A tragic post

Sadly, my former boss Dr. Juan Aleman died on Christmas Eve.  I worked for him for four years and cried every summer season when I left because I loved working for him so much.  Because I wanted to be a teacher, I had to move on from this job and pursue other things, but I visited him often since my departure a little less than a year ago.

I got an e-mail today from the girl who took my position after me, and I’m honestly heartbroken.  This man, who is one of the brightest people I’ve ever met, and the smartest doctor I have ever encountered, is no longer with us.  My prayers go out to his family: his beloved mother, his wife, his children, and grandchildren; all of whom he spoke of often and with nothing but the utmost love and pride.

Preparing for the future

Tomorrow I am going to be visiting my fifth graders at MLK.  I miss so many of them and some apparently miss me too because they have been sending me e-mails daily.  It’s going to be my last time I’ll be able to see them because after this is their winter break and then I go in to student teaching full time.  It’s sad going from place to place and saying goodbye.

However, I’m really excited about student teaching.  The school district is just as close as my own!  It’s a very large school district and they have a lot of great services.  I’m going to be in an inclusion classroom where a lot is going on.  There are one-to-one aids for students with autism, several students have learning disabilities, a lot of students get pulled out for reading and math services, and many students are mainstream.  It’s going to be exciting working in such a diverse learning environment.

Also, I started working on putting my portfolio together for interviews.  It seems silly but I feel like it’s really important how everything is arranged that I’ve even started color coding the pages by grade level.  I’m not sure if this is even appropriate but I figure the portfolio is supposed to represent you and your work.  Since I like to be creative and I am very organized, hopefully that reflects this and isn’t seen as unprofessional because even my lesson plans aren’t on standard white paper.

Student Teaching: Can you believe it?

Yesterday I attended a seminar held by the organization I am a part of, ASCD, on how to create a portfolio and land a job.  I felt it was really informative because the person presenting was a recent graduate (2007) and is teaching in her very own classroom, making it seem possible that we can actually get a job.  It was nice to see how other people put together their portfolio, and although I started mine, I am looking forward to student teaching so I can add more to it.

Speaking of which, I will be student teaching in the Half Hollow Hills school district, right next door.  On Wednesday I went to their district office and met the assistant superintendent, Kelly Fallon, who was so nice and very approachable.  It was a group “interview” where we all introduced ourselves.  We were told to say our name and if this was a career switch for us, and why we want to be a teacher.  I was one of the few who was not an alumni or current employee, and oddly enough not a career switch — I’ve always wanted to be a teacher.  We were even offered to participate in their professional development program which I am really excited about.

I then spoke with Arlene, who put the whole event together.  She was very nice and told me Vanderbilt Elementary requested a Hofstra student (so luckily my university left a good name, even in this school district that has excellent ratings).  I was told to call Vanderbilt on Monday, but I was too excited, so I waited until the next day and called on Friday.  The receptionist was so nice it made me even more excited to be accepted there.  They seem very accommodating and it looks like I am going to be student teaching kindergarten, first grade,  and fourth grade (not in that order).  I should find out who my cooperating teachers are on Monday, and I am thrilled.

Kappa Delta Pi

Today I was formally inducted into the Kappa Delta Pi National Honor Society.  It feels weird to be a part of “greek life” only this isn’t a sorority, it’s an honor society.  Forty-three other graduate and undergraduate students were inducted as well, and we received a certificate and a rose.  Being an honor society that is all about education and community service, donations were made where everyone was asked on the spot to contribute $1 or $2 to raise awareness for autism.  Luckily I had $3 on me, and within 5 seconds, we had raised $250 between students and guests.  I feel very fortunate to be a part of an organization that is very active in getting involved within the community.  They are able to not “rob your wallet” but still make an impact helping others — something that is rare to find.  I’ll keep you posted on the events soon to come.

Last day at MLK

Yesterday was my last day as a participant-observer at MLK.  It was so sad to leave these 28 students and my cooperative teacher, but it was evident that I had left my mark in that classroom.  All the students were so upset when I left and much time was taken to say goodbye.  They each wrote to me a friendly letter of how much they will miss me, and all the things they learned from me.  They spoke of the lessons I taught them and how much fun they had learning — it was also interesting how some said they didn’t even feel like they were doing any work because they had so much fun!

It was so hard to leave my fifth graders — not only because they were giving non-stop hugs, but because I am going to miss them all so much.  I gave them each my e-mail address (and some even wrote to me already!)

I truly am going to miss spending my Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at MLK, but am planning to go back and visit as much as I can before I start student teaching the first week in January.

My cooperative teacher was very kind to make me a slideshow of the pictures she had taken during my time there.  She also got me a gift card to Staples (which will come in handy very soon as I need file folders).  Even one of the students went out and bought presents — candles and Christmas decorations.  It was just so sweet and unexpected, and I hope that these students continue to dream big and persevere to accomplish their every goal.