Begin the countdown...

I will be back at my wonderful alma mater in less than four weeks. I'm getting excited! It will be nice to see friends again, to be around people my own age, to get away from some of the requirements my cooperating teacher imposes... But, at the end of this session, I know I will miss the students. I was thinking about that last night and again this morning, about how I look forward to seeing them every day. I don't exactly jump at the opportunity to teach in the traditional, behavioristic manner of my cooperating teacher, but I love talking with the students, getting to know them. I think I've grown closer to them because I am reading their papers, taking their prayer requests, talking to them outside of class. I mentioned to my co-op. teacher yesterday that I can't imagine how close a teacher must get to her students after knowing them all through high school. No wonder people like my yearbook teacher and my spanish teacher cried at graduation each year. They loved us like we were their own kids. There's nothing like a class full of squirming, rascally, but endearing students to arouse the motherly instinct in a single (or married, perhaps) woman.

This semester is flying by. I can't believe I'm already almost done with this first session. I'll be teaching full time for another week and a half, and then I'll start backing out. I can't say I'll miss the material, but I'll miss teaching. I really do enjoy it.