School days

Going to the high school is the best part of my week. No joke. This is probably why I haven't written as much here as I should have -- I've been having so much fun lesson planning and preparing for my time at school. The best part of the experience so far has been getting to know my students. I am currently completing observations in an AP Government classroom and an AP Microeconomics classroom. Initially, I was only interacting with students in Econ because the class does a fair amount of small group work, but I've been able to interact with the AP Government students recently during our political parties unit.

Some of the highlights so far:

1. The kids look up to me a ridiculous amount for not having known me for very long. A couple of the girls have asked me for advice about things. I think this is partially because I'm a young, female teacher and they probably don't know many women in their mid-20s. Regardless of the reason, it's cool.
2. Assisting the students with their political parties project ... they split into groups and created their own political parties and platforms. I helped them make short campaign videos! Go using journalism skills.
3. Direct quote from said political parties project: "Hey, Ms. N---- said it would work, and she's a grad student! We should put it in our platform!"
4. Chaperoning at the Homecoming Dance ... lots of "Hey, Ms. N-----!" and "Why didn't you bring a date?" haha ...
5. Getting to know lots of teachers ... I've also observed in another AP Government class, a 9th grade regular English class, and a 10th grade World Geography class
6. Finding my "teacher voice" and my "teacher demeanor" ... a year ago, there's no way I would have been able to lead a lesson for 90 minutes. Amazing.
7. Lesson planning is actually fun ... which is good since that is all I do. 80% of teaching is planning, I have decided
8. Seeing high school from the other end of the spectrum. I mean, I was never the kid who hated high school, but there were definitely parts of it that I didn't like. This puts an entirely new spin on the whole affair.
9. Seeing how each high school is unique.
10. Meeting dozens of innovative teachers who teach beyond the standards and find ways to make content engaging while getting across the main points.

Don't get me wrong, it's plenty challenging. It's hard waking up at 5am, and there are some days where I don't exactly feel like I'm making a real difference ... but then there are other days that are fantastic. That's part of the job. Luckily, the best part of it all is the kids. I'm so looking forward to getting to know them better.

Things I am hoping to continue cultivating in myself

1. Ability to ask engaging, higher-level questions
2. Relating to all of my students
3. Finding ways to introduce technology in a seamless way
4. Designing real-life lessons that relate to things my students are interested in
   
5. Doing all of it without losing my sanity! :)