The Alchemist.

We're reading The Alchemist for the Literature circle that I'm leading in my pre-student teaching classroom. I'm excited to read this book because I've heard that it's phenomenal. Hopefully, I will have time to do all of the reading--the end of the semester is looking pretty busy. I'll have different groups this time, which I'm also excited about. I like getting to know students; young people are pretty interesting.

Today, a number of the girls were fighting and crying about some conflict and it reminded me of the good ol' days. You couldn't pay me to go back to middle school, but I'm glad that I have a pretty vivid memory so that I can at least relate a little bit. I remember the identity struggles that went on when I was that age and they were not fun.

Planning

Teaching requires quite a dedication to planning. I'm not so sure that planning ahead is my strongest asset. It's so much fun to think about lesson plans and creating innovative assessments and all of that, but I tend to be a procrastinator. I think I need to set up some kind of schedule for myself in which I spend a certain amount of time each week to working on units and lesson plans.

What I really need to do is decide on some short-term goals for myself in regards to preparing for student teaching in the fall. More to come.

Wow, I actually like middle schoolers.

I've been in the classroom this semester on Tuesdays and Thursdays at a charter K-8th school. It's interesting to be a part of a different kind of learning environment. Everything is more integrated, and the student population is smaller. I'm learning the students names and becoming more and more a part of the class, but it's happening very slowly because there are three--I repeat: THREE--other pre-student teachers in that class. The students don't seem to have the desire to get to know us all, but I am the youngest and probably the most in touch with that age level.

I've also been helping out with an after-school program at a public middle school. It's mostly just hanging out with the students and helping them with their homework, sometimes. But I feel like this after-school time is very valuable because I'm becoming used to being around young people and being required to lead them and keep them on task. I really enjoy talking to the students and hearing what they have to say, which is a HUGE relief because some select teachers never have that.