My First Work T-Shirt!

Well, August has come back around, and this year, instead of prepping for another full time graduate student schedule, I’m prepping for my new career. I have been hired as a high school art teacher, teaching Photo 1 and Art 1 classes and it’s time to hit the ground running. I’ve also ‘officially’ graduated from Columbia, and I will be receiving my diploma in a couple of weeks. I’m about to lay on the cheese factor and admit, two years has gone by so fast. (Or at least it seems that way since Columbia kept me so crazy busy.)

One of My Classrooms

My week has been filled daily with meetings, orientations and more meetings. I’ve been introduced to superintendents, principals, deans and the whole gamut which was nice, because now I have a slight more inclination as to what all these people actually do in understanding how a major school system works. Yesterday, my orientation ended by hopping on a bus with other new staff members of the district and getting a tour of the neighborhood and schools that was narrated by my boss on the overhead speaker. Cheese factor again, it was awesome! I have officially switched over and been initiated to the teacher side by taking my teacher ID photo, of course it’s not the best picture to begin with, topped off with pixelation and stretching as well. I’m trying quickly to pick up my second set of teacher language as I am introduced to the plethora of acronyms used throughout the school for departments, curricula, websites, safety protocol, etc. Luckily, my colleagues have been really helpful and are not bothered by my millionth question.

Blick Art Kits Arrived on Time

I met today for the first time my mentor that I will be paired up with during my first year of teaching to act as my coach. I’m sharing rooms with another art teacher that I am super excited about and our art kits came in today as well from Dick Blick. I’m excited to teach projects using these brand new materials that I am fortunate for my students to have, as well as work on some found material projects too. Together, we’re prepping the room to make sure that we’re ready for Monday, the first day of school. On that note, I’ve got to run, but before I do, I want to say thanks for reading my posts along the way to get a taste of what the MAT Art Ed program is like at Columbia College. This is my last blog that will be followed by the new ambassador, Jeni! It’s been a blast and I can say that I’m truly ready to teach with the experiences I have gained by being in the program. If you’re thinking of going back to school to become a teacher, DO IT!