Welcome

I tried blogging once, and it really didn't work for me.  However, to keep in touch with the class, I will do my best. 

I cannot take credit for the title of my blog.  It comes from the great Joseph Campbell.  I am sure at some point I will start to gush about the journey of the hero and how it applies to Star Wars, and you will realize just how much of a geek I am.

This entry is for me to tell you about me.  I understand your anxieties about switching instructors.  My own students are experiencing the same feelings.  Hopefully, with reading some of the basics, you will feel at ease.

I graduated from South High School in 1992.  I graduated sixth in my class, so I understand why some of you may be attempting to achieve the same goal.  I knew I would never be Valedictorian, but I wanted to be "Top Ten."  So, I made it happen.  In retrospect, it really didn't mean much. I had a GPA and ACT score that would get me into the engineering schools of Stanford, CU, and Mines.  (I knew I couldn’t pay for Stanford; I only applied to see if I could get accepted.)

Yes, engineering.  Long story short…I went to CU.  I hated engineering.  I found a way to keep two aspects of my life in tact every semester as I struggled to find passion for engineering: literature and music.  I scheduled literature and choir every semester until I realized that I WAS NOT AN ENGINEER.   I transferred and changed my major.

I know now that top ten didn't make me successful; it didn't make me a Chemical Engineer.  The best part about working to achieve that goal was the education I received from it.  Education made me successful.  I had some of the finest teachers in high school, but Mr. Peats, who was my AP Literature teacher, was tops.  I know that he was the one who made me tear apart literature with passion.  Chemistry has a beauty to it (which I still marvel), but I couldn't do it for the rest of my life.  I treasure Mr. Peats and my professors at the Metropolitan State College of Denver for making me realize that the beauty of literature and language is my path. 

Choose to learn every day.   Not for a grade, or accolades, but for the simple fact that you want to grow every day.  I can guarantee that if you choose to learn for the sake of learning that you will be successful.
Arg...Preachy me over. 

You will find out more about me as time goes by.

Every teacher has pet peeves; these are my top two.

1.       Tardiness

2.      Writing an analysis paper in first person point of view.