Putting aside how difficult it is to get to bed at a decent hour after two weeks of staying up with friends and family, and dragging myself out of bed at 5:00 this morning…the first day back was a little rough. I felt off my game, and nervous! This was the longest I had gone this year without seeing my students, and I had the first-day jitters all over again.

But however tired I was, the kids were a million times worse off. They looked like they had been up all night–which they probably had! They were moody with each other and with the teachers.

And to top it all off, I had an unfortunate learning experience before lunch, when I had my first blatant cheating problem arise. You never realize how many nuances there are to something like teaching until you are in the middle of the issue. As soon as I caught my student in the middle of cheating on a quiz, I was faced with the obvious question of, “what do I do now?” Because I had not had a problem yet this year, I didn’t actually know what the procedure was, and had to take some time out of my lunch to go do some investigating. Long story short, I don’t think the student will ever try to cheat again, and I realized once again how much I learn as I go this year!

On a brighter note, I am doing two of my favorite things tomorrow–talking about women in the Roaring Twenties, and getting my World History kids up and moving around in a Japanese Feudalism simulation! More on the ups and downs of that to come!

At the start of 2010, I was almost halfway through my internship year at Michigan State. My first trimester as a student teacher had finished, and I had the awesome realization that the end was in sight! It was almost time to look for my first job, where I could be in my very own classroom, with my very own students. But…I still had a long way to go.

I finished up my student teaching on April 1, 2010 (and also got engaged that morning!). Whereas most people look forward to a restful summer after a school year, freshly minted teachers know that their work has just begun…I went to 4 job fairs in 5 days, and my whole life revolved around tracking job openings and interviewing.

Luckily all my work paid off, and I ended up at a truly awesome little charter school in Ann Arbor, Michigan. It is small enough that each subject has only one teacher, so I have the exhilarating (and sometimes stressful!) job of being the one and only Social Studies teacher for grades 9-12.

I currently teach U.S. History, World History, and Civics. Next semester I will switch from Civics to Economics.

I can’t believe how fast this first semester has gone by. I am already thinking about how to fix lessons up next year, new ideas to try out, and wondering how teachers go year after year saying goodbye to the great kids who graduate. I guess that is what it is all about, though!

In other news, Michigan State University’s elementary and secondary teacher education programs were both ranked #1 in the country, for the 16th year in a row. I feel incredibly lucky to have had the chance to become part of the MSU teaching community, and am amazed that it is almost time for me to move on to the next chapter of my life.

I’m especially sad to be nearing time to say goodbye to my students this year. It is something that teachers have to do every year with students, but I think my first group of students, many of whom I have worked with for nearly an entire school year, will always hold an important place in my memory. It is only with their patience, positive attitudes and entertaining moments that this year was as fabulous as it was. I learned so much from them about who I am as a teacher, and they made me work harder than I ever have to make every day better than the last.

If you are interested, check out the State News article on MSU’s awesome education programs!

http://www.statenews.com/index.php/article/2010/04/5_msu_grad_programs_rank_no_1

I’ve just wrapped up 4 months of lead-teaching at Williamston High School and am nearing completion of the Teacher Certification program here at Michigan State University. I can’t believe how fast the past two years have gone, but here I am!

This upcoming week I will be traveling across Michigan for the various teacher job fairs at universities. I’m looking forward to getting out there and meeting new people!