Saturday, January 23, 2010

assignment 2

From reading the article "The New Girl Order," one really sees how far women have come, particularly in the past forty years. During the late 1960s and 1970s, women were typically homemakers. They were not concerned about earning a degree or starting a career but primarily concerned with finding a husband and starting a family. Women used to be married by the age of 20 and then, by the age of 25, they would have children and a be raising a family. The males were typically the breadwinners and would go to work, earning money to support his family.

In today's society, the norms have certainly changed drastically. It is becoming more and more common for women to go to college and earn a degree before worrying about finding Mr. Right. Today's norms are most definitely about delaying marriage and family. Women today only begin to get married around the age of 30 and then have children, once they have settled down in a career they enjoy. Women today are finding it more important to go to school and obtain an education in order to satisfy their career. Women are also becoming more independent, which is another factor of acquiring an education rather than getting married right away. Forty years ago, women would not worry about working but today, things have changed and women are involved in the workplace.

As for myself, I plan on finishing college in another year, which is extremely scary and nerve-wracking, and then finding a job. I am currently in a relationship that I know will last but in order for us both to be happy, i must finish school and get a job and then worry about marriage. Once married, though, i would like to earn tenure at my job before I have children. I feel that if I do get tenure, I can have children without worrying whether or not I will have a job when I come back. Also, I would like to go back to school, even if it is simply online classes, but I would like to earn my Master's Degree. If it was truly my decision and financially available, however, i would most likely be in my own apartment and living how i wish, going to school for a career I chose.

I think if I had to choose a character from Sex and the City that I relate to, it would be Miranda Hobbes. I am somewhat like that character in which it is extremely difficult for me to open up to anyone. I am very pessimistic, always seeing the glass half empty. Also, I am constantly trying to go above and beyond pretty much everything I do and I think that relates to Miranda as well. As for the husband, Mr. Big all the way! =)

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Assignment 1

Hello everyone. My name is Amanda Giancaspro, and I am currently majoring in early and middle childhood education. I am also taking extra math classes to receive my middle school endorsement for math. As of right now, I am a full-time student but on my days off, I substitute teach at the elementary schools in my town as well as tutor two nights a week and work in an after-school program at another elementary school. I also knew that I wanted to be a teacher when I was young but as I grew older, I was forced, in a way, to fulfill this occupation mostly by my parents.

Right now, I live with my mom and dad and one of my brothers. I have three older brothers, aged 32, 31, and 26. The 26-year-old is still living at home but he has been looking for other options. I am probably the closest with him and the oldest one. My other brother, who is 31, was never a part of my life because as I was growing up, he graduated high school then went away to college for seven years, earning his Doctorate degree and then moved from New Jersey to Seattle to Florida, where he currently resides. He still treats me as a child, which is probably because he never truly saw me grow up. I would say, however, that my grandma is my best friend. She is 92 but is extremely important to me. When I was younger, we would take bus trips to the mall for the day and we would go to the city as well as have sleepovers at her apartment every Saturday night. Being that she lives in the same town as I do, it is very easy to spend time with her. I make it a point to call her everyday, and even though we may only talk for a few minutes on the phone, it helps keep me going. She gives me the confidence and the faith that I need to make it through the day.

The funniest thing that ever happened to me was actually the most embarrassing thing as well. It happened about 2 years ago when I went a “date.” I wouldn’t actually call it a date because we only went to Dunkin Donuts just to grab a coffee and talk for a little bit. Well, I ordered a white hot chocolate and I still remember that I had my red MSU sweatshirt on. So we’re sitting there and maybe a half hour passed and I finally go to take a sip of my drink, hoping that it cooled down. The drink had cooled down but unfortunately, I missed my mouth and my hot chocolate went all over my sweatshirt and me. I had long hair at the time and somehow, don’t know how, but the ends of my hair were wet too. I figured that was the last time I would ever see him. Fortunately, he thought it was cute and the next time we went out, we made a joke about how I needed to wear a bib and everything. That started a great relationship between my boyfriend and I. To this day, we still look back and laugh at it.

Looking at the course syllabus, the one thing that really caught my eye was the group project. I personally enjoy reading self-help and relationship-type books and I think critiquing one of these books would be a great project. Many authors believe they know the exact details to a perfect relationship and how to pick a person up when he/she reached rock bottom. There are many other factors that must be considered and these authors are simply overlooking them. Critiquing a self-help or relationship book will definitely be an interesting project.

Just thinking about this course as time goes on, I am optimistic about what will be taught. Personally, I do not have a healthy relationship with my parents, particularly my mother. From this course, I hope to gain a better understanding or even possible opportunities that may come up to help strengthen our relationship.

Watching the video and exploring Wiki, I like the fact that the document is never final. Each person can log on and change or add something to the document. Wiki will definitely come in handy when it is time for the group projects. It will be a lot easier to gather everyone’s ideas and organize the project rather than have it become hectic and confusing through emails. Each group member will be able to see what other people in the group are doing and what they have added. I think Wiki will be a better feature than Blackboard.