Anticipation

I put myself in the shoes of the authors when reading the stories about first day nerves and excitement. To this day I still get nervous on the first day of school, mostly due to a fear of the unknown. I feel that this day must be even more nerve-wracking for teachers than students. The first day of class is a first impression. Kids will either leave feeling excited for what is in store for the year or dreading the semester. That is a lot of pressure!

It is interesting to read about diversity in schools because I have grown up in a place where most people are white middle class Americans. I haven’t witnessed firsthand someone get beat up based on religion or the color of his or her skin. A friend of mine did her student teaching only twenty minutes away in Portland and had eight kids in her class named Muhammad.

The story that I could most relate to was the story when a teacher inadvertently became a sex education teacher. Answering the questions that the students asked of her was way out of the teacher’s comfort zone, but she was able to determine that this was valuable knowledge for the students. She was able to put her own discomfort aside and be open with the students with a subject that was important. I have struggled with saying words I previously had thought were inappropriate to say in school when I was working at Mt. Blue high school for practicum. I definitely had to leave my comfort zone for classes such as the reproductive systems and contraceptives, but it definitely was a valuable experience.