I'm now almost done with my second week of student teaching, and I'm really enjoying it. I was heavily considering switching from English to guidance counseling, but that was before I experienced middle school. The kids that everyone thinks are the worst are the best! I adore middle school, and I think I'll stick around in the English world a little bit longer. I have 6th and 8th grade gifted students, and I really enjoy creating lessons for them because I can dig into those deeper concepts and higher-level thinking skills. I'm going to look into getting my gifted certification, too. It's only 12-15 credit hours (4 classes and usually a practicum experience). I have a great cooperating teacher which helps, too. She's very organized and innovative. The planning is a lot of work because of the particular county I'm teaching in. I have gifted curriculum, IB curriculum, AYP school improvement plan curriculum, and technology strand curriculum, all to fit into each unit.
In my three eighth grade classes, we are reading Linda Sue Park's A Long Walk to Water. It's the true story of Salva Dut, one of the Lost Boys of Sudan, and Nya, a girl that lives in Southern Sudan now.
They will be then using Photo Story 3 to write persuasive photo essays that bring awareness to the various issues in the novel.
For sixth grade, we're doing an "alphabiography", where they'll be picking something about them that starts with every letter of the alphabet, and they'll have to write a poem (in a specified form) for each letter. I'm also going to do a mini-lesson on phonetics and we're going to learn how to write the Chinese alphabet. They'll use their new calligraphy skills to create the alphabet dividers for their poetry alphabiographies.
So yeah, that's school right now.
My neck issues are back, so I went back to the doctor--a different doctor. I found out the real reason for my pain. I have an extra rib, formally known as a "cervical rib." So I'll be doing a lot of physical therapy, and if that doesn't work, the only other option is surgery to remove the rib.
The best news in my life right now is that we are SO stinkin' close to the end of this deployment. I ship our HHG on February 3rd and our car on February 10th, and then it's just the waiting game! My plane ticket is ordered for a two-week visit right around when he gets home. Then I have to come back home and finish student teaching for two weeks, then I'll be flying out ONE WAY! I've waited for that for so long!
So that's the update. The days are flying by so fast that I feel like I'm in the middle of a hurricane. But it's a good hurricane if there is such a thing, because it's all moving towards the life that my husband and I have waited so long for!
