Dr. Arrastía-Chisholm: Professor Mom

Midterms are here and we get to pause and relax with spring break. But before the break, there is a mad dash to get everything taken care of. My students are taking their third exam right now on cognitive development and motivation. And I am almost finished reading Michele Obama's memoir, Becoming. The book is structured mostly chronologically beginning with a description of her childhood on the Southside of Chicago. She admitted that the public school teachers didn't always care and that resources at the schools were scarce at times. In hindsight, Michelle knows that she was fortunate enough to have a parent that advocated for her education and participated in the PTA. Her mother knew about the opportunities available and encouraged her academic success. Michelle described herself as an ambitious and competitive student from day one when her Kindergarten teacher tested her class on sight words. She misspelled white and demanded a retest the next day. She was determined and exc...

This week is the last week before the spring semester begins at Valdosta State University (VSU). Before the whirlwind of classes and advising begins, I wanted to first inform readers about the motivation for this blog and to update you on my goals  so far... Motivation.  Although she may not know this, Kathe Lowney, has been one of my mentors during my time as an assistant professor. She is the catalyst that initially encouraged me to write this blog. We are both writing a post a week for 52 weeks. Find her blog about teaching here . Although Kathe is now retired, she is still affecting my professional and personal development! Thanks, Kathe! Health. The team-based weight loss program I have joined officially started this week. It was unfortunate timing because did my first weigh in right after running 7 miles in a race... Here is a photo of me taken by Herb Wills, a Tallahassee running legend now photographer and blogger . It was towards the end and I was straight up walk...