What Teachers Make

Out of respect for the school and people involved, I've been keeping blog-fully silent about the events that unfolded in the past month during my practicum. However, I don't feel that I am crossing any lines when I say that I adored all of my 6th graders and I really enjoyed the opportunity I had to work with them. We had a terrific time together, exploring microscopes and fungi and finding creative uses for my empty food boxes. I'm sorry you got your hopes up about the pop tarts every. single. time.

The past month and a half was a blur of three things: drama, work, and ever increasing amounts of caffeine. But I walked out of it with the one thing I have been working towards for the past three years: an internship. In the fall, I will have my very own gaggle of fifth graders in my very own classroom at Wasatch Elementary.

We interviewed Wednesday morning and were told to wait by our phones from 3-5 that afternoon for the call that would tell us who, if anyone, offered us a position. Those few hours in between were some of the most stretched out minutes of my life. Concentrating on a 1980's Disney thriller is not easy when all you can think of is how your phone might be ringing, glowing silently in your purse in the storage room while you are stuck trying to figure out whether the villain is an alien or a demon. Miss. HM, a fellow student teacher and intern hopeful, was called out during the movie and came back glowing about her new position as a first or second grade teacher. My call came when I was hugging all my students goodbye (I let it go to voice-mail. Priorities).

When I called Neff back and she told me my placement, I cried in relief. I spent the next two days being more relieved than excited, which then turned to nerves, and finally settled into bubbly excitement.