Coding

Coding is how interviews are analyzed. What you do is you take, line by line, information from them and try to find what is said most.
So for example if I were to code the above statements I might say these things I found important informaiton

Coding
Analyzed
Interviews
line by line
what is most said

Sounds fun right? Well it's not. In fact it's extremely tedious and time consuming. We were given interviews to code and they were each about 6 pages long, 3 interviews is 18 pages of coding. The idea is those being interviewed are going to talk more often and in more depth about things that are important to them. So if you were to analyze this blog entry words like coding, analyze, information and interviews would probably come up most often. Wow. How amazing.

My roommate suggested that we put our coding into something called a word cloud. A word cloud generates an image based on words found in text. The larger the word in the image, the more often it comes up. It looks cool, it takes very little time, and it's a graphic representation of text. So I did that, and voila, the word cloud came to the same conclusions that I did only faster!

All interviews in the word cloud

I then thought, what happens when I use it to analyze other things? So I decided to use all the posts from September and put them into a word cloud to see what I was talking about most.

September Blog Entries

Apparently I talk a lot about people and going. It good to know that I enjoyed writing about school, work, place, teachers, education and curriculum. Environmental made a show, as well as time. Interesting stuff. Thanks word cloud for making coding more interesting! 

Bottling the Drifter

In the last five years I have lived in Vermont, Maine, Africa, Alaska, California, Wyoming, New Hampshire, and now Wisconsin. Before going to grad school I had to turn down a job in Washington state. I was a drifter, someone who moves from place to place in search of work. I usually only lived a in place for a few months and then moved on to the next job. I would ski in the winter, and was an outdoor educator in the spring summer and fall. Adventure, travel and first hand experience was what my life was about. Being a drifter was only supposed to be until I found a 'real job'. Temporary and seasonal work was just that, in case there wasn't anything better. Full time, year round work was what I really wanted after coming back from Benin. Or at least I thought. Knowing myself better now, I know that full time year round work somewhere wasn't going satisfy me. I'm a free spirit and dreamer. I always enjoyed having my next adventure, a roller coaster life. I also knew that it wasn't a long term solution to any problems.

Financial security sounds wonderful, health care also sounds amazing, being able to afford an apartment is pretty much what every seasonal employee dreams about sometimes. Not having to pack your car or your backpack every three months, not having to purge your clothes all the time, and thinking about shopping somewhere other than goodwill are realities for others, but not the drifter.

But once the drifter does quietly turn into a life of ease, being tired of the aforementioned things, surrounding themselves with the items from their storage unit and sleeping on a bed that has sheets they begin to realize something. At first they think it's great. They might have an oven, a toilet they don't have to share, wifi, a closet, and maybe even a reliable car. At night they don't have to worry about being cold, if it's going to rain and their tent leaks or if they're able to drive their car up the driveway at night. They've found the holy grail, a job that actually pays them what they feel they might need, and an apartment in their budget. So they snuggle in the comfort that financial and long term stability. Then they noticed that they have sacrificed things by living like everyone else. They begin to miss the job search, the unknown, the work hard and party harder lifestyle. They miss all their bum friends, who don't care about their clothes and lack of deodorant. They miss making new friends and family where ever they go. They begin to want that life again. It's a rash on your subconscious, always itching and the more you scratch and think about it, the worse it gets. Old habits die hard and you find yourself job searching, dreaming and thinking about how you're going to pack your car.

To say that I haven't thought this way would be a lie. New adventures are always on my mind. The drifter in me wants to pick up and go somewhere different. But I'll have to put it aside for now. Getting into graduate school on full scholarship is huge. I wasn't moving forward in my career with what I was doing. Something did have to change, and getting a masters degree is going to put me in a better place for a long time career solution. Outdoor environmental education isn't a fun way to spend a season, it's what I want to do. I know this, I know that I can have goals and can reach them. But I think everyone find themselves missing former lives, and feeling a pull from their past. Making the choice that's best for me, means saying goodbye for a little while to my drifter ways.

