My Life of Eating, Sleeping, and Breathing School

Hello! If you were wondering, I am indeed alive and well. Classes and student teaching have taken over my life. I'm so engulfed in school that I even had a dream that one of my students was driving me around in a minivan as I was racing to get somewhere (where, I do not remember). My blogging skills have deteriorated, but I am updating you on things that have gone on since October, so bear with me as my mind flits around from topic to topic.

Student Teaching
My first semester of student teaching has gone incredibly well. Of course, there have been times when my lesson plans didn't quite go as planned, or the students were off the chain, but overall, I couldn't be happier at my placement. I truly enjoy each and every one of my students, all 33 of them! The ones whom I thought would be the most trouble have turned out to be some of my favorites, and I can tell that as much as I'm having an effect on them, they're also affecting me in so many positive ways. They are all a challenge in their own way, and to me, it's enticing to try to motivate every single student while meeting his or her needs. It is definitely the hardest thing I've ever done, though! My mentor teacher really helps me out and sets me up for success. It is difficult to teach in your own way in someone else's classroom, when you want to try to switch things up, but you don't want to cross boundaries or stray from what the children know. Finding a happy medium is an art in student teaching. Hopefully I'll get there soon. Starting in January, I'll slowly start taking over each subject, then in April I'll have full command of the classroom for the whole month. I'm nervous, but also excited! Also, since I'm in a Catholic school, we go to church every Friday. I have to say, it's quite nice. I think I've gone to church more this semester than I have in the past six years combined.

I've noticed that a lot of people I talk to don't know what student teaching is. Basically, it's an unpaid internship. I'm there 4 full days a week, and I am teaching, grading, and planning, all while attending grad school, and working on the side. It's a lot of work, but I don't even notice that I don't get paid (until it's time to spend money), so I really must be enjoying it.

Grad School
All I can really say about grad school is that this month long break could not have come soon enough. I think I've managed to hold on to my 4.0 GPA (woo!), but my motivation for grad school classes and their subsequent work went right out the window around October. I just want to teach and have that be the only work I need to do! But hey, I'm half way through my grad program, and to me, that is a success in itself.

Life
While I've been in school, I have kept my job at Seidman, only working weekends and some evenings. Right now, our floor is at half capacity, so I actually have a lot of time to get my schoolwork done, for which I am incredibly thankful.

Alyse moved to Florida in August (boo) to be with her boyfriend. She's always wanted to move somewhere warm, and she finally had a reason to actually do it. I now have a second closet, and a second room to store things. Thanks, Alyse! She's coming home in a couple of days, and I'm excited to see her and do all of the things we used to do together (aka eat Dunkin' Donuts and Taco Bell). We're going to go visit her in February as well. I hope I see an alligator!

About a month ago, I sat in on a webinar with the DC Public Schools about why I should go work for them. I was already interested in working there, but this webinar helped to make their goals as a district more clear. They have gone through a complete revamping of their school district and are looking for innovative and motivated teachers (I like to think I fit the bill). They also pay their teachers pretty darn well, not that that's why we go into teaching. Their hiring process for the 2016-2017 school year starts January 6th, so I'll be applying for jobs quite soon! I'm also going to look at surrounding districts and private schools because, of course, Adam lives there and has a full-time job now! So, as it seems, I should be moving to the DC area in the summer of 2016!

I really don't have too much more to talk about. I'm going to sign up to volunteer for the Republican National Convention, which, if you haven't heard, is coming to Cleveland this summer. If you know me, you know that I am one of the proudest Clevelanders around, so even though I'm a Democrat,  I want to volunteer with the RNC so I can show everyone else what's up! If I'm not in DC by then, my mom and I will be showing off the city together.

Christmas is three days away and I still have most of my gifts to wrap, so this is it for me. Hopefully I'll have more things to write about (and more time to write), in the following weeks. I foresee a dry spell again, but hey, I'm working here.

If you have things you want to hear about, leave them in the comments. Have a Merry Christmas, and Happy Holidays!