i've only just begun...

I have started my student teaching!
Well, not the actual teaching part. So far, I have observed & tried to learn names.

On my first day, one [male] student walked into the classroom & remarked, "Oooh - you got a female student teacher?! Your class is gonna be better now."

Our schedule is:
1st period - study hall
2nd period - English 3 (juniors)
3rd period - AP English (seniors)
4th period - English 2 (sophomores)
5th period - lunch
6th period - prep
7th period - English 3
8th period - AP English

I've already learned that it is awesome having a prep period right after your lunch period. :)

The class sizes vary from day to day. For example, the morning session of English 3 is supposed to have 28 students. We have 15 on a good day. The English 2 class should have 20 students, but 8 show up regularly.

I've had a little experience now reading some of the students' essays. . . when they bother to turn them in. I don't even know what to say about the writing levels. "Substandard" would be an understatement.

But I love the kids already. Love them.
They are so funny & helpless & misguided.
What's not to love?

in over my head?

Well, here I am - back from Oxford, done with J-term & ready to start student teaching.

Or am I?

I met with my cooperating teacher for the first time today. I am going to be student teaching at a public high school in Rochester. The school has about 2,000 students, grades 7-12. I was informed they graduate around 150 each year. Do the math.
Since this is Regents week in NY, only about a quarter of the students were in the building. For issues of privacy, I'll just refer to my cooperating teacher as Mr. Teacher. Not that I foresee it being a problem or an issue, but just to cover my bases. Anyway, meeting with Mr. Teacher went well. He seems to be a great guy, down to earth & full of good information. He has been teaching for 16 years - 5 of them at this school. He loves his job, which is very encouraging. I think I'm going to enjoy working with him. I will be teaching 10th & 11th graders English 2 & 3, and a few lessons in the 12th grade AP English class.

As he was giving me a tour of the school, we passed a police officer escorting a girl out of the school, and Mr. Teacher remarked, "Great way to start the day - with a fight." He later informed me that one of his students had "recently been arrested for murder."

My thoughts?
This is going to be the most intense, stretching semester of my life, but I am confident that it will also be one of the most enjoyable & rewarding experiences as well.

Monday morning, here I come...