I couldn’t fall asleep the night before the first day of school because I was so excited. When I arrived at the elementary school, I mostly observed, but I also tried to get to know the students because I knew they were probably just as nervous as me since it was also their first day of school. Everything went by so quickly, and before I knew it, I had already finished my first day. I was relieved; I realized that I could do this. This internship seems overwhelming if you look at the big picture, but if you take it day by day it is manageable.
Reflecting on this semester helped me realize that I had learned a few things about myself:
1) I need a lot less sleep than I previously thought. My sleep schedule has changed from at least 10 hours a night to maybe squeezing in 6 hours. This took a couple weeks to adjust to, but now I wake up on time without an alarm clock. This is a good thing except on weekends when I am trying to recover from a busy week, but I can’t sleep past 8AM.
2) I was able to keep my job. It is possible to go to the elementary school all day and then go straight to work and close. There were many times when I thought I would turn my two- weeks notice in and quit, but I decided I would stay for just one more week. Then the next week would turn into one more week, and finally I made up my mind that I will just keep my job until PDS 2.
3) Almost everything I learned at UNT can really be applied in the classrooms. I knew I was learning important information in my courses, but I thought I wouldn’t ever really apply it in the classroom. This is because I didn’t think it would be practical to pull out my notes and try to find something about classroom management, or anything else for that matter when teaching. However, I found out that I didn’t have to pull out my notes because the information was drilled into my brain. All of my classes built upon each other, and I seemed to remember the important aspects of being a teacher. Of course, I’m still learning each day, and I have learned the most through this real-life experience at the elementary schools, but the courses gave me a solid foundation to build on.
Now that PDS 2 is approaching, I’m starting to feel the same feelings I did over the summer. However, being an intern this semester has taught me that I can do it. The internships are a gradual process of learning, and I know if I take it day by day I will be successful.
Monica Michaud