Blog Post 1

About Me
My name is Jennifer Peyer and I am 33 years old. I live in Gulf Shores, Alabama with my husband Matt and 7 year old daughter Makayla. I am also currently pregnant and due the beginning of June. I'm taking classes this semester for my recertification due to not keeping it up to date. I graduated from USA in 2003 and did teach until realizing that I'd rather stay home with my daughter and not only watch her grow up, but be an active part of her growing up on a hourly basis. At the time, I thought she just might be my only child and I refused to miss a single thing; they really do grow up fast and they are only little once!

As you can see already, I hope, my daughter is my world, but my husband Matt is a huge part of it as well, for he is my rock. The three of us are very, very close and I'm glad to say we are an open and honest family who do everything together. We enjoy paddle boarding together, bike riding and just all out exploring everywhere we go.

My Classroom
I'm really hoping that once I get reinstated I can go for my masters and counsel at the high school level. I feel that if anyone could help these children today, it's me and there's clearly nobody better. I've not only seen it all, but have done it all or been put through it all and though I am not proud or happy of most of my past I feel like I had to be put here on earth for a reason. A reason where I can share and help others from my crazy experience of existance here on this planet. I think back to a statement I know is so true by Dr. Pausch from his video on time management, "when things aren't going well, you're learning" and it'll "get better"; well, I have really learned a lot and it does get better and this is what I would like to share with children and help them to understand.

My classroom will not only be in my office, but it will be throughout the whole entire school. I'm hoping I will be able to reach students through many different avenues, one-on-one, small groups and large groups, using my own experiences as a major tool.

Randy Pausch On Time Management
Dr. Pausch's four minute video was on how to set goals and avoid wasting time. He states in the video that "we waste our time" and that we are "bad with time as a commodity". I like the fact that he says time and money are very equatable. This is something that I use to hear a lot growing up, therefore it is something ingrained within my brain and in which I firmly believe.

In Dr. Pausch's video, he used two slides to get his points across. The first was titled "Goals, Priorities, and Planning" where he said always ask yourself "why". Dr. Pausch also stated that "failing to plan is planning to fail" and that every morning when one awakes one should have a plan. That plan just might have to change at some point and that's normal, but only if there's a plan in place.

The second was titled "To Do List" where you break things down in small steps. I learned here that you should always do "the ugliest thing first", which I think is truly brilliant. I will forever remember this and do this throughout my daily life.

Dr. Randy Pausch was a very remarkable man who did many great things during his short time here on earth. He was a husband and father of three, two boys and a girl. He had a bachelor's degree in computer science and a Ph.D. in computer science. He was a professor of computer science, human-computer interaction, and design at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. He is the creator and founder of the "Alice Software Project" which is a revolutionary software that teaches computer programming and also provides a certain type of environment for virtual reality and interactive 3D graphics. He is also known for his virtual reality research with Disney Imagineers. After he died, July 2008 at age 47, The Walt Disney Company honored his memory by dedicating a tribute plaque near the "Mad Tea Party" attraction at Walt Disney World with a quote by Dr. Pausch's that reads "Be good at something; It makes you valuable ... Have something to bring to the table, because that will make you more welcome."