Not to jinx myself, but...

It's past bed-time, but I'm just so excited for school tomorrow, I can't go to sleep. I hope that's a good sign!

The children are fun, the program is intriguing, and the teachers are mostly enthusiastic.

I am excited to start teaching, next week, maybe. I'm supposed to just observe this week, though mostly I'm performing similar things to that of a paraeducator (assisting, taking over if the teacher needs to leave the room for a minute).

My favorite children comments/questions so far include:

"Teacher, you are too beautiful." (And a reprise of "You're still too beautiful," the next day.)

"Are you pregnant?" (No lead up, just a random out-of-the-blue question. Later in the day this child asked my CT the same question.)

An awestruck, "Did you just talk Spanish?!" after I told some girls to keep their hands to themselves, in Spanish because they weren't listening when I talked to them in English, and we were in the hallway which is language neutral territory (you are allowed to speak in Spanish or English in language neutral places).

I feel selfish.

The first day of school is tomorrow. I'm really excited because, as a student teacher, all I really have to do is show up! The planning is done - nothing is really in my hands! I'm not leading anything specific. The day will be chaotic because the school setup is confusing, but again, I am an extra added bonus helper to my CT's classroom, so it should go a tiny bit better than if I weren't there, right?

Next week when I start to really teach things, maybe I'll be nervous. Right now though I am just excited. After more than a week of meetings, classroom set-up, and planning (all of which I attended) I feel sufficiently comfortable in the school and with the school staff (though I'm not always certain of what role all staff members play, what with teachers, ELL teachers, paraeducators, special ed teachers and paraeducators, and who-knows what else).

I'm looking forward to tomorrow.

The anticipation!

I keep meaning to write, and then forgetting or getting distracted. I have a whole handful of half-written posts about things that happened this summer. Maybe some day I'll finish and post them.

Now though, I'm finally, finally, student teaching. It's a really strange experience because it feels in some ways that I have been waiting my entire life for this. (But then that sounds way cheesy, so I don't like to say it out loud. Despite the fact that it is basically true.)

The school I will be teaching at sounds like a really interesting and exciting place to work. I'm glad I will have experience teaching (rather, student teaching) in a duel language school. Despite what seems to be a really great working environment and a really supportive principal, I have already begun to hear hints of gripes and dissatisfaction/frustration from some of the teachers. (Not my cooperating teacher, actually, but other teachers I have spoken with.)

School hasn't started yet, but I am just really excited for this all to begin. I'm sure that later when I am struggling with everything, I will be mad at myself for having chosen this extra challenge, (working at a duel language school where 90% of the children are on free/reduced cost lunch) instead of student teaching in a different town where the students come from backgrounds more similar to my own. However, really, even as I am driving myself crazy trying to figure out how to negotiate the school and the students, I hope I can make myself remember why I chose this placement, and what a unique opportunity it is for me to work at this school as a student teacher.