Thursday, January 21, 2010

Meet Michele Weinhouse (NETS-T III, V)




Hello All! I'm Michele Weinhouse, student teacher-in-training. For the past 17 years I've been Michele M. Ramirez-Weinhouse and for the last 22 years I've been a chemist. Recent down turns in the economy and job market are forcefully telling me its time to transition to a different career. I have attended different K-12 schools because my dad worked for the military. Kindergarten was over 40 years ago and beyond the capacity of my brain to recall the name of the school. I attended St. Basil's Catholic School in Vallejo from 1st through 4th grades. In the 5th grade, my family moved to San Diego where I attended St. Charles' Catholic School. I spent 6th grade at Lanai Elementary living with my grandmother. My 7th grade was started at Bonita Vista Junior High but finished in Subic Bay Naval Base at George Dewey Junior and Senior High School. I stayed at George Dewey until I graduated in 1982. I attended Southwestern College for 3 years and then finished up my B.S. degree at UCLA in 1988. It's been over 20 years since I was in school and the transition back doesn't seem to be coming to me easily.




I learned early on in my career that I wasn't satisfied in my job unless I was learning something new. Technology at work provided me a way to satisfy that need and I found that the newer the technology the more fun I was having. At Pfizer, I became an expert in many of the new programs being launched through an endless supply provided by our computational chemists. It seemed that I was always the first to learn, test and train other scientists (mostly those scientists with no patience for beta testing). However, I don't know a single line of code. I started out using Macs in college and then in my first few years of my career. However, in working for start-ups, cost was an issue and PCs were much more economical. For that reason, my personal computers were also PCs. We do have a Mac at home that we use mainly for its iMovie software. Just recently, I bought my very own laptop and loaded Windows 7 on it. I'm still learning how/where everything is but for the most part I'm fully functioning on my computer. I know that the chemistry classes I teach will have a strong element of technology. I can't wait to see what and how I will use it.




I had read the Mission Statement after talking with a counselor at the College of Education and until tonight after you shared examples of how CSUSM fulfills its mission, to tell you the truth, I wasn't sure what all the words meant. It wasn't the mission that drew me to CSUSM, it was the living and owning of that statement by the counselors and employees with whom I first interacted that drew me in. I liked what I heard and how everyone made me feel. That those actions coincide with the mission now make sense.




15 comments:

  1. Hey Michele!

    I'm glad you got your blog up and running! This is so exciting! I am most excited about this class because my technology knowledge could use some improvement!

    I enjoyed reading your blog! I think you will make a fine transition back into school! The first week of classes is always overwhelming but once you have all your books and are signed up for WebCT and whatnot you will be good, no great, to go!

    As far as the cupcakes go in my hands...those were from graduation party from CSUSM in 2007! The cupcakes happen to be pink so I figured the photo fit nicely with my pink background! Pink is my favorite color!

    I think we're going to have a great semester and I look forward to more of your blog updates!

    Amanda :)

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  2. Hi Michelle,
    You are going to have some lucky students once you start teaching! It seems like you have a lot of knowledge and experience to share. I'm coming to you when I have computer questions!
    Moira

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  3. I admire you for coming back to school to pursue teaching. With your experience in the field of chemistry you will be able to help the students see that what their learning can and will go beyond the classroom.

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  4. I'm glad you decided to come back to school to pursue teaching. It sounds like it is something you have a passion for, since you're blog explains you were usually the first to learn at your chemist job and teach others. It seems as though you have found your calling in life. That being said, I am sure the transition back to school will be easier than you think, since you are working towards something that you really want. I enjoyed reading your blog as I have found myself in a similar situation. I also graduated and wanted to pursue other careers, but found that teaching is something that I enjoy and am passionate about.

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  6. Hi Michele! Your blog looks great! I agree with Moira that your future students will be very lucky to have such an educated and determined teacher. I can't wait to hear all about your experiences and learn from you throughout this semester. See you in class!

    -Meagan

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  7. Hi Michele,
    I agree too that I was drawn to the San Marcos State because of the staff and other people that I talked too. Everybody had such a positive attitude and I had never even looked at the mission statement. I got my BA from UCSD and I loved that university. I feel it is good to get experiences from different institutions so CSUSM is a good choice for me.

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  8. Hey Michele,
    just noticed we got married the same year and I have two teenage boys 16 and 14.

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  9. Hi Michele,

    I really enjoyed your introduction. What an extensive background you have! I answered your question on my blog comments page and I wanted to ask you a couple. 1st what drew you to chemistry and 2nd what draws you to teaching?

    See you in class, Amanda

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  10. Hi Michele,

    It's been nice having you in my classes because you are always striving to learn more, and you ask questions from a perspective that is often unique compared to those of others in the program; I find this refreshing because it forces me to look at my own answers from new angles.

    As Katie mentioned, it sounds like you have a natural gift for teaching, and I strongly believe that will help you to succeed in this new career path.

    I'm glad to have you in my classes. See you next week.

    -Kelly Wehrley

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  11. Kelly,
    I'm so glad you find my questions relevant. I try to make sure I don't ask too many. For every question I ask I seem to have 10 more in my head. I'm finding I don't necessarily agree with everything in the curriculum but overall, I agree with the goal and the intent of the class. I do love learning more!

    Amanda W, I was drawn to chemistry because I found that I really liked it after my freshman chemistry class. It wasn't that it was easy but that I wanted to know more. Why the career change to teaching? I recently got laid off and the market for chemists with over 20 years in the industry is tough right now. In fact, my husband was also laid off and he's a chemist so I'd have to compete with him for jobs. For emotional and financial reasons, I decided medicinal chemistry was no longer for me. I've always liked working with kids and would often volunteer to help out in the community and schools and so it was a natural change for me to consider. I'm looking forward to inspiring future scientist and will take that role very seriously.

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  12. Dear Michele:

    Wow, you went to a lot of different schools and moved a lot. I'd be curious to learn your thoughts on having moved so much. My daughters are upset with me as we've moved from El Sobrante to Moraga to Temecula during their schooling years. They feel it would have been better to have stayed living in one place.

    I'm also appreciative of Mr. Heil's explanation of how CSUM fulfills it's COE mission statement, especially about the TPE's.

    See you in class, Connie

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  13. Connie,
    I didn't really think about moving much. However, I did stay at the same Jr and Sr high school. I might have been more upset moving during those years. I believe it wasn't a big deal because my parents sold it as such a positive. We would be closer to our cousins, we'd be going to a place our ancestors were from, etc. In fact, I actually wrote a letter to my grandmother to see if I could live with her for a year in Hawaii! My parents said I could go and my grandmother said I could...and then I went?! It's very weird to think of now, I would never let my kids live without me for a year.

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  14. But do you miss "Nite Crew!" ;-)

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