different... in a good way

Ok. So far- not too good at blogging. Especially since I have only done it once.

Anyway I have officially started my internship. Last Wednesday was my first day at the middle school. I have been assigned an 8th Grade Reading Class. Not to be rude, but 8th grade was not my first choice. But so far it is okay.

The school is in Tulsa and is very different from the make-up of Owasso. However, the school is very much like the school I worked at in Joliet. Even though I am somewhat used to what this means, it is still hard. The students are dealing with different issues and school is sometimes the last thing they are concerned with. But, I am determined to have a positive impact on them, as I am sure they will on me. (Confession: as great as it would be to work in Owasso, I am excited about working in a school where the students really need people to be there for them. No, I am not their teacher and will only be around one day a week, but I WANT to be there. And this is more than I can say for some of the teachers.)

The teacher I am working with is awesome! I am really excited about learning from her each week. She has been teaching for five years. Before teaching she was working in the Business World, and it shows. She very much treats her students as equals but still has control in the classroom. The students respect her because she respects them. Another thing I am excited about is the fact that she is the 8th grade TEAM leader. This means that each week they have a meeting (on the day I am there) to go over procedures and basically anything the Principal wants the teachers to know. It also works in my favor that there are 3 first year teachers in the 8th grade. So in each meeting, the experienced teachers are a little more detailed about things. Needless to say I am learning a lot.

It is going to be a good semester!

new to blogging.

So for a long time I have resisted it. I never really thought I had anything worth blogging about- I don't have kids, I don't have an interesting job and I am not especially great at writing. But here I am, blogging.

The truth is- I have to. Kind of. For my internship this semester, we are told to keep a journal. We are supposed to keep a list of resources and things we are learning, but also a journal of general reactions to our experiences. So I thought, in case I ever need to turn these thoughts in, I should make them electronic. Why not make them electronic on a blog.

I have also been inspired by Allison who has begun a blog since beginning her first year of teaching. I have already learned so much from her! Anyway, I though next year, when I am teaching, I might want to have this as a way of debriefing from the day.

So here goes.