Wrapping Up My First Semester Teaching
Ok, so it's not completely my first semester TEACHING, but teaching college students.
Tomorrow's my last day with the kiddos -- they're turning in their final writing portfolios and it will definitely prove to be bittersweet.On the one hand, yay, I did it! And I feel amazingly proud of what I've accomplished. I came into this semester slightly unsure of myself. I was nervous, mainly because I've been working so hard to get to this point, to be a college instructor. And what if I hated it? What if it was hard, and horrible, and what if the students were awful and mean to me and made me cry?
But... in the end, I had a wonderful semester. I got to know my students, and I hope they learned a thing or two from me! But perhaps moreso, I learned from them. I learned that I am capable of doing this, and that teaching is something I'm good at -- something that makes me feel alive. I love being in a classroom. I'm an attention whore -- all eyes on me please! :-)
And I love constructing lessons -- bringing my creativity into the classroom to try and get my points across. I mean, this semester I kept it pretty basic just because I was still getting the hang of things, but planning my lectures was actually something I looked forward to.
So after tomorrow, my students will be Katieless, out in the world, hopefully better able to articulate their thoughts into beautiful little tidbits called essays. And I will miss them -- but you know what? Next semester, I do it all over again with an even bigger course load. I'm looking forward to that!
Today I was browsing The Chronicle, feeling excited about all the opportunities out there in the world. I can't wait to have a few more years under my proverbial belt, and to someday (someday) be able to teach creative writing to a classroom full of students who need their talent brought out and encouraged. I'm excited -- this life is going to be one Hell of a ride :-) And it all has to start somewhere!
Tomorrow's my last day with the kiddos -- they're turning in their final writing portfolios and it will definitely prove to be bittersweet.On the one hand, yay, I did it! And I feel amazingly proud of what I've accomplished. I came into this semester slightly unsure of myself. I was nervous, mainly because I've been working so hard to get to this point, to be a college instructor. And what if I hated it? What if it was hard, and horrible, and what if the students were awful and mean to me and made me cry?
But... in the end, I had a wonderful semester. I got to know my students, and I hope they learned a thing or two from me! But perhaps moreso, I learned from them. I learned that I am capable of doing this, and that teaching is something I'm good at -- something that makes me feel alive. I love being in a classroom. I'm an attention whore -- all eyes on me please! :-)
And I love constructing lessons -- bringing my creativity into the classroom to try and get my points across. I mean, this semester I kept it pretty basic just because I was still getting the hang of things, but planning my lectures was actually something I looked forward to.
So after tomorrow, my students will be Katieless, out in the world, hopefully better able to articulate their thoughts into beautiful little tidbits called essays. And I will miss them -- but you know what? Next semester, I do it all over again with an even bigger course load. I'm looking forward to that!
Today I was browsing The Chronicle, feeling excited about all the opportunities out there in the world. I can't wait to have a few more years under my proverbial belt, and to someday (someday) be able to teach creative writing to a classroom full of students who need their talent brought out and encouraged. I'm excited -- this life is going to be one Hell of a ride :-) And it all has to start somewhere!
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