I started my student teaching yesterday. From my very limited experience, I can confidently guess that this semester's teaching experience will be much, much more pleasant than last semester's. I didn't even cry yesterday! That's a big improvement over Day 1 at my old job.

My cooperating/mentor teacher is cool. She's young-ish; probably in her mid-twenties or early thirties. Along with being a cool person, she's pregnant with twins and is due in early June. She says there's a good chance that she'll get put on bed rest, but she's hoping to be working up until at least spring break. That means I'll probably be around to see the long-term sub come in. Great?

There are seven third grade teachers at this school. Seven! They eat lunch together! It's a team! I'm part of a team! This is so exciting. Also, the school day is an hour and fifteen minutes shorter than St Anthony's was, which is great. (It's still 6 hours and 15 minutes, which seems like plenty to me.) Instruction doesn't start until 9:15. Yess! But wait, there's more! We have an hour-long lunch break! Like people are supposed to! Instead of a 20-minute gulp-down-sandwich-and-run-around-like-mad "break!" All in all, it seems like my new school is going to be a much more pleasant work environment than my old one.

Even so, I am itching for May. That diploma is so close now. I just want it, and then I want to move on with my life. Keegan is also itching for May, which doesn't help. I guess we're itching together, at least.