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teach. your children well.
2007-02-28, 10:37 p.m.

HOKAY SO.

Yeah, I was right about the observation being nothing to worry about. In fact, it was something to cheer about! ::throws confetti::

Seriously?

I

LOVE!!!

the school I was placed at.

And my co-op teacher, whose name is Melanie (and is relatively young, like say, maybe 28 or 29, and just had two kids, and is a great teacher), was having a "prep" period during my visit, so we just talked and planned and got to know each other, which was really valuable. She gave me some great advice and definitely wants me to be a participant in the classroom, and even wants me to teach a lesson at the very end! YAY MY DREAMS CAME TRUE! Okay. Ahem.

The only thing my group could say over and over again after we finished our first observations was "I seriously want to teach at this school now." I'm not even joking. Sign me up. I love the faculty, I love the kids, I love the fact that there are sometimes as few as 8 KIDS in each classroom, and I love the whole atmosphere of the place. They're a very close-knit community, which feels so refreshing compared to the giant high school I went to. It's also grades 7-12, so you get to teach a wider range of students, and because the classes are so small, you get to know them way better. Everyone seriously knows everyone's name, just like the Cheers song.

The school is amazingly clean and well-equipped--they've got a GREENHOUSE (???) and a fully furnished like, chef's kitchen for the Home Economics class, and their gym is enormous, and they're starting an addition to the school that will include a new library and cafeteria, and they've got all this money to spend on the kids, and I have no idea how. Hmm.

In any case, I'm relieved that I wasn't like, repulsed by the kids or scared by the teachers; I think it's a good sign. I can't imagine anyone going to this school and not getting excited about teaching, though. All of us were so stoked on getting started--I wanted to go back on Friday to see her teach her Advanced 8th grade Language Arts class (she says they are an awesome bunch and are, direct quote, "even better than her 11th grade honors kids"), but I'm going to the CONCERT!!! tomorrow and then going home for my mom's birthday weekend, and to see my grandmother, who is visiting, so I guess that's not going to work out :( But the concert makes it worth it. Tee hee hee.

One semi-undesirable thing about the school is that it's located in, literally, Tractor Country, like, complete with big tracts of undeveloped land and crazy wheat silos. It took us so long to figure out where the hell we were going, and all of the streets were like, secret little pathways, and we almost ran over freaking WILD TURKEYS (it was terrifying. I thought they were peacocks), and sometimes there would be random mailboxes on the side of the road with no apparent corresponding house. We made fun of it a lot at first, especially because all of us are from, um, NOT farms, but I think we all secretly thought it was pretty nice out there.

After my observation I came back and tried to do work, but ended up falling asleep for a little bit. I could try to work now, but I am just too too excited about the weekend and the concerrttttt eeee! Okay. Sorry.

So that, I believe, is the complete and unadulterated content of my day. And now I am going to gather my things together for the weekend. Sooo long!


P.S. I'm definitely still sick and have these weird achy bulging things in the back of my throat--what the HELL are they?? I can touch them with my finger, but I try not to because it really really really really hurts when I do that. Pleeease cuuuuure meeeee!

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