feedback

This last week was a real bear to get through. I spent over 20 hours last weekend on assignments/projects/lessons due over the last seven days and I am completely worn out. I came home from class yesterday and slept from 4pm until 9pm. Then I woke up to grab something quick to eat for dinner before passing out asleep again until 8am this morning. For those of you who are not aware, 7am is "sleeping in" for me... even on the weekend. Clearly, my body was in need of some major rest in order to recover.

What makes crazy weeks like this one worth it? Knowing that my work is appreciated and the quality matches the time invested.

My observation was one of the bigger issues on my plate this week. I was supervised during my literature lesson on Thursday (the one on Strega Nona I posted about recently) and felt great about it. The kids, of course, loved the story and laughed like only first graders can at the part where Big Anthony gets fat from eating all the pasta. My supervisor seemed to like the lesson as much as the kids. I got some really positive and encouraging feedback from her about my lesson plans themselves, as well as my teaching methods.

Then, this afternoon I checked our online assignment site and saw that my literacy professor returned my second draft of our main paper with her comments. She had some very positive things to say about the paper and my writing which made me feel so encouraged.

To top it off, I earned an A on my math methods midterm exam.

Each of these achievements individually are great, but to come all at once after a week like this week seems like a huge gift of encouragement. I greatly respect all three of these professors who assessed my work this week and to get such great results and feedback from them makes me feel like my hard work is finally paying off. This program can feel so challenging. It is a wonderful experience to have people who have been there before tell you that you not only have what it takes, but that you have a true talent for the task.