[i'm teaching kindergarten?! - initial reactions]
I am eating plums and drinking chai on my bed trying to wrap my head around my new appointment as a Kindergarten teacher starting the fall.
And I’m wrapping… and wrapping… and wrapping… and…
Yeah, still trying to let it sink in.
Fear is not the correct word. I’m not scared that I’ll be teaching Kindergarten. After all, I’m technically only an Associate Teacher (AT), which means I’ll always have the Master Teacher in the class with me. That said, I still think it’ll be a good exercise for me to list out all that I’m feeling and thinking right now.
what's-her-face
1.) I’m like what’s-her-face from How I Met Your Mother!
Yeah… I can’t remember her name. But you know, she’s the struggling artist living in a big city who decides to teach Kindergarten so that she can pay the bills… I’m not really a starving artist but teaching Kindergarten is technically my transition year job, so we’re sort of in the same boat? Not really.
2.) I must learn to PLAY
A friend of mine, who works at the same school I’ll be teaching at, told me that being an AT for Kindergarten basically means a.) being present and b.) playing with them. And I know for a fact that I’m not very good at either, so if there ever was a life challenge, I guess this is it! I suck at playing… I really do.
3.) I’m going to need to start meditating more…
I imagine Kindergarten to be somewhat chaotic. So I need to make sure I don’t get caught up in all of the chaos and remember to balance myself. Ommmm….
4.) What kinds of bodily fluids will I be encountering?
Need I say more?
"Why will this child not go to sleep?! It's NAP TIME!"
5.) Is there a reason why EVERYONE thinks that this is going to be a horrific experience?
One Facebook status update later, most of my friends are commenting on how they wish me luck, how I could have possibly gotten roped into such a job, and how sorry they are for me. Wait, does no one realize that Kindergarten is a super intense time in a child’s life and I can have an incredible amount of positive influence on these kids?! Apparently most people can only think about the horrors of #4. Can’t blame them… But still!
To be honest, I think I’m pretty excited about Kindergarten. Plus, it’ll give me the greatest polar opposite from teaching 9th grade. This means the most growth and inner reflection as I start to apply to grad schools. I think the multiple perspectives will allow me to narrow down programs I want to apply to and also just make me a stronger candidate.
Hopefully I’ll get to meet with my Master Teacher soon to get the low down… and then I guess it’s The Challenge Part 2 and 2011 – 2012 here I come!
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