This summer is my last before becoming a teacher! This time next summer I will have completed my student teaching and will hopefully have a job lined up for the fall.
I have a lot of emotions going into my student teaching. I know it is going to be HARD. I know I'm going to cry. Maybe a lot. I'm scared. But I'm also hopeful that I will be able to make changes in students' learning. I know how to teach reading and science, and integrate social studies. I'm learning how to teach writing and math. Maybe I can do this!
This summer I'm taking two classes. One is a master's degree course about research. It's not that exciting, it's online, and my group does things at the last minute, which I CANNOT STAND. Why professors seem to think that group work in an online class is OK, I will never know.
The other course I am taking is part of my teaching certificate requirements. As far as I know UMKC is the only school requiring students to do such a class. Basically, we are exploring Kansas City's darker side. We have been to a community kitchen and served food to homeless people. We have visited a homeless shelter and a halfway house. We have walked from an affluent part of town to a poor part of town and explored the disparities between the two. I will have to volunteer to tutor. I am compiling resources about obesity and food islands in the inner city to create a presentation. All of these things together are going to help me teach the students stuck in less than ideal situations.
I'm a little exhausted just thinking about how hard this is going to be.