Research

When I applied for Graduate School I learned that the program I was interested in didn't have a thesis requirement. I was so happy. I've heard horror stories of people being out of school for years and while having completed the classes they've yet to complete their thesis. Some advice from one person to another in thesis writing and completion was 'if you're so close to finishing but can't you have two choices... lock yourself in your room with only your computer, no internet for the next 36 hours... or... get rip roaring drunk and in the morning, while you're still semi- intoxicated begin to write your paper. by the time your hangover is done you should be finished.' Neither of these choices seem like great ideas, graduate school could turn into 3 or 4 years rather than just two. No thesis means I got to avoid this scenario. However, we have a project which I was told 'is almost exactly like a thesis.' After being accepted and being in class for a week or so I wasn't going to leave just because of this, but my heart sank a little bit. It came back up slightly when they told us we would definitely for sure be done when we graduated.

Even though I now am basically doing a thesis I feel better about it. Being the one doing research instead of reading the research is encouraging. That I am now on the level of education where I can positively add something to my field. This has also given me the opportunity to really dive into a topic I've been considering for about a year now. My research has been approved, which is great. The topic is looking at combining noncompetitive sports and field science. For example: the study of geology and rock climbing, studying how a landscape changes while backpacking, studying weather patterns by sailing, understanding river ecology by kayaking, studying GIS/ GPS by hiking and geocaching. How combining these two topics not only are you having a longer class (2 1.5 hour classes now are a 3 hour super class) but you also are learning better. Moving physical education toward noncompetitive sports (not 100% but at least somewhat) will engage a larger audience. When I was in phys ed I hated it, I was always on the loosing team, or I didn't play at all. It was about counting points rather than wellness. The teacher cared more about the game and the score rather than the individuals. I realize this is not every gym class. I know I would have been happier if we had been mountain biking, or sailing. Promoting wellness and self esteem in an 'everyone wins' environment makes gym class an emotionally safer place for students.

So now that I've chosen my topic, I'm locked in. I really don't know where this project is going, if it's going to be writing curriculum, looking at in place curriculum and developing a best practices, or is it going to be evaluating the in place curriculum. I must not be the first person on earth to come up with this idea. Somewhere, someone must be doing this already I just have to find them.

Wallyball

You might ask... What is Wallyball? I would tell you that it possibly one of the most fun games you can play! Completely absurd and hilarious all at the same time.  I discovered this amazing game here at grad school. I know I should be studying, but wallyball is a great distraction.

So Wallyball is a game much like volleyball. There is a net, players on either side volleying the ball to win points. However, what makes the game more fun is that you play it in a racquetball court and can bounce the ball off the walls. You can also get the ball up and over the net by bouncing it off any part of your body hands, feet, head, shoulder, knee... I'm sure you can see how hilarious the game gets.

My friends and I have found that we really enjoy playing wallyball as a way to unwind from our day. I usually laugh so hard I cry at least twice a game. I've also noticed that it's a great workout. Lots of jumping, arm swinging and moving around all the time. We usually play for a couple of hours. If you ever have the chance to play wallyball you should, so much fun is waiting to be had.

Grad School: More Commitment

This past week my friends and I here at school all worked hard. We had a final to study for, after only two week of class. Our accelerated ecology course was the first environmental science course I took since graduating college in 2008. Three hours of class every day and a lab after lunch left little time for the information to truly absorb. We were all feeling a little strung out.

The final itself was set up differently from any other final I have ever taken. The professor had at the beginning of the course in his syllabus had 33 different questions all relating to main topics and ideas of the course. On final day each student was going to draw a question at random, it could be any one of the 33 in the bucket. They would then have 5 minutes to answer the question to the best of their ability, making sure to hit on key points presented during lecture. Other students would then be able to add to the discussion, as long as they were keeping on topic and adding positively to final. The final is 75% of your grade, 25% is class participation. That's right, you have ONE SHOT to impress the professor enough to get a good grade.

My friends and I studied hard the week before the final. But keep in mind a week before the final we only had half the information to answer the questions. We would do some alone studying and then get together and study in a group. The group study proved to be very useful. However, it was clear that the reason why it worked so well was because not one of us hadn't studied before hand to get the most information.

