Learning is a Journey- Alissa's Blog

This past Thanksgiving was one to remember. The day started at my boyfriend's house and eating with his family, which is always a joy! We then trailed off onto my family's house for dinner, spending hours as the night flew by. That day, that week, I realized that I really do have so much to be thankful for. My friends, family, boyfriend, the opportunity to go to school, each day to live out, failure, struggles, achievements and more. Thanksgiving break opened my eyes to realize all that I should stop taking for granted, and for all that is surrounding me in my life, I am so grateful.

I'm currently stuck in those times during the semester of my senior year of college where I am bombarded with insane amounts of schoolwork and the pressure to take and (hopefully) pass my teaching certification tests. That's all I can really think about; the first exam. I take the PPR on Thursday and I am freaking. All the while having lots of work that needs to be done so I can have a somewhat small amount of time to breathe during Thanksgiving break. Needless to say, I sure am ready to get this week over and head home to see my family!

Today I did my first read aloud to my first grade class, and it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be! I did well overall, but there were definitely some areas that I could work on. I read Alan's Big Scary Teeth to my class and consistently asked questions on what they think might happen next, who the main character is and what they're feeling or how the other characters feel, etc. Although I do have a noisy and easily distracted group, my kids were very willing and engaged in our conversations. My cooperating teacher thought I did really well but also gave me a good amount of information that I will keep in mind for next time, for example, not to be afraid to stop the discussion or reading when the kids get distracted or using more time for discussion, etc. Overall, I'm glad I got to experience my first read aloud with my class and get some good feedback from my cooperating teacher.

Today, our class had a substitute teacher. It was expected to me that all teachers will have different teaching strategies, but today was a bit harder for me to accommodate to the substitute's teaching style. The teacher was completely different from how my cooperating teacher directed the classroom by the way she disciplined strictly and taught the lessons in a different way that my teacher normally would. It nonetheless gave me another aspect as to how I should follow through with another teaching strategy and learn from that as well. I'm glad that I got to observe a different teaching strategy other than my cooperating teacher's and how it worked with my class. It was something to learn from, no matter how different!

Roommates. This situation can go one way or the other; either good or bad. This year, my situation has been really good. My roommates encourage me, push me to be a better version of myself, take time to listen to me, laugh with me, cry with me, and do everything and more. As I'm sitting here writing this, I'm surrounded by the constant love, laughter and positivity that this household always has when I walk through the door. They truly bring my mood up when having long, tiring days like today. Having roommates like these make me realize how important it is to surround yourself with people who uplift you and encourage you to do better both for the world and yourself.

I am apart of a sorority at Texas State called Chi Omega. Speaking of, I'm currently sitting here in our chapter meetings that we hold once a week to constantly update our organization as a whole and any other additional information to get involved with Texas State and our sorority overall. This fraternity has taught me to really grow out of my shell and formed me into the woman I have become today. A lot of the times, especially in my senior year, I get tired of coming to these meetings and don't have the motivation to really go, that is until I actually show up and am reminded of how uplifting and encouraging my sisters can be and how quick my day can turn around. It made me think and relate to how sometimes this may occur when I have my own classroom, how some days will be rough or I'll be tired, etc. until I am reminded of how positive and uplifting I can be for my students because they're doing just the same for me. Moral of the story of this Tuesday, how you go a