"but i am done with apple-picking now"

A blog detailing my days of student teaching has seemed more difficult to maintain than a chronicle of adventures abroad, as I have had no quasi-ethnic excursions to document - no gondolas, no floods, no socialist professors, no peristent bagpipers. I have had, instead, a labyrinth of echoing hallways, mountains of papers, and multitudes of procrastination and protestation and prom-invitations (just had to have that alliteration in there!). Every day was an entertaining enterprise, but anytime I thought to myself, "I should update my blog for my patient devotees," I simply didn't know what to write. Did people honestly want to read about how the literature circles inspired Tom and how his grades improved dramatically as a result? Or about how frustrated I was that a student didn't understand how to explain her thoughts through writing and will probably fail the Regents again? Or about Donny's inability to focus on anything academic if I was within a 20-foot radius? Or about the phenomenal job that Jewelyn, Janell, Emily, Amanda & Elise did with their group?

So, a picture is worth a thousand words, right?











What else to say?? I don't know. It still hasn't hit me that I'm... done.

still alive & well... most days!

It appears I have taken an unintentional hiatus from my blog updating! Needless to say (nevertheless, saying), things have been quite busy. I was writing an email the other day in which I wrote, "Aside from student teaching and wedding plans, not too much is going on!" After I had typed said statement, I realized just how absurd that line of thought was, as those two activities consume my existence lately. However, I came to the simultaneous revelation that, at this very point in my life, there is nothing I would rather be doing. Well, besides eating ice cream 24-7, but that's a given.

Student teaching has been treating me well, and some of my young chaps have been treating me a little too well! A gaggle of "gaga" seems to be continually present throughout each day... one has even tried to persuade me to attend prom with him. Thankfully, I have my graduation as an excuse (not to mention my age, status as a student teacher, fab fiance, and overall hatred of all things prom-esque).

The literature circles with Great Gatsby seem to be going fairly well, despite the original disinterest in the book. The biggest issue with the students is keeping their conversations "on task," but a hovering teacher typically seems to cure that disease.

It is strange to think that I will be graduating this upcoming Saturday. I already feel completely removed from campus, having only spent one month there this year. Besides, I still have 2 weeks of student teaching that remain after graduation, and one independent study to complete as well. College graduate... but I'll refrain from being overly grandiloquent or contemplative for now. :)

That's all for now - I just remembered I need to complete my online seminar assignment for the week.

every other day of the week is fine

Oh, what a dismal day to go back to school!
Snowing/raining, very windy & COLD.
And yet, things are looking up, as it's supposed to be 56 by Friday.

This week (Weds.) I will start taking over some of the classes - or at least the Group B classes. Group C has started their independent studies, so they will only be in the classroom on Thursdays, during which time we will have "All Literature Days." Our first all-lit day is next Thursday, and I am making a lesson plan for that. Since most of the students are working on The Great Gatsby, I figured I'd do some poetry from the 2os. I'm planning on making a poster or handout with the "Events of the Decade," so the students understand the time period during which the literature they're reading was written. Then I'll have them read a couple poems by Langston Hughes, one of my personal favorites.

Today I was mistaken as a student by a librarian. I was walking out of the library with some of my Group A students, and a librarian called after us in the hallway, "What study hall are you supposed to be in?" I turned around, smiled, and said, "I'm their student teacher - we're returning to [my cooperating teacher]'s class." She apologized quickly...

A student at my last placement also thought I was a fellow student. He said hi to me, saw my name tag and did a double take: "Are you a teacher?! How old ARE you?!"

At least this bodes well for my thirties and forties, right? :)

Happy Spring Break!
I have 2 weeks off in honor of Spring (can't say "Easter" at a public school).
In honor of Spring Break, it will be snowing tomorrow through Sunday. Boo.

My new placement is going very well so far! I get along really well with my cooperating teacher (a female this time), and the kids are great. This past week the students finished up a Holocaust unit, based on Elie Wiesel's Night. Very interesting discussions in all the classes!

My cooperating teacher and I are going to be doing something new this year. All the juniors took the English Regents in January, so we have split each of the classes into 3 groups. Those in Group A are the students who failed the Regents, Group B is students who passed, and Group C is students who got a 95 or higher. I have been working with Group A this past week, helping them revise and type one of their Regents essays. Group B is going to be doing literature circles, which I am definitely looking forward to! Lit. circles seem like they're becoming all the rage in education, so I'm excited to have a long term experience with that. The students in Group C are going to be working on an independent study with a novel of their choice (from a list, haha).

This is a really unique opportunity for me & I'm excited to see how it goes! I will be at this school until May 25th.


In non-academic news, this past weekend I went out to Michigan with a load of personal belongings & started moving into the apartment where Doug & I will be living! We're very excited - it is really cute!! It's the second story of this house in Plymouth:



The bottom floor is a massage business, which is nice because we won't have to worry about noisy neighbors, since they'll never be there when we're home.

I'm off to enjoy my spring break some more! :)

every beginning comes from some other beginning's end

Well, my first placement has drawn to a close...

Thursday afternoon I drove home qyietly in the rain, simply mulling over each of my students and imagining their lives going on after my part in their lives has ended.

I know it's something that, as a teacher, I need to get used to, but teaching isn't exactly a profession where you can just leave your work at the office.

All that said, I had a wonderful time at my first placement. I learned a lot and met a lot of great kids.


English 3, period 2


One of the favorites :)


English 2


English 3, period 7


Cooperating teacher & some of the guys


me & a student thugged out :)

I will miss all those crazy kids...

Tomorrow I start my second placement. Since it's a small, rural school, I will be teaching ALL the 11th grade students! I'm excited to meet some more students.

PS - Make sure you go back and click on all the pictures so you can see each of my charming kiddos!

all in a day's work...

Apparently a student stabbed another student outside the school this morning, around 7:15.
It's all the kids and teachers are talking about.
Talk about getting the day off to a good start...

Update:
The student who was stabbed is a girl from Mr's AP class, and the student who allegedly did the stabbing is a girl from one of my junior classes. The victim has already been released from the hospital & has "superficial wounds."

News articles:
WHAM 13 - East High Student Stabbed

Democrat & Chronicle - Girl cut today in alleged fight at East High

RNews - Girl Stabbed in Front of School

monday, monday. can't trust that day.

Seen & heard around the classroom...

Mr. was discussing Spring Break, and mentioned "Good Friday," and one of the students asked, "What's Good Friday?" Mr. proceeded to tell the class that Good Friday is the day when Christians believe Jesus was crucified. One female student piped up, "Oh - I thought Good Friday was a shopping day."

This morning as I had entered the school, I was walking down a relatively empty hallway, and my shoes were clicking noticeably (teacher shoes!). A middle-aged male teacher ahead of me turned around and commented, "I always know when a beautiful woman is coming because I can hear her shoes a mile away." ... How disappointed he must have been!

Rumor flying around the school is that we'll have a day off tomorrow because the temperature is supposed to be in the single-digits, with a wind chill of -20 to -30. Bring it on, Poseidon.