Half Way There

As of yesterday, I am half way done with my student teaching. This means that I only have a half of a semester until I am a college graduate. This is incredibly exciting, but somewhat surreal! I can't believe I've made it this far and that I'm almost done with college. It's just crazy!

You may wonder how my first student teaching placement went for me. Well, for those of you who are wondering, I'm about to answer that question...

My first placement, if I haven't mentioned before, was teaching 5th and 6th grades in a Christian school. Overall, the experience was great and I definitely learned a lot throughout it.

I do have to say that initially I was intimidated at the thought of teaching 6th graders. In my head, they were going to have an "I don't care" attitude and were all gonna be tough guys. Once I got in the classroom I was proven wrong. Not all of them had an attitude and not one of them was a real tough guy. The class did present it's challenges, but working with my co-op and through a lot of prayer we overcame those challenges.

Looking back on the past seven and a half weeks, I can see one re-occuring theme and that theme is growth. Whether in the students or in myself, there has been a tremendous amount of growth. I've seen the students change so much over the time that I was there. God's been really working in their hearts and lives and it's quite evident. It's such a praise as well! I've also seen myself grow over this time. On the days when things seemed impossible, I've learned to rely more on Him. God's shown me that there's no way that I can do this on my own. I need His strength. I also feel that I've grown as a teacher. I've tried to take the advice of my co-op and supervisor and implement it into my life to make me a better teacher. It's so great to see how God's has helped all of us to grow over this time.

It is definitely somewhat surreal to be done with this placement. It was weird walking out of the classroom yesterday and knowing that I wouldn't be walking back into it ever again as a student teacher. It's weird to know that on Monday I'll be starting my second placement with a whole new group of kids and a whole new set of lives to pour into. It's definitely a joy and priviledge - and a tremendous responsibility- to be able to teach these students and invest in their lives.

So, looking back on this first half I guess the theme of it would be learning and growing. God's taught all of us so much and helped us all to grow in numerous ways. It's been a truly wonderful experience and I am so incredibly thankful for it!

- Jenn