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How many days until Thanksgiving break?



These last few weeks have been some of the toughest weeks I've ever been though. UCI school has picked up and I've begun to teach lessons at my observation placement. Writing lesson plans and learning what works and what does not in a classroom has been eye opening. I've had a few bad lessons and learning on the spot about classroom management and directing students has been exhausting. It's rough being the student teacher and not the real teacher and I've had to learn how to present myself as an authoritative figure that students need to listen to. Creating a lesson that successfully engaged the students wile also touching on state standards while also planning for every minute of the day is nearly impossible. I've had a few tears but also some really great teaching moments. I was able to reteach a lesson that went going so poorly my Mentor Teacher had to stop and discipline the students the first time I did it. It was incredibly discouraging that I was not able to maintain control of the class but I was so grateful that my Mentor Teacher pushed me to try again. I revised my lesson and tried a new way of leading it and it went amazing. Before, when students were shouting out and literally yelling as I was teaching, on my 2nd attempt they were writing their ideas on sticky notes and sharing using the sentence frames I provided. It was amazing. Even some of my special friends that need to practice classroom behavior were participating and working together with their peers. Some of my lesson plans have fallen flat on their face (*cough*PE*cough*) but I've also had some lessons that went okay. My classroom management has gotten much better and I've started gaining a little more confidence in leading a class.
It's been easy to doubt myself and question whether I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing. The students can be pretty crazy at times and I wonder if total classroom management is possible. It's crazy how much my ideas about teaching have changed since I've started actually working in a classroom. There's so much to do and so little time to do it!
Also, I'm preparing to take the RICA in December (it's the 3.5 hour test I take that allows me to be qualified to teach reading) and I've also started thinking about and preparing for the edTPA (the credential process where we have to write lesson plans, film ourselves teaching, and send it in to be graded by the state). There's a lot of pressure to get everything done and I know that in just over 7 months, I'll be done (hopefully) and ready to start looking for a job (yikes!!!).
I'm so lucky to have so many people that have encouraged and supported me, even when I doubt myself. Right now, I'm just trying to get through one day at a time, trying to make sure I survive each week as it come. New can someone please tell me...how many days until Thanksgiving break?!

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