Recently a classmate of mine pointed out that we are now more than halfway through the program. I can both hardly believe how quickly time has passed, and also feel more comfortable here than I could have imagined after just 5 1/2 months in Philadelphia. In fact, it was one year ago this holiday season that I began seriously considering TEP. I vividly remember reading the former GA's blog during vacation, feeling both excited and intimidated by her account of her experience. As she described the numerous lessons she had designed and papers she had written, I could hardly imagine how I woud be able to do all of that within such a short amount of time - and yet, here I am at the end of the fall semester and I too have planned and led lessons, written papers, designed a website, and, most importantly, become deeply connected to a group of 32 first graders who have inspired me to be more dedicated than ever to this career path.
Announcing to the children in my class that this week would be my last in their class, I told them that as my first students, I would never forget them - and I truly believe that. They have impacted me more than I could dream of. Each cute face from the first day of school now has an individual personality, academic talents, classroom challenges and wonderful memories associated with it. As I wrote them each a goodbye letter, it was satisfying to realize that I had unique memories with each one. This, to me, is the luxury of student teaching - even though I was only in their classroom 2-3 days per week, I was able to spend my time in the classroom observing closely, and conferencing personally with all the kids. It is also the greatest lesson that I hope to take to my future classroom, for even though I will have many more responsibilities to juggle as the primary teacher, connecting with my students will be of utmost priority.
Needless to say, today's goodbye was very difficult - and yet tomorrow I am going to meet the students in my future class. It is intimidating to me to think of jumping in to their classroom halfway through the year, and I am nervous about how I will "fit in". This makes me think of a picture book we read to the students during the first week of school called First Day Jitters. In it, the main character expresses great nervousness about her first day at a new school and throughout her story you expect that she is a student. The surprise comes when, at the end, you find out that she is the teacher! This will certainly be me; and yet it is with great fondness now that I remember the first day of school with my first graders, so I only hope that my relationships with my future third graders develop as rewardingly!
But first, vacation. One of the best things about my life in grad school as compared to last year's working schedule is the built-in vacation time! Our winter break is a bit shorter than other students in GSE as we return when the school district resumes. Even so, two weeks is a very appealing break right now! I'll be back during the first week of January. Until then, happy holidays!
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