In reflection...

I am now realizing that I am nearing the end of my program and I have been thinking about this program and the effect it has had and will have in my life. What I realized most is that I really want to be a teacher. While playing in the parks and our little side trips have been fun, this type of work is so not what I was meant to be doing.

I hear about my friend's student teaching experiences all the time and I am so jealous of them! I miss being in a classroom and working with kids that are not on vacation! Sometimes I get worried because the kids drive me nuts half of the time, but when I am their teacher they will not treat me the same as the lady on the glow cart.

I have always known that I wanted to be a teacher, but this experience has confirmed it. When I found out that I was accepted to the program, I was nervous that I might like working in disney better than teaching and that I wouldn't want to come home at the end. This is funny to think about now because it is quite the opposite. I could not be more excited to begin teaching!

A few weeks ago I received confirmation that I will be student teaching at Kendall Elementary School in Naperville District 204. This is great because not only is it a great school with a great teacher, but there is at least one teacher retiring in that district at the end of this year.

This summer I took a two week course called Orff Level 1 which is a method of teaching general music created by Carl Orff. My teacher for the course emphasized using children's literature in her teaching. This really inspired me and opened my mind up to even more possibilities for teaching! When I finished the course, I really was not excited to go to Disney at all because I just wanted to use all of those ideas!

So the sum up, I can't wait to be a teacher! Disney was a fun little adventure for me to have and now I am ready to enter the real world and be the best teacher I can be! I am so incredibly excited for my future and thanks to ISU I feel prepared for whatever I will face!