Hello all! Welcome to my blog!
I'm officially moved into my house in Milwaukee and have begun my student teaching experience, but for those of you who may not know what this is all about, I'll give you a little recap:
I have been dreaming of inner city teaching since 2010 when I came to Milwaukee on a missions trip. Since then, I have worked very hard (and many others have worked hard for me!) to get back to Milwaukee to do my student teaching to prepare me for a job in Milwaukee Public Schools. I moved in last Saturday with a family I met on my missions trip. Sarah, Jeff, and their 4 kids have been so wonderful to me, I have immediately felt at home. I am student teaching at one of the more competitive high schools in the district for my first placement, and the students are hard working and have bright futures ahead of them. I am impressed my the diversity of the school, as they have African American, Caucasian, Asian, and Latino/a students in nearly equal numbers. There are about 1,000 students at my school.
Though I absolutely LOVE the school, my cooperating teacher (Erica), and the family I am living with, this week has been a hard one. I came into the classroom during the week of their musical, which has meant 12-16 hour days beginning at 6:45am. Not only am I exhausted, but I'm homesick. I miss Oshkosh and all of my friends, the ease of being in a place you are comfortable with, and the streets I know like the back of my hand. I have taken the wrong exit to school nearly every day this week. I've never been very good at transition, and though this has been the easiest one yet, it is still rough. I can't help but look at Erica and all she does in a day without looking at myself and wondering if I'm cut out for it. She is an amazing teacher, teaching her students things I didn't learn until I was a freshman in college! She has such a great relationship with all of them, while I'm still struggling to learn their names. I know all of this comes with time, but it is hard in the moment to not be discouraged.
Seeing Erica teach has definitely inspired me. I know it sounds crazy, but I didn't think that I could teach all of that content to high school students! I guess it didn't occur to me that a program, if built correctly, could provide a prospective music major with all of the information they would need for the first two years of their college career. She is a great musician, and I feel lucky to be learning from her. She has only been teaching for 4 years, but she is already a pro. It gives me hope that soon I won't feel lost but will be rocking an awesome program!
Tomorrow, I lead warm ups for the first time. I'm a little nervous, but I know the Erica and the kids will be really supportive. I just want it to be perfect. We have shows for the musical Friday night, Saturday night, and Sunday afternoon, and I can't wait to see the kids show their hard work off! They are going to do great! As for me, I'll be in charge of the ushers and rooting from back stage. This week has flown by, and it already feels like I've been here for a month, but I can just feel that God has something good ahead of me. It is going to be a great experience, and I'll be sure to keep you all posted on how I'm doing! :)
