I have survived and thrived during my first full week of student teaching. This semester I’m lucky enough to be student teaching in a 2nd grade classroom in my home school district. I moved home so my daily commute is only 9 minutes one way as opposed to 40 minutes from campus. My supervising teacher was actually my older bother’s 3rd grade teaching, so she’s been teaching elementary students for several decades, and she has an awesome way of working with and relating to students.
My first day was Tuesday, January 31. I was glad it was a short week, and I was really nervous starting out. Thankfully I had the opportunity to start the school year with my students back in August so I knew something about the general schedule, and at that time knew most everyone’s names. But here it was five months later and I had only been back in the classroom for one day around Christmas time. How would the students react to having another adult in the classroom full-time? Would they respect me? Would they like me? Would they accept my direction and correction? Will I be able to plan lessons? Will I get along with my supervising teacher? How will the parents react to me at parent/teacher conferences later this week? How will I fit into the 2nd grade team? And mainly, how will I fit into this established classroom and school in general?
Hopefully over the course of the next few months I’ll answer all these questions for you, and let you know what it’s like to prepare to impact children, to love them, and to inspire them to become lifelong learners. Join me in the crazy adventure of student teaching. I know it will be a semester of challenges and great rewards. If you’re interested in teaching someday, or just in learning more about the world of education, I hope my posts will only inspire you to learn more.