Student teaching as an odyssey (or how I became a Mohian again)
So, I had spent approximately five days spread over two weeks with my cooperating teacher (CT) at Mary G. Montgomery. I was gearing up to teach US HY from 1900 to today and Govt/econ, when on my first official day of student teaching, at 7 AM, my CT informed me that I needed a new placement.
I had spent two days helping him prepare his classroom; I was there the first two days of school while South was not in session and they could not require me to be there. The day before he told me I needed a new placement (Sunday, Aug. 19), he told me to start preparing for my ten day teaching unit. What happened?
Sometime between his e-mail telling me to prepare and Monday morning, he and his wife made the decision to induce labor and that he will take 3-5 weeks paternity leave. In short, I couldn't be observed, so I needed a new CT.
By 2:00 that day, when an individual in the college of ed called me to tell me that they were starting to look for a place to put me , I realized that this wasn't a problem but an opportunity.
The individual said, "we can probably put you at Satsuma, Davidson, or Theodore...they respond to us the quickest..."
I said, "Give me until tomorrow around 10 am to check with Murphy." I know Murphy well since that is where I went to high school. Plus, I consider it a great training ground due to the diversity of the student body. I called and left a message with M. Estle's secretary. Then, I called Mr. McLean and asked him to track down Mr. Estle and tell him the situation. Mr. McLean called me back within 10 minutes and gave me instructions as to how to make the placement happen.
At 7:30 this morning (Tuesday), Mr. Estle called me personally with a placement at Murphy. My CT is Mrs. Mackenzie and we are teaching US HY to 1900 and Comparative Religions. The paperwork at USA was processed by 2:30 this afternoon.
I could not ask for a better assignment. Religious history is what I want a doctorate in, and US HY t0 1900 is a particularly strong point of mine (though I prefer modern US HY). Murphy was where I wanted to be in the first place, but MGM was not a bad gig either, especially having such an awesome and highly recommended CT.
As a conflict theorist, I generally detest the "good ol' boy" system, however; I couldn't have cashed in this favor without the hard work I did while I was at Murphy. While I am grateful to have friends and acquaintances in high places, I am more thankful that I had the presence of mind in my high school years to prove myself worthy of having people go the extra mile to help.
As for my old CT, he told me that it was nothing personal and I believe him. It was a bad set of circumstances and our obligations contrasted. There are no hard feelings at all and I'm glad he's taking the paternity leave (I think all men should take it if they have the opportunity).
I had spent two days helping him prepare his classroom; I was there the first two days of school while South was not in session and they could not require me to be there. The day before he told me I needed a new placement (Sunday, Aug. 19), he told me to start preparing for my ten day teaching unit. What happened?
Sometime between his e-mail telling me to prepare and Monday morning, he and his wife made the decision to induce labor and that he will take 3-5 weeks paternity leave. In short, I couldn't be observed, so I needed a new CT.
By 2:00 that day, when an individual in the college of ed called me to tell me that they were starting to look for a place to put me , I realized that this wasn't a problem but an opportunity.
The individual said, "we can probably put you at Satsuma, Davidson, or Theodore...they respond to us the quickest..."
I said, "Give me until tomorrow around 10 am to check with Murphy." I know Murphy well since that is where I went to high school. Plus, I consider it a great training ground due to the diversity of the student body. I called and left a message with M. Estle's secretary. Then, I called Mr. McLean and asked him to track down Mr. Estle and tell him the situation. Mr. McLean called me back within 10 minutes and gave me instructions as to how to make the placement happen.
At 7:30 this morning (Tuesday), Mr. Estle called me personally with a placement at Murphy. My CT is Mrs. Mackenzie and we are teaching US HY to 1900 and Comparative Religions. The paperwork at USA was processed by 2:30 this afternoon.
I could not ask for a better assignment. Religious history is what I want a doctorate in, and US HY t0 1900 is a particularly strong point of mine (though I prefer modern US HY). Murphy was where I wanted to be in the first place, but MGM was not a bad gig either, especially having such an awesome and highly recommended CT.
As a conflict theorist, I generally detest the "good ol' boy" system, however; I couldn't have cashed in this favor without the hard work I did while I was at Murphy. While I am grateful to have friends and acquaintances in high places, I am more thankful that I had the presence of mind in my high school years to prove myself worthy of having people go the extra mile to help.
As for my old CT, he told me that it was nothing personal and I believe him. It was a bad set of circumstances and our obligations contrasted. There are no hard feelings at all and I'm glad he's taking the paternity leave (I think all men should take it if they have the opportunity).