The Beginning of a New Chapter

It's hard to believe that after four and a half semesters I am finally embarking on my final one. Student teaching has always been the very distant final chapter to a seemingly never-ending book. Tomorrow, January 5^th will mark the fist day of my student teaching. I could not be more excited or more anxious for it to begin.

The nerves I can’t seem to kick are over shadowing much of my excitement, at the moment. The realization that I will now be teaching a classroom of students for more than a class or two is overwhelming! Not to mention the realization that their learning and success is now all in my hands. Yet my biggest fear of all is the thought of entering the classroom and discovering that this is not the right path for me. I can’t imagine discovering that all my effort and hard work has been put into something I may not want to pursue. Fortunately, I highly doubt that this will happen, however, the fear of the idea still lingers.

I am most looking forward to getting to know these students. Up until now, our teaching experiences have been very short and sweet. Rarely have we had the opportunity to really get to know the students or the teachers we’ve worked with. It is wonderful knowing that I will have over four months to get to know these students and all of the teachers and faculty at the school. Building relationships is something I pride myself on, and I have anxiously awaited the chance to do so in a school setting. I also am excited to learn. While university has taught me a great deal, there is no experience quite so educating as first-hand experience. I learn by doing, and this could not be a better opportunity for learning and growth.

I look forward to seeing how I grow and develop as a future educator in the next four months. In fact, I hope this blog will be a way of identifying such growth. I’m not completely certain of what lies ahead but I am ready to hit the ground running to find out!