I didn't realize how big a holiday Valentine's day was. We had secret sweethearts among the staff, a week before V-Day. The students were giving each other gifts all day. Mr. Tankson, the principal, came by to give me a chocolate bar and ask to be my valentine. I kept getting little candy treats, and cards throughout the day. It was amazing. I've never been a big V-day person, but it seems like everyone loves the holiday here.
]]>So much has been happening these past few days that it is hard to know where to start. I choose to join the Mississippi Teacher Corps for two main reasons. One, I wanted to teach but I wasn't certified. Two, this was the best program I found. Partly because of the free Masters degree, but more because of the people. As I was researching the program I spent some time on the website just looking around. What I saw was a small program that seemed very supportive and friendly. This first impression of the program stayed with me through the application process, phone interview, and then reading the blogs after I was accepted. That first impression hasn't changed since I have been here.
I left Michigan excited, but also nervous and frankly downright scared. I was an adult and not only was I going to be responsible for myself but also for a class of middle school students. That was a terrifying thought at first. The longer I am here among the members of the Teacher Corps the more comfortable I become. I'm still nervous, but now its the good, healthy kind, not the terror filled kind.
I have also had some time to settle in now, the first day was spent unpacking, then the second day was full of introductions and learning more about the school districts and program. I'm not going to lie, it was a little overwhelming. It was a good kind of overwhelming and I was (and still am) excited to be here, but that first day we heard over 50 new names and faces, all friendly but just the sheer number intimidating.
The frisbee game Tuesday night was a great way to get to know people better and just get used to being with all these new people. I think it was at that game that I started to feel like I could really live here. All in all, if I had to give these first few days of the program a grade it would be an A.