The Art of Being

back to school

I returned to student teaching last Wednesday for staff development day, during which I spent nearly seven hours sitting on a plastic chair in the windowless, fluorescent-lit LGI (large group instruction) room. I also came to discover that I am the only female in an all male social studies department (advantage: no emotion-centric department meetings; disadvantage: endless conversations about politics and football). Then Thursday was the first day for students and since both economics and contemporary issues are only one semester long we got all new students and spent all day going back and forth across the school to trade in government books for economic books at the library (which, b-t-dubs, you’d think would be an easy task for high school seniors to complete…). Friday I went in for one class period just so I could be there for the first instructional day.

This week it’s back to school (USC & student teaching) full time for the next (and final) eight weeks. On one hand, I can’t even fathom everything that I have to accomplish in two months time without a migraine and an impulse to curl up in the fetal position. On the other, I am eight weeks from being FINISHED with grad school! I finally teach my first lesson on Thursday and I’m still undecided about which is the “best” class period to video. None of them really want to be here so, unfortunately, it’s kind of a lesser of five evils thing going on. That’s the disadvantage to teaching second semester seniors - the senioritis either has or is completely taking hold. I’m ready to be finished so I can relate, but it is SO DIFFICULT to teach.

Anyway, back to school mode means I’ve already hit my limit for the day - it’s only 6:45 and I think I could probably go ahead and say goodnight and sleep blissfully for eleven hours before I have to get up, rinse, and repeat.