Hello friends!
So this is my second attempt at a blog. Like many journal-like endeavors I attempt, the last blog kind of died because I was way too busy and wanted to spend my free time doing something else. Reading and video games are two activities that I would much rather do than journal.
However, I know that many of my friends and family are farther away now and are just as busy as I am. With this blog, I wanted to provide a way for those who are interested to keep up on what is going on in my life. Also, a great deal of my posts will have a lot to do with my experience student teaching, a process I am half way through with. I hope that any feelings I express here can help others who will be student teaching, are currently student teaching, or who are teaching in general know that they are not alone. We're all in this together! (Cue cheesy High School Musical music.)
More than anything, this blog is about my transition from being a young adult college student to being an actual adult, hence the title of my blog. My friends and I like to joke and turn the noun adult into the verb, adulting, something that I feel a great many people my age do as well, if social media is any indication. Adulting is the verb that describes all activities college students have to learn how to do in order to function as an "adult." These activities might include, managing a budget, learning how to cook, polishing our interviewing skills, having a job that requires us to have responsibility of more than just ourselves, etc. Student teaching, in a way, is like adult training.
For those if you who might not be aware, I am in the middle of student teaching (if you weren't aware, you didn't read this very closely). I am hoping to become a licensed K-12 music teacher. I just finished 8 awesome weeks teaching grades 5-12, an experience that taught me a great deal about how to create and maintain a choir program. I'm very proud of my high school students especially. They will be putting on Camp Rock: The Musical next weekend and I can't wait to see it! It was really hard to say goodbye to them.
Now, I've started my next 8 week placement in an elementary school, teaching grades PreK-5. I feel like I'm stating the obvious but wow, what a change. I went from spending most of my energy getting my students to be excited about music and having a confident presence on stage to trying to just contain the energy that these small children have. The classroom management is very different as well (I can just hear anyone reading this saying, "Well duh!"). Small children just need so many more reminders of how they need to be behaving in class. It's enough to drive anyone insane.
But don't get my wrong, I love my elementary students. Elementary kids are just incredibly excited for every little thing in their lives. I love how much they want to share and learn. They are positively sponge-like in the way that they can soak up information! My cooperating teacher is also amazing and I have so much to learn from her. She's very patient and passionate about what she does!
Today, I started planning my edTPA. "What's edTPA, Jamie?" Well, edTPA is a big project required by the state and my college to attain a teaching license. I have to plan and teach a series of five lessons and detail exactly how I am going to do everything, how I'm going to accommodate different learners, and all that awesome stuff that teachers need to be doing. It's taking the process that usually goes on in the teacher's mind and putting it on paper for someone to evaluate. It's a valuable tool for sure but it is also very big and intimidating. I might have had a bit of a panic attack when I started it today. I've decided to teach a ukulele unit to my fifth graders for this project and while edTPA terrifies me, I am super excited to be teaching ukulele!
Well, I don't want to overwhelm people on my first post but that's what is happening with me. I'm going to post once a week so I'll see you all next Sunday!
- Jamie
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