Sunday, January 20, 2013

Blog Assignment #1

About Me...

Sally Jeter is my name, and basketball is my game. My love of basketball has taken me all over the country. I have met my best friends through the sport. I am at a place where I get the most joy out of giving back to to others who love the game through coaching. I am from Gulf Shores, graduated from Foley High School, and received a full scholarship to the UAB in 1997. I played four years of basketball while at UAB, and in all honesty went to school in order to do so. My dedication to basketball allowed me to walk away from playing the sport to coaching it with no regrets. My lack of academic dedication is why I am back in school at USA today, majoring in Secondary Education/Social Sciences. I hope to gain the tools needed to teach other children. I know it will be a consent challenge to come up with ways to engage their minds, and help them learn, and I live for challenges.

My basketball path as a coach first took me to Chipola College in Mariana, FL. There I learned the basic responsibilities needed to be a college coach, as well as a young professional. I stayed at Chipola eight months before I was hired to be an assistant coach at the University of New Orleans. I spent 6 crazy years there. I say crazy because one of those years was 2005, the year of Katrina. I was a young coach when we were told we were going to have to evacuate for Hurricane Katrina. Being from the gulf coast, I thought very little of this. However, moving to Tyler, TX two weeks later, and taking our entire basketball team with us, was an adventure I never imagined. We spent one semester there, our players enrolled at UT-Tyler, Tyler Junior College, and limited UNO online classes. We also played our entire basketball season from there. We eventually returned to New Orleans, and I coached for a few more years before moving into an administrative role within the athletic department. One year later, I was given the opportunity to return to my Alma Mater, Foley High School, and this is where my academic path takes over.

I was always known as a basketball player, not a student. I only attended school so I could play basketball. C's were just fine with me, and I would never strive for anything else. This was my philosophy all the way through college. I was originally a P.E. major at UAB because my roommate was one, and well, I could use her work. I finally had a moment near my junior year where I realized that I was about to become a P.E. teacher, and I did not want to do that. My adviser instructed me to focus on a subject I enjoyed and I changed my major to History, but not with Education. I somehow graduated from UAB in 2003 with a Bachelor's in History. I never needed to advance my education in the college coaching field, and nobody ever asked me about my GPA until my opportunity arose at Foley High School last May. When I applied for an alternative teachers certificate, I was told I needed a 2.5, and my 2.39 from UAB would not work. I thought about it for a while, and I decided to take this opportunity to return to school and do it 'right.' This is my third semester at USA, and I am coaching basketball at Foley High School. I'm working towards earning my second bachelors, but this time I plan to learn while I earn.

Time Management with Dr. Pausch

This video was enjoyable and educational at the same time. I liked Dr. Pausch's sense of humor. I can definitely relate to the analogy he talked about with making a to-do list. He said, "If you have to eat one frog, don't look at it long, and if you have to eat three frogs eat the biggest one first." This is an issue that I am going to really have to hit head on during this EDM 310 class. I tend to get nervous about doing assignments that are out of my comfort zone. I know I will feel accomplished and better about myself afterwards. However, digging in and making myself tackle the project is something I do struggle with.

The other part of the video that stood out to me was on experience. Knowing that this class is going to challenge my mind, and that I will have frustrating moments scares me. After hearing his lecture I realize that the struggles I go will go through are only going to grant me more experience. And, experience is invaluable, it cannot be faked. I will be a better teacher because of my experiences. I know this is true because I am able to relate to the players on my basketball team because of my experience as a player. This class will offer me the same "hands on" opportunities, which will help me in my classroom.

The other information I learned about Dr. Pausch was that he had an amazing career, family, and life. He was a computer science major and passionate about life. He eventually lost a battle with cancer, but has a famous last interview, or lecture about achieving your childhood dreams.

Time Management

I found this article to be very helpful. The idea I could most benefit from is setting aside time daily to focus on each class. EDM 310 will require a minimum of 9 hours per week. I need to apply the ideas given in this article so I will be able to space those hours out throughout the week. Staying on a disciplined schedule will allow me to stay on track. Also, recognize my time wasters, such as watching TV, so I don't end up spending all 9 hours on EDM 310 in one day.

2 comments:

  1. You will watch Randy Pausch's Last Lecture later this semester. It is a powerful and moving video!

    Samantha Wesson (TT11) is also addicted to basketball.

    Well written. Welcome to EDM310!

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  2. I can relate to you very much because I am a student athlete. I can also agree with you on being addicted to your sport. I play football at South and I am consumed with my sport as well. Playing football has made me who I am today. Your story behind the Katrina aftermath is something can also associate with I am from Alabama and a few students transfered to my middle school I was attending. I became friends with them and began to understand how devastating Katrina truly was.

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