The First Days of School

Wednesday was my first day of student teaching.  I am at Abilene Cooper, and I love it!  The students surprised me with how friendly they are.  I love my teacher and feel that we have very similar philosophies of education.  She spent most of the day on Thursday encouraging students to play an active role in their education as well as their life.  Many students want to be successful when they grow up but have no clue how to get there.  She is trying to help them realize that they are the ones in control.  For better of for worse, their parents can't control who they become, neither can their teachers.  It is the job of a teacher, however, to help students realize their potential, develop goals that make good use of that potential and acquire skills to allow them to achieve those goals.  I'm now climbing off of my education soapbox.

I had to post these goals as a reflection for student teaching.  I wanted to post them here to serve as accountability...

I went into student teaching not knowing what to expect but with many hopes for the semester.  After our conversations during professional development, I was able to turn these hopes into 6 workable goals:

1.  Pray for the students and other teachers that I will come into contact with.  Becoming a teacher also means serving as a role model.  That is a HUGE responsibility.  Some of the students I encounter are living in situations that I, thankfully, no nothing about.  That just reminds me that this job is so much bigger than I am.  It is comforting to know that God can always handle what comes my way.

2.  Become a part of the culture of the school.  This includes attending school events as well as learning the names of and interacting with other staff members.

3.  Develop a mentor-type relationship with at least two students.  I was unsure about this goal when I wrote it down. However, after visiting with my teacher and the students, I feel that this is workable.  My teacher desires to make a positive impact in the lives of her students.  By following her lead, I hope to do the same.

4.  Don't put off for tomorrow things that can be done today.  This is a biggie!  I like to procrastinate.  However, with the busyness that characterizes this semester, I no longer have that luxury.  This will need to be a  goal that I remind myself of frequently.

5.  Develop and stick to a routine to maximize productivity.  This is related to my fourth goal.  As a college student, I have fallen out of anything resembling a routine.  I eat when I get hungry.  I sleep when I can't stay awake any longer.  Boy, has that changed over the past couple of days!  I pack my lunch and set the coffee pot every night before going to bed.  I am excited to be back in a routine, but so far it has been easier said than done. 

6.  Have applications out by March 1st.  I am putting this goal on here for accountability.  I take my final certification test (at least for now) at the end of January.  So that gives me plenty of time to get my scores back and applications ready.  

Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity.  Let your conversations be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.

Colossians 4:5-6