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UNIVERSE AS TEXT:
FINDING PATHWAYS TO TRUTH THROUGH READING, WRITING, AND THINKING

MY CURRENT GOALS:

*Keeping up with this blog

*Interacting with other blogging educators

*Having a great experience during my second year as a professional teacher in a public school district

*Changing the world, ever so slightly, for the better

THE JOURNEY SO FAR…

August 2010 Goal accomplished: Having a great experience during my first year as a licensed teacher in a public school district. My first and last year with MPS was great. I loved the experience of teaching seniors, middle schoolers, and a high school elective all in the same day. I helped direct the Black History Month program and the middle school drama club, watched the twelfth graders grow from kids into adults, and the seventh graders experience critical thinking for the first time. I adore working with urban kids, and regret the district’s downsizing of teaching positions. I would have gladly stayed.

August 2009 Goal accomplished: Having a great experience during my first professional teaching experience this summer. I had an excellent run at St. John’s, finding out many things about the special situation of teaching in a private school, teaching remedial students, teaching boarding school students, and teaching all-boy classes. It was a great five-week “primer” to help me stay sharp for the school year.

May 2009 Goals accomplished: Evolving from serious student to star teacher, succeeding during my second student teaching semester. These past eighteen weeks have been a wild ride, but I am proud to say that I have conquered an extremely difficult urban student teaching placement, and I’ve done it with style. I have grown incredibly in my classroom management skills, and I’ve had countless opportunities to experiment with my pedagogy, always pushing for the most meaningful, engaging, and fun lessons possible. I can’t thank my students enough for teaching me, and letting me teach them. Now a college graduate, I am ready to take on the world of professional teaching.

December 2008
Goal accomplished: Surviving and thriving during semester one of student teaching. I did very well in my first teaching adventure and learned a ton. More than ever, I am gracefully growing into my new role as an English teacher, who is already building an inventory of lessons, texts, and other teaching resources. I am excited to move forward!

May 2008 Goal accomplished: Coming to terms with the teacher identity. After a particularly challenging semester, if I can say I learned one thing, I can say that I’ve started to view myself as a teacher… Not just someone who will be a teacher someday, but someone who is a teacher now. The transformation has begun! For more on this, see any post, but especially anything posted June-July, 2008.

March 2008
Goal accomplished: Passing the Praxis II. Despite my negative feelings toward this test, I passed it with flying colors, scoring a 191 out of 200. (You need a 160 to get certified to teach in Wisconsin.) Though it fell slightly short of my standard of perfection, I was pleased with my result. For insight about my pre-testing thoughts, see post “(Mostly) Denouncing the Praxis II.”