Interview Season

I have been invited to interview at a high school for a teaching position. I have been asked to prepare a 10-15 minute demo lesson for  about 15 8th graders. First reaction-freaking out. I have never had to teach for only 15 minutes. What do I teach? Where do I begin? I do not know what level these students are on or what subject I should teach. I guess I will have to figure it out though. I can do this. This is my passion and my light will shine.

JOB FAIR Season!

Job fairs. Man those things are hectic. So far I have attended two this summer. The first one was pretty much a waste. There were no jobs to be found in the district. I found myself impressing administrators for no reason. I chalked it up as practice for my next job fair. Job fair number 2 was 45 minutes away from my home and it made it there with plenty of time to spare. I found this job fair to be more successful because of the fact that there were actually job positions available. I know that I may be at a disadvantage because I am not fully certified yet but that will definitely NOT stop me from attending these fairs and making my best impressions. I feel that I have the ability to land a job and I am the best candidate for the position. I am currently composing an email to the principal of one of the elementary schools that I interviewed with and I will calling an assistant principal of another at her request. I was also approached by a principal of a middle school and the assistant principal of a high school and they requested that I speak with them and leave my resume. I believe that something good will happen this summer. I'm just waiting for it to occur. Like I said, I'm on my way...

Update from May

Wow May was a very intense month. I had the best experience with some of the best people and I enjoyed every minute of it. Okay maybe not EVERY minute but majority of them. I got to work with some of the most misunderstood kids and I was even able to teach them some things. Keep in mind that I was working with severe/profound students so this is VERY BIG! This position prepared me for the future in a big way. I have come to realize that my potential in this field is far greater than even I imagined. Next step is finding a job for the 2011-2012 school year. I'm on my way...

My OWN Classroom!

Today I received the greatest news ever. I no longer have to wait for a phone call late in the evening or early in the morning to confirm where I will be teaching the next day. I know exactly where I will be on tomorrow and the next day and the next. I will be in my OWN classroom with my 6 students and 4 teacher aides. I have been hired as a teacher for a Severe/Profound K-5th grade class. I am so nervous and excited. I don't have all the information yet so I await in anticipation of tomorrow and what it will bring. I have never worked in this type of setting before so this is something that is totally new to me. It will give me a chance to gain experience in this area and I am ready for the challenge.

The Me I Used to Be

I'm just so tired of everything and everybody right now. I don't know which way to turn and I feel so lost and alone at times. I feel like running away and just starting over. Someplace where I can begin again. Somewhere that I can immerse myself into my surroundings and myself. Someplace where I'm allowed to just be me. Half of the time I'm struggling just trying to figure out who I am and exactly where I stand. I just want to let go and be the me that I used to be. The me I was when I had it all figured out. The me I was when I just let it all flow out. I'm tired of being this person that I've been pretending to be when all I really want to be is me.

Spring 2011 comes to a close

So today was pretty much a bittersweet one. It was the last day of one of my classes. This means I'm one step closer (and only 2 classes away) to my status as a certified teacher. This upcoming school year, I plan on landing a job in some school district. I have the confidence and the faith that will ultimately put me in my own classroom come August 2011. I cannot bear to enter someone else's classroom day after day. I enjoy subbing to a certain extent and I am thankful for all the preparation that I have received as a substitute teacher over this past year. I have built a camaraderie with the teachers and staff at the schools that I frequent and hopefully one of those will have an opening in my area. If not, then I am willing to take my talents to another school or even district that is in need. For now I am done with the required courses that my mentor teaches so I will not be enjoying her lectures anymore. Upon leaving her class I told her that she would not see me in one of her classes again until I enter the Master's program. She told me that I should really think carefully about what I would like to pursue in terms of my Master's degree and that I should look into Educational Leadership. This thought has honestly crossed my mind for a brief second but now that she has mentioned it, I have really started thinking about it. First things first is this job search to get my own classroom :)

Inspiration

Reading a lot of these different teacher made blogs has gotten me so inspired. I cannot wait until I have my own class to blog about so I can share all my wonderful lesson plans and stories. I have so many ideas that are floating around in my head so I guess I may as well blog about them. Next week is my university's Spring Break so I will use that time to get some of my thoughts together. Meanwhile, it's back to subbing and writing research papers for school.