative about what is ahead. One thing that stood out was the advice to know or define your own philosophy of teaching. I thought this was great advice. It will help me in the future be better prepared for interviews . Also to have a defined philosophy of teaching will help me get through this process called school. So this is what I am learning to do. I know it will be something that I will have to put a lot of thought into, so I haven't started yet! :)

Tolerance

I learned today what it felt like to be discriminated against. I was in a class that was discussing a controversial topic. The person that was heading the discussion made it very clear that anyone who had an opinion based on a faith could not respond. I realized that if I had anything to say it would be void. What I believe about that subject is based on my faith in Jesus Christ and what the Bible says. It was difficult to be in a "open" discussion about having more tolerance for a group of people, but yet there was no tolerance for a faith based argument. I will remember this when I have a class room. I want to create an environment where discussions can happen without trying to "win over" people and exclude other opinions.

Sunscreen

I learned that sunscreen is good!
Over my spring break I learned a valuable lesson: sunscreen is good! I decided to go to Dauphin Island and read. I have been reading the Chronicles of Narnia. As I laid in the hot sun I let the time go before I realized I was burnt. I totally forgot to put on sunscreen. So needless to say my back is burnt and I have learned a lesson. I will remember this in the future.

I Posted A Picture!!

I POSTED A PICTURE! Success is so sweet. DGB!
Tonight I put into practice something I was taught. I posted a picture to my blog!
This will benefit my blog in the future and make it more interesting.

This is a picture of my husband and I with Cooper and Kelli. We are at a conference called NEXT. For more info check out this site.... NEXT

Excel

This past week or two I have begun to learn about excel.
I am taking a math class that requires a project done in excel. I have never used excel in my life, until now. I had to ask for help. Some friends from other classes really helped me out a lot. My project was a gradesheet so I know that this was beginning to prepare me for the future. I'm sure I will use this program many more times. Thank you Danielle!