Blog Assignment #1

About Me

My name is Stephanie Tisdale and I am 21 years old from Norfolk, VA. I am a full-time student at the University of South Alabama studying elementary education in hopes to be a teacher one day. I have no brothers or sisters therefore, I am the only child. I’ve moved twice in my lifetime, since my dad was in the military. I moved from Elizabeth City, N.C (lived 1 year) to Clearwater, FL (lived 9 years) and lastly to Mobile, AL; where I have lived the past 11 years.

I decided to attend the University of South Alabama since it was close to home and because it has a great education program. I have always had a passion to be a teacher ever since I was a young child. Mrs. Harvey, who was my 2nd grade elementary teacher, made learning fun and exciting than any teacher I had before. She encouraged her students to do their best and to ask for help when needed. At that point, I made my decision to be a teacher. I have thought about other career paths but becoming a teacher has always stuck with me. I like helping out others and learning new things as well. I think it’s one of the greatest things you can do is help someone out and teach them something new.

I have been working at a daycare part-time for the past 3 years while going to school full-time. I have some experience working with 4 and 5 year olds but mainly working with 2 year old and babies. Unfortunately, I will not be working there this semester due to my focus on studies. I have learned a lot while working in daycare especially with the smaller children. It is such a good feeling when one of your students can tell you their numbers or colors that they just learned.

I enjoy spending time with friends and family when I’m not busy with school or work. I love the beach, shopping, reading, and traveling. My ultimate dream is to travel over to Paris and see the Eiffel Tower.

Randy Pausch On Time Management

2. What I have learned while watching Randy Pausch video on Time Management is “Experience comes with time”, which happens to be very true. Everyone makes mistakes but as long as you learn from those mistakes you’ll gain experience. One key point that Pausch mentioned that I thought was interesting is “A lot of people focus on doing things right instead of doing the right thing.” I believe this is more common in the society we live in today. I think some tend to focus too heavily on doing things right rather than focusing on doing the right thing in certain situations. Another key point that Pausch mentioned, is to focus on the biggest items on your to do list first then onto the smaller items. This is one key point I will defiantly use more often. I happen to procrastinate at times and start with the small items first then onto the bigger items.

I do not know anything about Dr. Pausch however; I did some research to find out exactly who he is. Pauschs lecture Time Management was given at the University of Virginia on November 27, 2007 that consisted of more than 850 people in the audience, which I thought was neat. Pausch was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer on September 19, 2006. In August of 2007, Pausch was told by doctors he only had 3 to 6 months to live. Two months prior to Pausch death, in July 2008, he was listed by TIME magazine as one of the World’s Top 100 Most Influential People.

Time Management Problems

Penn State University tips on Time Management Exercises and Time Management Lessons. I found Penn State University’s tips very helpful. A few tips that I am taking into consideration are to concentrate on one thing at time, being well prepared for class, and to set deadlines ahead of time. I will defiantly use the tip of planning deadlines ahead of time. So I can manage my time for each assignment that needs to be done rather than waiting to the last minute and end up procrastinating.