“You're off to Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting,
So... get on your way!”
― Dr. Seuss, Oh, the Places You'll Go!
Our conversations sounded a lot like: "Hey, how's your day going? ... Did you get the email yet?" until someone finally yelled out "Placements!!!" in class. There was an absolute frenzy of getting onto a computer or smartphone to know which school, what grades, and what subjects we were each teaching and I love how excited everyone was!
When I finally accessed and read my email, however... I was stunned. I was given the option to teach in Calgary and was very confident that was where I was going. Everyone around me who requested to be there too seemed to be successful so I was feeling pretty sure about it.
Instead, the email said I was going to teach and temporarily live in a completely different city that I have only recently heard of. I'll be teaching Grades 10-12 English and Drama which I am very excited about, but I couldn't help but be in shock about where I was going. Especially since, it's happening less than a month away!
After a few minutes (hours really) of calming my nerves, I shared my news with family and friends. They agreed with how unexpected the placement is but encouraged me to be excited about having such an opportunity! I realized how lucky I am to not only travel to and live in a new city for personal and professional growth, I get to teach High School English!!! Even though, I'm only student teaching, this has been a dream of mine for so long and I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity indeed!
I just looked up the High School's website to learn more about where I'll be teaching and discovered how culturally diverse the community is. I mean, the website can be read in over 30 languages! Wow! I am so excited about this, I couldn't help but email my Teacher Associate at the school and introduce myself. I'm looking forward to working with her, getting to know the students, and expanding my abilities as a Pre-service teacher.
It's been a crazy day but a good one for sure. Even though my practicum doesn't start any time soon, I am looking forward to gathering resources and mentally preparing myself for what I'm sure will be a wonderful, challenging, and rewarding experience.
Stay tuned for the next post! Thank you for reading. Feel free to comment or subscribe for updates :)