Agreeing With That Isaiah Guy...

It's a week where life's coming at me hard. 

There's all of this student teaching stuff, but I haven't been able to fully keep my mind wrapped around that. I'm not worried, per se, but there's a lot on my mind. Most of it has to do with unknowns and things that are beyond my control right now, like post-graduation life. 

Despite the volume of things weighing on my mind, there's a sense of peace there that's fantastic. A friend told me not to question that peace from God, and he was right. So, here I am, not worried, but I am caught up in contemplating the possibilities. And honestly, I wish I knew more instead of having all of these uncertainties before me. 

One certainly I do have, though, is that I'm open to anything at this point. 

My sophomore year at CUC had the theme of  "Here I am, Lord, send me." It was derived from Isaiah. And here's where I'd reference the exact passage if I had any idea off the top of my head (I don't). We heard that section of Scripture and sang the hymn so many times that it became a joke, but now those are words I can't chase from my mind. All I can do is adopt it as my attitude. 

Do you ever have those times where you are frustrated by not being able to foresee the future? Have you noticed a correlation between your attitude about a situation and your stress level?

That sounds like it'd be the hook for some infomercial about some great product. Hmmm...what kind of product could I follow that introduction up with?

~"Self expression: Try it." [a youtube video]~

Growth

It was a week of a lot of growth, and for that I'm thankful. Relationships with my students are growing and blowing my mind, and the list of things I'm learning continues to grow.

I had my first tango with sub plans for Friday since I had a conference to attend. The conference was an amazing chance to have fears allayed and questions answered with some of the more technical aspects of teaching (the interview/call process, that first year, classroom management, and challenges we'll face). It was our chance to talk with some people with many years of experience who gave us the real scoop and let us ask any questions that came to mind. No sugar coating here, folks.

All in all, there were so many steps forward this week.

On top of all that, I got some amazing times with friends this week. There were a few much-needed conversations, and a few late nights that were completely worth it. It was a chance to reflect on how there's no going back to what we once knew as normal -- being together, having few unknowns with each other's lives, and being able to be there for one another without hesitation. Life is getting in the way of the way it used to be. It's beautiful to move forward with life, but it's tragic to say goodbye to how it used to be.

I can't believe the weekend is already mostly over, though. Time flies...

~"I never hesitate to fall, I forgot how much I wanted it all, and my dreams are getting used to you..." ["More Of It" - Leigh Nash]~

Don't Be Afraid

...to surprise yourself once in a while. 

You may realize you're more capable than you thought.

Maybe you'll discover a hidden passion for something.

Perhaps you'll see a desire to learn something new, something you would've never thought to explore.

Maybe true feelings about something (or someone) may come to light.

Whatever it is, embrace it. Explore it. When you have an open mind, you'll learn more about yourself than you expected.

~"I guess if we don't jump we'll never know if we can fly." ["New Strings" - Miranda Lambert]~

Back to the Platte.

I love weekends on a normal basis, but my appreciation for them really goes up after a few less-than-stellar days in the classroom. I'm hoping this upcoming week holds some better days.

Friday was fantastic. The drive to Omaha while rediscovering how great the Newsboys are was therapeutic. Hanging out with Joel was even more so. Great homemade pizza and a beer never hurts, either, mind you.

Saturday was an eventful day. Let me encourage you to resist the urge to leave Omaha on a Husker game day at the same time the entire rest of the population of Omaha is leaving to get to the game. If you know anything about Husker football, you know that I'm only partially exaggerating about that number. If you choose to ignore this warning, at least make sure you factor in an extra 45 minutes to make it anywhere. That drive on the back roads, though, was fantastic. It was like a taste of driving at home. I loved it. What can I say? Driving on back roads with the windows down and great music is one of my guilty pleasures in life.

Made it back out to Platte River State Park on Saturday with a group of friends for a cookout. It was about a week of planning, and it was amazing. We collaborated on food/supplies, and so we had a lot of great food. We also explored. We climbed an 84 ft observation tower for an amazing view of NE scenery and the river itself, a high point for a Midwest-lovin' girl like me. We also got to explore a tee-pi, a cut out of a buffalo, and a trail. Capped off that great Saturday with a movie and a beer with a friend.

I've come to the conclusion that my life will not be complete without getting to experience camping in a tee-pi. Who's with me??

~"You know you're a phlobotomist when you can look at someone and say, 'Yeah, I could tap that.'" [-Part of our cookout conversation...and future t-shirt.]~

Love a Good Joke, Not a Crazy Class

Today was not the best day of student teaching to date, but it was perhaps one of the most valuable. Isn't it funny how the things we dislike the most often are the things we learn the most from?

