Welcomed into the classroom.

The first few days at school were pretty uneventful. I observed the room, met the teachers, met the kids and started to get into the swing of the class routine. I am working with what is known as a ¾ MAC class, which means that my classroom and the room next to mine have third and fourth grade combined in one class. The two teachers work collaboratively and have the students switching back and forth between the rooms throughout the day. Through the switching of the classes there are different groupings of students. The classes start out in what is known as their homeroom classes which is the room and teacher they are officially assigned to by the school. From the homeroom groups they move to what is known as t-shirt groups. These groups take half the kids from one class and half the kids from the other and switch them. The next grouping of students is for math when they are split by grade level, third graders in one room and fourth graders in the other. The last group is actually just having them all together. As crazy as it sounds it does actually work and makes sense once you are into the routine.

My involvement in the class was quick to begin. My first day started with choosing a book for story time after lunch. Mr. Popper’s Penguins was what I chose and the kids loved the book. By the end of the first little week I was put in charge of teaching math to the third graders. The first few days of teaching I was a little nervous but soon felt at ease. From there the end of the week consisted of me picking up social studies. With the switching of the classes my room has two social studies periods because we teach one t-shirt group then switch and teach the other t-shirt group.

The teacher in the room next door covers two periods of science in return. Already I have covered math lessons and formulated a four week social studies unit as well as created two classroom bulletin boards and created a calendar /math classroom board. So yes, I have been quite the busy little bee.

Before it all begins...

I am student teaching at a school in the Rockland County Area and one of my assignments is to record some of the things I am experiencing, enjoying and disliking. I should start by telling you where it all began and why I want to be a teacher.

For as long as I can remember teaching is all I have ever wanted to so. Some may say this passion was instilled in me by the great Creator, others would say it started when I experienced the power of having a life changing teacher myself, and others would say it is just the career I chose to follow. As for me... I agree with them all.

I was blessed beyond belief to have a teacher that I can say truly changed my life. Her name is Lynn Kostrzebski and she is a huge reason why I pursued becoming a teacher. So accordingly, I am going to tell you a little about her because it will clue you all in to what kind of teacher I want to be. Lynn was my fifth grade teacher. She was an added teacher and her first year teaching fifth grade (we were a larger class than they had the previous year so they needed to add an extra teacher). She chose to be the new, fresh voice of learning in a grade level filled with tired, ready to retire teachers that were stuck in their old ways. She pushed and fought to better the program and make sure every student was being taught to their strengths. I am sure looking back now that it must not have been easy. She spoke on the behalf of her students and always made sure we were the utmost priority. She took the time to truly get to know her kids and invest the time to pinpoint their weaknesses, strengths, insecurities, the ins-and-outs of what made each student tick. She never settled with average but pushed her students to meet their personal best.

Needless to say, for me she became a lifelong friend. I spent the next years going through grade school making sure to keep in touch. My senior year of high school I had the honor of being in a program that allowed me to spend a few periods a day in high school and the afternoon working in the classroom with Lynn. It was truly a dream come true. Yes, she was still my teacher but our relationship had changed. She was teaching me how to change the lives of my future students and be a light in their life. Now I know most of you are sitting here thinking you all have heard this story before and everyone has their favorite teacher... but Lynn not only changed my life but the lives of all the students that had her that year. To prove it... each year the honor society graduates all meet to chose one person to speak at their ceremony. This is always the principal or the school super superintendent, but for my class it was clear that nobody had affected our lives as much as Mrs. K (as she is best known) had. So, when the class had to decide on a speaker they couldn't think of anyone better than Mrs. K! And without saying, all I ever wanted to do was to be like her and have that kind of positive effect on the lives of so many young children.

On top of having the best mentor and role model to learn from, teaching and children have been such a natural bent for me. This comes from the fact that it is what I have been called to do. Teaching is not just a career I picked from a hat but a passion found deep within my soul. This passion was knit into me by my Creator, Jesus Christ, when he formed me and I know he has instilled in me all that is needed to be a teacher for his kingdom. "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive and inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving." Colossians 3:23-24

Now with all that being said and this great desire to be a teacher you won't believe me when I say that heading into this year of student teaching was quite different than I had ever expected. Every decision, every choice, every life changing path I chose to go down was all to get me to the point of being a teacher. So to find myself entering my last semester in school, where I would actually be able to start teaching, I was shocked to find I was NOT looking forward to it...