I am a graduate

Last weekend I walked across the stage in the Kolf Sports Center on the UW Oshkosh campus. It was the longest and shortest walk of my life. It was the most surreal experience and it went something like this:

At the moment I walked on stage and handed the announcer my card, everything stopped. It was as if I was in my own little graduation moment, as if walking across stage became a living metaphor in which my past, present, and future suddenly became one. As I walked across the stage, shook Chancellor Wells's hand, and received my diploma, everything stopped. I saw nothing, I heard nothing. I just...graduated.

I've had a lot of great moments in my life, but right now nothing compares to this feeling!

Lifelong Learning

So the student teaching blog thing may have not been a good idea, something about confidentiality possibly?? But I just finished reading a great book called 32 Third Graders and One Class Bunny, a book written by a teacher about all the funny little teacher-y things, stories and view points.It has inspired me to make this list:

Things I Have Learned While Student Teaching

1. Lay out your outfit the night before and make a deal with yourself that there is no going back--THIS is what you are wearing tomorrow.
2. Don't spend time in front of the mirror in the morning wondering if that outfit makes you look fat; when you get to school, one of your third graders will tell you.
3. Students know that they're cute and it's okay to love them--but love them in your heart, so they don't try and take advantage of you in your classroom.
4. The students that you ride the hardest int he beginning of the year will sometimes surprise you and be the ones that cry the hardest when you leave.
5. You will cry when you leave.
6. Sometimes 9 weeks with your class will seem like a long time, until you have the revelation that when you're a real teacher, you could have a class like this for a whole year.
7. When you are teaching your students the rules and expectations that you're "only going to say once", keep in mind that you will say them again, every day, for the whole school year.
8. A four year old in a room of 29 four year olds doesn't know there are 28 other four year olds in that room when they are trying to get your attention.
9. Four year olds just like to tell you things. Specifically, everything. 
10. Four year olds like to tattle, but sometimes if you just say, "Ok," they will walk away completely satisfied. (See also #6)
11. The words "rest time" are deceiving. Especially for the teacher. There is no resting, only a 45 minute continuous stream of, "Get back on your mat, voices are off, yes, you can go to the bathroom, voices are off during rest time, no go lay down, next person who talks is getting play time taken away, yes go get a tissue, ok your name is going on my list, get back on your mat..."
12. Teaching it once is not always good enough. You will teach and reteach.
13. A lesson where you feel like things didn't go as planned is still successful if your students learned.
14. Your students won't know that you messed up if you forgot something while you were introducing new material--the opposite theorem takes effect if you are reteaching old material. They will know, and they will tell you.
15. Just because your students keep asking what happened to their other student teacher doesn't mean they won't learn to love you and miss you just as much when you are gone.
16. It's okay to show them your goofy side. AFTER you gain their respect.
17. Plan for EVERYTHING.
18. Your lesson plans will never have to be this intense again. Especially if you do them well the first time.
19. Your heart is now humpty dumpty and your students will break it and put it all back together again all year long.
20. Never give up on the babies!

Stay tuned for more!

Back to the Basics: Third Grade

This time, five years ago,  I was headed off to my first year of college. I was emotional--nervous, excited, unsure of what to expect. Starting a new chapter of my life at a new school with many new people. Now, five years and 15lbs later (thank you, campus dining) I am beginning another new chapter: Student teaching. But I find that September of 2011 isn't much different than September of 2006. This morning I headed off to a new school with many new people. I was emotional--more excited than nervous. More than anything though, I was ready.

I have chosen a different path than most for my field experience. I am working with the Institute of Urban Education, a program that gives student teachers like myself the opportunity to experience teaching in an urban area.  Urban schools present their own unique set of challenges: race, poverty, homelessness, to name a few. College instilled in me a passion for social justice, opening my eyes to issues created by discrimination based on race, among other things.  What better place to explore how this effects education than in the most segregated city in the country. 

I am working with a 3rd grade class of 16.  All of my students are black.  My cooperating teacher is white, but the make up of the staff is pretty evenly split. 

It is too early to determine what this placement holds for me. What will shock me, what will excite me, what ah-ha moments will I have, what will make me want to cry?  Today it started with this:  The students were working on All About Me books which included four pages worth of writing prompts with space for illustrations. The last prompt said, "If you could wish for one thing, what would it be?"  To give one of my students encouragement to stay on task, I read this prompt out loud and asked him what he thought. After a short pause, he said, "I wish that no one would die, and no one could feel pain, and everyone would be twenty so you would age slowly."  I was speechless. When he came back to the question later, he ended up writing "life would be better".

I have a lot to learn from thee students.  I'm sure they'll teach me just as much, if not more, than I will teach them. Although these first two days are almost throw aways, it will be a good chance to get to know my students and get a glimpse of what's in store for the semester ahead.

Today, I am a teacher.