It was a busy day of running out of time for things, preparing for running the classroom with a sub while my co-op is gone for 2 days, and learning all about classroom management. I was pretty much in charge most of the day.

Anarchy took over. 


You laugh, but it sure felt that way. The kids didn't want to listen. We didn't get to play the review game I planned, and they didn't listen to the "quiet" part of "quiet homework time" that we had instead. I had an hour and 10 minutes with 27 kids who didn't want to listen to me at all. I even had one of the girls say, "She doesn't even like us." It was so frustrating.

At the end of the day, I had a chat with them about how tomorrow is going to go. And after today, I'm not afraid to be firm with them because days like this just can't keep happening. Tough love, baby.

But, as always, there were some good things to take away from the day. I got some great information, advice, and encouragement from my co-op today. I needed that. I got to have coffee with a friend and catch up for a bit. I got some stuff done for FYS. I was fortunate enough to get to vent to a few fellow student teachers. It was not a bad day overall.

I'm definitely ready for the weekend, though.

My favorite part of the day was a conversation with my class, and it's the quote I will close with.

Me: Okay, guys. We talked about independent clauses and dependent clauses, and I briefly mentioned what a regular clause is the other day. Does anyone remember what that was?

One of the funny guys: A relative of Santa Claus.

Me: False. But good try.

Labor Day Off

One of the differences between CUC and CUNE is Labor Day. CUC believed in giving us the day off; CUNE does not.

Unless you're a student teacher.

Score.

My Labor Day Plans:

- Sleep in til 8

- Groan at the thought that this is now considered "sleeping in" but rejoice in the fact that I won't be cranky later for sleeping in waaay too late to feel productive

- Do laundry

- Work on Brit Lit 2

- Work on lesson plans for the week

- Type up said plans

- Do hw for Music Methods...that may or may not actually be hw...

- Go to a cookout w/ a friend

- Meet with ST supervisor

- Finish grading quizzes

- More Brit Lit 2 hw

- RELAX

So, not exactly the most relaxing day in the history of Labor Days, but it's nice to have that extra day.

~"She mused away the gaudy hours of noon,/And fed on thoughts unripened by the sun,/moves forward..." ["A Summer Evening's Meditation" by Anna Letitia Barbauld]~

First Week Sign of Survival

Happy birthday to my dad today! I hope you have beautiful riding weather alllll weekend! :)

Left school today full of energy, and I took that to be a good sign. I heard once before that if you leave your job at the end of the week full of energy, you really are doing what you love. I haven't felt too well the past two days, so I crashed for a while once I got back, but it was a fantastic week nonetheless. I'll be grading quizzes this weekend on what I taught the students this week, so we'll see how I did. Hopefully they did well!

I do love it, though. We have some great students, and they keep me laughing most of the time. Yesterday I sneezed most of the day, and my students asked why I kept sneezing. I tried to tell them I was allergic to them, but they didn't believe me. :P

My weekend's all about lesson planning, grading papers, and writing papers. I plan on beating this cold, too. I'm also determined to get out and enjoy this amazing fall weather because it's the best time of year! I love everything about fall...the colors, the smells, the temperatures...all of it!

Time to hit the grading for a bit...

~"To learn and never be filled, is wisdom; to teach and never be weary, is love." [unknown]~

First of Many Lessons

So after 3 days of student teaching, I'm starting to settle in and feel less overwhelmed. I'm already learning a lot, and it makes me excited to see what the next 6.5 weeks hold.

I taught my second lesson today. This week I'm taking on grammar. Yesterday's first lesson kinda went downhill quickly, and the students really didn't fully grasp it. I started getting frazzled, and that always kills the enthusiasm on my end, thus killing the enthusiasm of the students.

Today...well, today ROCKED. We're very fortunate to be in a school with a lot of great technology (like laptops and iPod Touches for the students to use), so I made a PowerPoint to reteach yesterday's lesson and do examples. I also used the old-school projector, and my kids (all 27 of them in the afternoon!) really got everything by the end of the lesson...including everything tripping them up yesterday. We did a fun, silly activity at the end, and it was a blast. I'm excited about tomorrow because we're starting with that activity again.

I am pretty bummed out not to have much time to stay in touch with ANYONE, really, but it's one of those phases where that's what's gotta happen for a bit. It's still an exciting point regardless of the cost, and I know that there are still people there supporting me every step of the way. :)

~"I like your invisible band-aid. Not that I can see it or anything..." [My dear friend Lisa]~