On final day I felt that I did pretty well. I got in, answered questions to completion and got out feeling like weight had been lifted off my shoulders. But the coolest thing was that everyone had clearly taken this final seriously and wanted the best grade they could get. The level of commitment from the fellow students made me feel honored and humbled (I know, opposing ideas) to know that I was part of this amazing group. We are all committed to learning and are taking the opportunities we've been given seriously. This makes for a productive learning environment. I couldn't ask for a a more worth while place to go back to school!

Classes then and now

My undergrad school was the University of New England, a small school where the Saco river meets the Atlantic Ocean. Coming from a very small high school in rural Vermont I remember being excited that I could meet a new person every single day and not run out of people to meet by the end of the year. Of course, that was freshman year and people dropped out. Going to class was definitely a chore. Most of my friends were fresh out of High School, like myself and yes they knew they wanted to go to college but didn't have the motivation to really buckle down and do well. Undergrad was unfortunately a $30,000 a year social scene. Yes I went to class, yes I did study, and yes I at the end I got a GPA I was proud of, but something was missing, life experience.

Directly after college I didn't think I would be going back to graduate school. I thought that I was done with school. After 17 years straight of school I was done. I needed a reason to go back, and I just didn't have one. Instead I had drive to check out the world. I went to Africa, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Wyoming, California, Montana, Alaska, North Carolina, and probably a few others I forgot to mention. I realized that I really enjoy outdoor environmental education.

After finding a career I was passionate about I found that I was lacking some education, psychology and education courses. I knew I had to go back. I found motivation to return. My courses are coming much easier for me now. I've found that I want to go to class instead of feeling like I'm supposed to go to class. I truly am excited to see what I'm going to learn that day. I also have noticed that my other classmates are equally engaged. Its refreshing to be surrounded by people of like interest who have the same motivational level that you do. Unlike other careers I probably don't need to go back to school to work within my field. Myself and my classmates choose to come back, because we wanted to, that has made all the difference.

Back to School

I got my boots tied tight, I got my lunch packed up, I hope I don't get in a fight... back to school... back to school

Adam Sandler, that idiotic genius of comedy got it right. Going back to school made me a little anxious too. Granted it wasn't about getting into a fight, or I guess if you were to take his quote a little further you might say that he was worried about making friends.

I wasn't really worried about making friends. I seem to be able to do that in most situations I put myself in. It might take a little longer depending on the group of people but I've never been friendless anywhere I went. The thing I was most concerned about was studying. I haven't been in school for five years. I graduated college, hit the Peace Corps, got out and bounced around, and then came back.

I know I wasn't ready to go to graduate school right out of college, I also know I would have picked a major I wasn't interested in. I considered going to graduate school right out of the Peace Corps. I thought about taking the GREs in Ghana, and then applying while still in the Peace Corps. This is what a lot of my group did. I didn't feel ready though. So I began to look for work. I couldn't not work, this was a non option. I decided that I would go home, work at the local ski mountain for the winter and then find a job more in line with my interests in the next season. Looking for work in States while I was living an ocean, and almost a hemisphere away wasn't going to happen.

I'm glad I waited. I'm glad that I sowed some wild seeds. I'm glad I did what I wanted, when I wanted. I didn't want to feel rushed or pushed into being someone I wasn't. I was still evolving and to cut the evolution of my identity short would have left me feeling vulnerable, disorientated, and probably immature. I stand by my decision to take this time, I needed to explore. I'm now entering a new form of exploration, school.

From all my wanderings I have realized that I am more invested, involved and excited to learn. I know why I'm here. After a little while of classes I've realized that studying, writing papers, and doing the reading are coming much more naturally to me the second time around than in undergrad. I have much more drive and curiosity about the subject I'm learning.

While I'm glad I took the time and knew what I wanted to do, I'm also glad I took the leap and returned. A friend of mine has been encouraging me to go back to school for years now, saying that I was too smart not to, was right in that it was a good choice for me. Being intellectually challenged has been something that's been missing in my life since leaving the Peace Corps. Maybe this is why I started reading and enjoying classic literature.  I was comforted by a thought I had last night. I was thinking about how truly happy I was to be here in this program and how school was encouraging and challenging me in ways that I needed. I'm a firm believer in fate. My next thought was, 'well I guess I'm meant to be here, doing this'.

