Girl Time

        Today was a day much like many I have had at W&M. Dragged myself out of bed at 8:00 (WAHOO SLEEP IN!), and rushed out the door to be at work by 9:00. Because this week has already been so crazy, I hadn't even begun to fulfill my required work hours for the week, so there was no choice but to go in before class today. I worked with really frustrating spreadsheets for 4 hours, and then headed downstairs for social studies methods. Class was neither bad nor good, but still with all the stress we felt we needed a break of some sort between classes. Sarah suggested the idea of "girl time!" of course said with her pithy British accent, and that we (meaning Sarah, Amy and I (the three female social studies grad students)) should go to chik-fil-a for a much needed milkshake. Amy and I both of course emphatically agreed with this suggestion, and although one of the undergrad girls basically invited herself (one of my biggest pet peeves...so rude!), we headed down the hallway toward the parking lot. While we were walking out, we offered and invitation to girl time to several of our male classmates, with no takers except one, Stephen.
        We then packed into Sarah's two door hatchback, and began a discussion about Disney movies and boy bands. This is where Stephen's amazing and rather shocking Disney movie knowledge came out. He was a Poli Sci major at W&M and has a very steady girlfriend, but apparently it is not only girls and gay males that enjoy a good Disney movie every now and then...or a lot more often than that. Now I consider myself to be rather well versed in the Disney genre, but Stephen put me to shame...we're talking direct quotes and surprisingly accurate voice impressions. Needless to say I was shocked, and it was a topic that continued coming up throughout the afternoon and evening, and never once did Stephen act ashamed to be exposed for the Disney connoisseur that he is. It was all just shocking to me.
       After arriving back to the SOE with our milkshakes and W&M-themed balloons from Billy at Chik-fil-a in hand, we proceeded to chat on the balcony for the next hour and half with various other classmates showing up throughout. During our next class, technology, Stephen tried to escape girl time, but was roped back in when we had to do an activity within our content area. This was where he again showed his Disney knowledge by pulling out some impressive Pocahontas trivia, b/c Sarah decided to do a silly lesson on the accuracy of the Disney movie. This was all just an interesting lesson for me in even positive stereotypes. I can have classes with someone for almost four months and think I have them pretty well figured out...and then something like this comes up completely unexpectedly and blows everything I once thought out of the water.  

First Day Jitters

        Anytime you start a new job, it is somewhat nerve-wracking. But imagine you have 30 people watching your every move on your first day of a new job. Late last night it really began to sink in that tomorrow was in fact the first day of school. Finally after months of theory and discussion, I would get to see a real classroom in action again after fiver years out of the secondary classroom. I got up at five o'clock this morning to shower, make-up, dress and the like, and arrived at school approximately ten minutes before the required time of 7:00 am. My cooperating teacher (from here known as my CT) was a few minutes late, so I was left with my thoughts in the office for about 20 minutes. I saw some of my classmates from the grad program come and go, and to be honest I was a little concerned that I had missed something. But all was well when my CT showed up and I was whisked off to her first period class...Advanced American Studies. Very exciting! The class was good, though much of it was housekeeping-type things, going over rules and the like. There was one activity where students had to look at a map of North America before colonization with pictures of various animals, plants, etc. and were asked to noticed what they find surprising and what was missing. Many students struggled to notice what was missing, which I was surprised about, but it could have just been that it was so absurdly early.
        The next class was an elective made up mostly of upperclassmen. There was one young man in that class that was already giving my CT a hard time. Definitely not a bad kid, I actually felt bad for him, but he just really had a chip on his shoulder and made no bones about that. She handled him really well though and by the end of class, he was actually really engaged considering where we started. The students did some group work, and after going around to talk to them, they had some very impressive ideas! With a little guidance from the teacher, they were generally thinking on a college level, which was pleasantly surprising! I really like my CT, and I think were are alike and different enough to work well together so I am very optimistic with day one under my belt.

Here We Go!!

          Well, today is officially Labor Day, and tomorrow is officially the first day of school! I of course have class today, since William & Mary apparently does not observe Labor Day, but that is neither here nor there. This past week seemed to hit me with blow after blow, little things that began to add up to a point of no return. It all came pouring out Friday night, and although I of course still feel nervous for the start of student teaching, I feel much more at peace. I no longer have a watermelon sized knot in the pit of my stomach, now just normal butterflies! Thank you to my friends and family for your comforting words of wisdom...I couldn't do it without you!
           I am starting this blog to chronicle the next 8 months of my life as a student teacher, and perhaps even through my first year of teaching for real starting next fall. I know it is a rough road ahead, and I have a lot to learn, but I know that I have an amazing group of people helping me along the way. I am struggling with thoughts of the unknown, trying to stop myself from envisioning worst-case scenarios. I so badly want to love this profession and inspire my students, but I fear failure. What if they hate me? What if I'm an awful teacher? I'm really trying to stay positive, stay organized, and stay focused on one day at a time. Enjoy the ride!