I'm Coming Around...

I guess my feelings have evolved slightly since my last post. I no longer feel as though I'm selling out (for the most part) by having chosen to work at my school in the fall. I know that I won't be there forever, probably not more than 3 years, before I move on to a school that I feel is more associated with my calling as an educator. At least I know that I can have a few years of practice and lots of support to develop my personal teaching style a little more. I am getting excited to start and try new things next year, but there still is that little voice in the back of my head whispering "cop out"... hopefully that will go away soon??

School is coming fast... classes start on Sept. 2. I've been working on completing the summer reading, writing my syllabi, and planning my first few weeks of classes. Scary to think that I am going to be a real, full-blown teacher soon. I am so excited and really nervous. I feel like there is going to be a lot of pressure on me this year, particularly from my 10th graders who've already done the "DCD thing" last year and know what to expect of their teachers. Hopefully I can rise to the occasion.

I still can't get over the fact that MAC is actually over and that I've earned my M.A. in one year. It seems like so long ago that I was writing blog entries about how nervous I was to start student teaching, but I also can't believe that it was still only one year ago. I guess we've all gone through a lot this year. I'll be moving out of Ann Arbor in less than 3 weeks, after having lived here for 5 years, and I am super sad about it :( I already miss the people that I grew close with during the course of this program who are already gone (Lo! M!) and don't want to say goodbye to the rest. But it's time to move one. The Deuce has been good to me these past 5 years, and I'll miss it terribly, but I guess I have to grow up.

I miss my CHS kids. I wonder how they're doing.

The Disappointment Settles...

This post is not really education related...

I am starting to become really disappointed with myself in my job choice. I was really looking forward to moving out of the state and into a new, big city. Now that it looks like I will NOT be doing that, I am sad that I didn't make more of an effort to make it happen. One thing I said when I went into this program was that I did not want to stay in Michigan. I also said that I would NEVER work at a prestigious private school. Now I am doing both. What kind of person have I become? Am I selling out? Am I taking the easy way out? Am I just scared of what's out there? I'm so confused and unsettled with my life right now, and I don't know how to sort it out. If I choose not to sign this contract next week, I'll have to start the job hunt all over again, pretty much from square one. I hate feeling like this.

The History of History

I just read this article about Machu Picchu having been discovered 40 years earlier than historians previously believed. It was originally believed to have been discovered by non-natives in 1911 by an American explorer, but the article claims that a German businessman found and looted it 40 years prior.

This made me consider history on a larger scale and wonder what history books written in 1900 were like. I should see if I can find one at a library somewhere and read it to see what kind of inaccuracies exist. The I started to wonder... what are history books in 3000 going to contain? And what kinds of inaccuracies do our books have that we are unaware of? I love that history is constantly evolving and people are discovering new things every day. I love that historians are always trying to uncover new clues about the past and consider things in new ways. I just plain love history. I have a huge list of books I want to read this summer... yay can't wait to start!

In other news, school is almost done. Just 2 more days of finals for me! Gotta finish my e-portfolio though. I should probably be working on that, instead of typing this blog, no?