Student teaching is an interesting experience. In all honesty, I actually really love teaching. I'm a mix of nervous and excited for the rest of the semester and I'm ready for routine to settle in. Five minute warm up drawings, different projects, different problems, different solutions. High school is so different from the other side of the fence.
It brings back a lot of memories, mostly because high school really wasn't all that long ago for me in the grand scheme of life. Four years, that's all. There are still the skinny cheerleaders, giant jocks, goths, nerds, hipsters, etc, that existed when I roamed the halls of my upper level education facility. But now I look at them through different lenses. I'm not looking to be their friend, per se. It's a fine line between being their friend and their teacher. You want to be strict, but not too much. You want to be nice, but not let them take advantage of you.
Everyone keeps telling me not to smile until midterms. Be serious. Make them understand that you respect them so they should respect you and all the rules and procedures that you have put into place. And then once you've developed that wonderful relationship, you can relax a little bit.
Truthfully this whole endeavor has just made me want my own classroom with the freedom to make my own rules and teach my own classes. But I'm not quite ready for that yet. I'm transitioning into that world - you know the one - the adult world.
Next year I could potentially be working as an art teacher at the school in which I am now currently student teaching, and if that were to happen I would be beyond happy. Not only would this be my first "big person" job (haha) but I would also have a salaried position and benefits. From a minimum wage job to one with a yearly salary? It kind of blows my mind.
Wow.
You think after you graduate high school that you are headed into the real world and nothing will ever be the same again, and while that is partly true (the things not staying the same bit) the real world doesn't really start until you graduate college. But really, it doesn't seem like it's going to be that bad of a place.
And really? I'm just kind of ready to be there already. It's really too bad you don't get paid to student teach. I like only having one job. It's nice.
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