...so many things I meant to tell you.

I had this all planned out in my head: a gripping account of the transition from student to teacher-played out in several parts over the course of a semester.

Alas, as you may have noted I have been all silent-like since last fall.

I can't give that play-by-play I had intended. (unless you're my mother-who got it over the phone each week)

Suffice it to say that I learned a lot about teaching, and teachers, and students in the last several months. Today was my first day as a "non-student teacher" (It doesn't feel right to say "teacher" until the paperwork is in and I have a credential, but that still is a few weeks away). I got up at 5:45, took the dog running, and was out of the house by 6:40 headed back to school. I spent the morning finishing grading the finals from yesterday's classes, inputting grades, and finalizing conduct scores and comments for the semester report cards. I got done around 12:30, and said a brief "thank you" to my master teachers-who were busy teaching, and went to turn in my keys.

I did not wear a tie today, my students took note. I told them that I was off duty.

Last night I went out with a small group from my credentialling cohort, to catch up and decompress. I am a person who bristles at group interactions, but I sincerely love all five of them (even if one couldn't make it) and feel comfortable with our shared experiences and enjoy their company.

I think the overarching lesson I learned during student teaching was the importance of collaboration, and relationships, and opening yourself to the lives of others. I came in with a very militaristic view of education, and I still find value there, but I learned that teaching is an inherently social activity, and to ignore that and internalize yourself renders your lessons--however well crafted--ineffectual.

I HATE people. Groups of people are somehow half as intelligent as the sum of their individual IQ's. I love individuals. I want to connect with everybody on a one-to-one level, and there is some difficulty to that when dealing with a class of 35 kids. But it can be done. This is the area of growth that has most surprised me. I wanted to be the ring master and run my own little circus, but when I saw teachers who did that... let's just say they were not the teachers I want to emulate.