First impressions

So here's my story in brief:

I started college in 2001 with the intention of becoming a teacher. Now, nearly 10 years later, and I'm still not a teacher. Why?

I was intimidated out of teaching. Probably because I was 19 during my first field placement, which was at a tough, inner-city alternative school where some of the students were older than I was, and I just wasn't ready for it. So I switched my program of study, earned my BA in English and Professional Communications in 2004...and have spent the past five years working as an administrative assistant.

Now, that's a great job and the people who are administrative professionals certainly do important work. But it's not for me. So when I lost my job in July I decided enough was enough and I'm done with not putting my degree, and four-plus years of college, to work for me in a career I'll enjoy and that has tremendous benefits.

This is my first semester of working toward my certification and then my Master's in Education (with a focus on English and Speech Communications). I hope to teach middle/high school level courses eventually.

Part of my first semester's course work is educational psychology, and part of the assignments include blogging based on prompts. This is my first entry.

Today's prompt:

[R]eflect on some aspect of your first experience as a student teacher, a teacher’s aide, or just enrolling in and taking classes aimed at training you to become a teacher. How does the act of writing about something—expressing your opinion and reading about others’—change or deepen your experience of learning?

I've touched on some of my experience above. My first attempt at teaching wasn't successful, but this time - after a few years' of "real world" life experience - I know I am ready to teach. I feel enthusiastic, excited, and full of potential.

When I was in school I always looked forward to the first day of the new school year. It was so full of potential that it felt almost like a second New Year. This morning is clear and crisp and cool and I saw a school bus drive through our apartment complex, picking up students for the second day of classes. It brought back a lot of memories of similar mornings...

Tonight is my first class, mostly because I was in the hospital late last week and over the weekend having my second son. And I am excited (albeit exhausted) and looking forward to getting up to my elbow's in school work.

For me, the act of writing is both enjoyable and therapeutic. Writing allows me to work through my thoughts and emotions in a way that's easier for me than talking about it (especially in the case of conflicts). It is also a way for me to feel organized, especially if things get overwhelming and I just feel the need to "see" what needs to be done. Sometimes I'll write a list of, say, house chores...and even if I never look at the list again, writing it out takes away some of the nerves and stress I feel.

So I'm taking an educated guess that blogging about my experiences will do the same thing for me as a budding educator.