To my readers I hope that you in your lives can take a deep breath and say to yourself 'I know that I'm meant to be where I am doing the things that make me happy.'

 

Goals

I was looking back at past entries on my blog and found something very encouraging. On August 14th, 2010  I wrote about coming back from Africa. It was actually my first post on this blog. It was written less than a week after returning. I didn't come right out and say it but they were goals. Here is what I wrote:

There is a larger plan though beyond getting my hair back to it's voluminous shiny self and filling my body with as many tasty treats as I can. The scheme ultimately is to get into grad school for a masters degree in some sort of an environmental education oriented program.

So here are the things that are on my list:

Study for GREs

Find job

Take GREs

Apply to Grad school

I have already accomplished this. It took two years but I'm glad that I took the time to look back and found this. New goals for the next two years are: 

Learn more about Environmental Education
Get a graduate degree
Find a job

Graduate School

So I've been keeping a big secret from you all...

Story goes...

Back when I was living in Benin and about to return home I was looking for jobs in the outdoor education field. I found quite a few but wasn't able to take any of them because they weren't hiring mid season. This is pretty typical for seasonal jobs. They usually do a big hire pre-season and they don't generally bring other people on half way through the season. I did however come across an outdoor education center located in Wisconsin.

I looked and looked for an employment section. This place didn't have an employment section. I wondered how they hired people to work for them if there wasn't an employment section. Generally speaking all hiring is done online because potential employees are scattered throughout the country.

I was going to find out the mystery of this place. Mostly because I was in Cotonou and after 3 days all the fun things to do in Cotonou had already been done. I found that the people who worked at this facility were actually graduate students. They were going to school for a masters in Residential Experiential Education. I then checked out the program, for fun. After reading about the program I got really excited.

Until this point I hadn't thought going back to graduate school unlike many of the volunteers in my group who had taken the GREs in Ghana and applied online using Benin's unstable at best internet. In fact when I finished my undergrad I said that I wasn't going to go back to school. That was it, a bachelors was all I was ever going to need. Two years out of school and being around people who are applying to graduate school changes your perspective on going back. I quickly found myself on the application page.

When I got back to Vermont I started studying for the GREs. I took them in February and started looking again at the application. I had missed the deadline. I shrugged, oh well. Yes if I had been more on my game maybe it could have happened, but I would just apply again next year. Then I found out that the college only accepted students every other year. I was going to have to wait two years. I then looked at other job opportunities. Maybe grad school wasn't going to work out. I looked at some other graduate programs and found that the original program is really what I wanted. I put it out of my mind, it wasn't worth thinking about for another two years. At least I had taken the GREs.

I drifted around from state to state. I had a blast and lived the quote 'Not all who wander are lost' (J.R. Tolkien). Vermont to California to Wyoming to New Hampshire to Vermont to Alaska back to New Hampshire and ending up back in Vermont. I met so many great friends and did some amazing things! I gained significant experience in my field and learned so much. I wouldn't change it for the world.

About a year and half later my mom suggested I take a look at the program again. She had looked it up again after finding a link, I'm sure buried deep within some email. She reminded me of how interested I was in the program and encouraged me to apply now that I had the time to give the application it needed. After having the mind set of packing up and leaving and doing something for three months at a time my mind was hard wired to decline any offers for longer than 6 months. This was for two years, including a summer semester. I figured I could apply and let that sink in later. I worked hard on the application, changing my essays, re-answering questions, grammar and spell check... I could have been doing this process forever! But time was running out.

I applied and filled out my application and my friend had to go with me to the post office to keep me honest about mailing it. I kissed it goodbye and a weight was lifted off my shoulders. It was too late now. The wheels were turning, and it was up to the universe to decide.

Moral of the story: After two years of hoping and thinking about it I got in! I'm leaving this summer for the north woods of Wisconsin to attend graduate school!!