School’s out for summer!

Yes it’s true. I’ve survived the craziest semester I’ve ever had at UNC Asheville. I need to hand it to the Education Department, because they definitely made things challenging for me! And why not? The classes should be hard because teaching is hard.

And I must admit the thing that I was dreading the most (3 days of in-class teaching) was actually what I enjoyed the most. It was most certainly stressful getting up in front of a class and trying to convey what I’d spent days (okay weeks) planning out. I kept thinking: What if they don’t get it? What if they don’t like it? It was then that I realized that connecting to them on a more personal level was half the battle. Once I accomplished that, things got much easier.

In the end I think that the overall experience went well. My kids were excellent. I couldn’t have asked for a better class to have had my first semi-real teaching experience in. They were so awesome that they even threw me a surprise going away party(ish). I said ish because it wasn’t as well organized as my co-op wanted it to be, but I thought it was pretty excellent. One of my students even bought me a cookie cake. So I got a little choked up, totally understandable right?

My point is that I know that Education 380 is pretty much designed to get us candidates into gear so that we will be prepared for next semester, but overall I think it was a pretty enjoyable semester. There were sometimes when I thought I wouldn’t make it to the finish line, but in the end it was a really great semester. I’d like to thank my wonderful cooperating teacher Mark Harrison (can’t wait to work with you next semester) and my supervising teacher Reid Chapman for all of the support. You guys rock!

And now I think I will reward myself with a visit to my local used books store. After all, this lit teacher thing does have its perks.

Peace J

Ashley

P.S. Don’t think I’m leaving just yet. In fact, I’ll be around all summer here in the office. Feel free to drop by and say hello. Oh, and snacks are always appreciated.