My interactions with other people in the building continue to become more natural as time goes on. I have learned my way around and have gotten to meet some other great teachers. There is one teacher at the end of my hallway that continues to think of me when she comes across helpful resources. She just gave me a stack of some great things this week! I really appreciate her giving me different worksheets and resources that I can use in the future. Also, every time I am in the copy room I am able to meet and talk with different teachers in the building. I am meeting some of the special education staff as well. My cooperating teacher and I eat lunch with two other fourth grade teachers and their student teachers (Meggie and Diane are one pair :)) almost every day. We can all talk together about lessons and how the day is going and it is beneficial to have other student teachers to talk with as well. I am happy to be staying at Lake Harriet for my second placement so I can continue to meet more people.
My cooperating teacher is very busy during the day, but we find small amounts of time throughout to talk about things. We also met one time outside of school to plan which was very helpful because the school day is full of interruptions. My cooperating teacher is easy to talk to and offers good ideas and feedback when I ask her. She makes sure to communicate to me what lessons she is planning to teach each day so I know what to expect. We tried parrell teaching for the first time this week which was good experience. I try my best to help her with whatever she needs throughout the day and I think we are getting along well. I wish I had more time to pick her brain!!
Your comments, and Meggie's, about life at Lake Harriet Upper send the strong message that it's a supportive, welcoming community. You're fortunate to be having that experience. We like to think that all teachers "pay it forward" by being attentive to pre-service teachers, offering advice and resources, but it doesn't always work that way. Too often, teachers get caught up in their own classroom lives and forget to look outward--it happens to everyone at some point and it's understandable, but it sounds to me like the teachers at LHUS strive to make the school inclusive and dynamic. I'm glad to hear it. And I'm sure you're an asset to their community, so that makes it easy to look out for you!
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