Clusterfudge

A euphemism, at the very least. The high school had late-running renovations, and the school is left in shambles. Most of the teachers think that the first day of school should have been postponed until Monday because none of them have had time to get their classrooms ready.

There are already so many similarities that I'm finding between a staff of high school teachers and the building staffs I was a part of when I worked for housing as an RA, minus the energy level and the flirting.

Tomorrow, the students are coming. I'm not nervous yet; I don't think I'm going to get that nervous, actually. It'll be nice to have the students in the building. I just hope we have something for them to do, since there hasn't been enough time for my cooperating teacher to plan detailed lessons yet.

I should also mention that Ms. D is pretty much the best cooperating teacher I could have asked for. Everyone has told me (in front of her) that I'm going to have a great experience working with her. And throughout all of this chaos, she has remained one of the more optimistic, light-hearted staff members, which is relaxing. She just seems to "get it," if you will.

Day 1 - Student Teaching

I'm going to count today as the first official day of student teaching, even though I won't see any students until Thursday. I went in for a professional development day today.

Ms. D (gotta be private) is awesome. We started with a tour of the school and stopping to introduce me to whomever we met along the way. Then we went to a whole-staff meeting, where the head principal gave a very motivating speech. By the sound of things at the staff meeting, the teachers are personable with each other. At the meeting, I discovered that a girl who was a frequent classmate of mine (we'll call her Ms. P) is doing her student teaching at the same high school. I was stoked, because she's an awesome person and will be a lot of fun to have around. She brings a relaxed vibe wherever she goes, and she is motivated and dependable, too.

The rest of the day was spent getting to know Ms. D and running around helping her acquire books and catch up with other teachers. Needless to say, I felt welcomed and relatively comfortable there already. Today was just more affirmation that teaching may just be my niche.

I can't wait to meet the students!!!

Very Unsure

I'm still not one-hundred percent sure of what to expect for my first week of student teaching. What if I can't hold the attention of the class? I've been told my voice is commanding, but I still have to be interesting for students to want to listen to me.

I'm nervous that I'm not prepared enough. I'm afraid that I won't meet my cooperating teacher's standards. Ahhhh!

First Face-to-Face with my Cooperating Teacher!

I met my cooperating teacher today! She seemed very approachable and laid-back. I'm impressed that she's the acting principal for Ypsilanti Public School's summer school program.

This year, she'll be teaching three sections of AP English (score!), section of general 10th grade English, and a health class. She said that I'll be taking over the 10th grade class, and my unit will probably be Julius Caesar. THANK GOD, because I practically specialize in Shakespeare, and I love the history involved. in teaching it. I need to read the play as soon as possible, and jot down ideas for activities while I read.

AHHH! I'm going to be a teacher. I can't believe it.

I'm patiently awaiting to hear back about my student teaching placement. I'm so excited to find out where, but I'm nervous that no one will want to take a student teacher.

I pledge right now to remember how it feels to be an undergrad who just wants to teach. After my first two or three years of teaching is up, I will make sure to frequently take student teachers.