So, the student teaching saga has begun for me, and I actually enjoy it. I’m always so tired though….. always tired tired tired.

At first I was afraid the students would eat me alive, and that there would be no way in the world that they would listen to me because I’m so much smaller than them and have an annoying girl-ish voice. But they do. And I’ve really begun to work well with many of the students. We have fun, but thoughtful discussions in class, and I’ve gotten about 90% of the sophomores to do the reading consistently, though most of us (including me) aren’t entirely crazy about Huck Finn.

My college prep kids are awesome (seniors), but it’s a lot of grading writing which takes a long time. I enjoy the days that I end on a good note with their classes, and I got my first nice note from a student thanking me for the work I put into their class, which really made my day:

“I just want you to know that I appreciate your hard work. Someday I would like to be a teacher as well, but I always get scared of the idea that I might have a crazy class! I know that this class is difficult [which isn’t as true as she thinks, they’re 2nd or 3rd best] we’re just kids tryin’ to get through high school. Don’t [let?] any of our wackiness affect you personally for the worse. We’ll all get through this struggle and come out better people Thank you!”

I probably won’t get anymore notes like that this semester, but it was really nice to get one like that; maybe I’m doing an okay job!

The hardest thing for me right now is Jared being gone working. I probably won’t be able to see him again until the end of April, which really sucks. Yes, I know it’s not the end of the world. Yes, I know I get to talk to him often because of phones. I think the hardest thing though is that he doesn’t miss me nearly as much as I miss him. but that’s okay too.

Anyways, I need to go make bathroom and hall passes for my sophomore students. They keep on getting up and walking out of class to take 15 minute potty breaks or “go get their coats” and it’s just getting ridiculous… They can go before class (esp. during lunch) and plan on bring their coat with them if they think they will be cold, and if they want to hold on to it, they can get 5-10 pts of extra credit at the end of the semester for holding on to them.

• Mood: drained