Mountains to climb

Megan and I have been going to Coventry for three weeks now, it has been a challenge with the rotating schedules and to add to it the really weird system under which we have to work on.  Of the numerous times we went, we have only seen one of the classes twice, the other we have only seen once or probably just maybe never.  The one we did see, we are not teaching, yes,,,hard to understand and we are still trying to figure how we are going to work all this out.  So for collaborative goals, I believe we are going into this HOPEFUL...very hopeful that even though we don't know the students by name or had time to build even a small connection they will be open to letting us teach them.  After all the first time we were there they called us "strangers," something that lingers in the back of my mind as I picture myself standing in front of their classroom.  Together we wish to work things out in a way where we can accomplish something with what we have planned.  Our week begins with creating name tags to become familiar with students until the very end that will consist of a piece of argumentative writing.  That is one thing we know about our students and we have seen across all the different classes we have observed...they LOVE to argue!!!

My personal goals consist of beating the little voices inside my head; those that tell me middle school is so different from high school and make me doubt myself and the others that tell me I don't know these students, who am I to teach them.  Indeed high school was very different, I bonded with the students way before we started teaching them and I had learned names the first week; not to mention we had been invited to take over and teach before it had translated into an assignment.  I also want to prove to myself that while I may not teach middle school for a living and my "true passion" in teaching doesn't rely with middle schoolers or away from the English world that I love so much, I will still be able to embrace the moment and make the best out of it.  Yes it's a different environment, yes there are challenges already but at the end I want to breathe and say "I did it, I climbed another mountain and conquered it...I survived another environment in the teaching world."