Being Anxious Isn't A Bad Thing

This was the first week of classes back at Western Carolina University, and it seems so far that I have a couple of classes that are essential to my success this semester with professors who are dedicated to helping me whenever possible, which makes the upcoming semester a bit less menacing.

However, I have yet to actually meet my cooperating teacher, Mrs. Teresa Davis. Until this past Wednesday, I was scheduled to meet her and get to know her classroom, the school, and the rest of her team on Thursday. Unfortunately, a meeting and training session came u that left her unable to meet, except for early in the morning, and I was too far away to meet her on time.

There is good news about her meeting though--she now has access to a brand new iPad 2 in her classroom! This will open up entirely new possibilities for the 22-year teacher, and I am sincerely hoping that we will be able to find a few new uses together.

As things stand now, I will be attending the first days of West Henderson's classes, hopefully attending for a short period on Monday and for the entire day on Tuesday. I expect that this will be the best time to meet the students--on the day that Mrs. Davis does as well. I hope that this will let the students get used to both she and I as their teachers, rather than becoming acquainted with her first and then seeing me as a total outsider.

Being there all day on Tuesday will also allow me to do some planning with Mrs. Davis, to see what kind of lessons she thinks I should teach, and what I can do in the meantime. I'm incredibly excited to be up in front of the class to teach for the first time, but I am anxious knowing that it will be a long road. Thankfully, I have numerous supporters, and I know that mistakes are opportunities to learn and grow.