Day 1

I am happy to report that I have survived my first day of student teaching! Holy cows, friends... I'm so glad that things aren't as scary as I was making them out to be in my mind. I did a tiny bit of talking to the class as a whole and a bit more talking one on one with a few of the kids. Things basically revolved around rules and procedures which is what I expected for the first day.

The class is super cute and I think I've gotten all of their names down already. There are a few kids that will certainly be a challenge to work with and given some information about their homes provided by their previous teachers, their parents will also be a challenge. One child in particular showed his true colors for mischief almost all day today: poking his neighbors, talking during directions, slumping in his seat, tapping his pencil, taking pencils from other students, getting up and wandering around the room, etc., etc., etc. (they don't sound like serious issues but of course all of those things can be very distracting and disruptive when done at inappropriate times) This was a bit surprising as most students are usually uncomfortable being little stinkers on the first day before they know how the teacher will react to their bad behavior... my new friend doesn't seem to have those inhibitions. We shall see what happens there.

The day went by very fast but I was so ready for the end when it came. Today was flippin hot outside and our building doesn't have any AC (except in the office). That was a bit rough but since that was my biggest complaint of the day I think things are going to go really well. I'm feeling more relaxed and I'm so thankful that my cooperating teacher is easing me in to the more prominent role I will have a bit later on in the semester.

Another exciting thing: there's another student teacher in the classroom across the hall that I kind of made friends with at lunch. I don't know if she knows my name but she was super nice and we had a fun talk about how the day was going so far and our EMU experiences. Further conversation revealed that we're both getting married next year and are trying to get wedding planning done AND that we're both having our receptions at the Milan Community Center! Holy cows, right?

Anyway: I'm feeling optimistic for the new year and am excited to be gaining more experience with more kids and another great teacher. Hooray!