My First Day as an Intern

There were so many thoughts and feelings going through me this morning as I pulled up to the elementary school for my first day in the classroom as an intern. I was nervous, what if the students don't respect me as a teacher? I was anxious, what if the collaborating teacher just doesn't like me or doesn't want me in her classroom? I was excited, this is the first day of my teaching career. This is the day I begin making a difference in the lives of students.

I immediately felt at home in my classroom. As students began entering the room, I noticed that the teacher not only greeted each student, but also asked them HOW they would like to be greeted. Each student was to choose between a high five, fist bump, handshake, or hug. I never noticed the impact this had on students until today. It seemed to let each student know that they were important and had a role in the classroom.

It was soon time for Morning Meeting, the teacher introduced me to the class as Miss Pawlik and said that I would be there as a second teacher every Tuesday. She incorporated a lesson into my introduction, asking each student to predict whether I would A: Love first grade so much that I would want to stay at the end of the semester, or B: Decide that I want to explore other grade levels. The final tally was 13 students said they predict I will love first grade and want to stay, and 7 students predicted that I might want to explore other options. I was also able to observe the "Quail Bucks" system in this school during this lesson. Students are rewarded with a Quail Buck when they are safe, responsible, kind, or bold in the classroom. The 8th student during this poll was bold when he chose to follow his own path and be the first to choose a different option then the first 7 students. 

As the day went on, the students got more comfortable with me in the classroom. They began asking me for help if they needed it and treated me as if I was on the same level as their regular teacher. This made an impact on me because I am use to being a visitor or observer in classrooms, so to be accepted and treated as part of the class was an amazing feeling.

My favorite part of today was being able to see the teacher implement the different strategies that we have learned about in our teacher preparation courses in the classroom. Getting to see what works and doesn't work is great and gives me the opportunity to kind of decide what I might want to try with them down the road.

Overall today was an amazing day and a great learning experience. I am choosing to follow in my students' footsteps and make a prediction of my own. I predict that this will be a wonderful year in a wonderful classroom. I can't wait to see where this all goes!