Monica Squared

Since I jumped the gun on this blog a little bit and technically wont be starting my student teaching for another week or so, I figured I might as well do what every good teacher does: provide some background knowledge.  As the legend of the GU Ed program Foster Walsh would say, some "behind the eyes information."  Clever, no?

As alluded to in my last post, I will be working with about 6 sophomore English classes.  I'm at a local high school which is a whopping 5 minute drive from my humble abode and stomping grounds, which is great in regards to convenience, not so great in regards to running into students outside of school potential.  I may just avoid all likely hang out spots for 15/16 year olds with their newly obtained licenses- the mall, the movies, restaurants, Starbucks- which leaves me with just about one safe extracurricular option: The bars.

Now for the best part of this whole gig: my cooperating teacher.  First off, it's such a strange title because it sounds like this poor innocent high school teacher is being tortured into hosting a student teacher in their classroom, and for succumbing to this horrible burden they are "cooperating."  I guess in some cases this holds true, but certainly not in mine.  I worked with this same teacher for a field experience last year, and she kicks a whole lot of ass, and you're about to find out why:

First name of cooperating teacher- MONICA.

First day meeting her for my field experience:
       Student: Hey Ms. L, how was the concert?
       L: Oh it was awesome
       Me: What concert did you go to?
       L: Snoop Dogg in Seattle

Little did I know, my teacher was not only cooperative, she was my soul mate.

So now hopefully you're excited not only for the personal rants and raves of Me Monica, but now you get to look forward to the general kickassishness of Teacher Monica.  There's your Behind the Eyes information, do with it what you will, but I'd say this whole student teaching business is off to a rip-roaringly good start.

Preliminary Nonsense

Why did I decide to start a blog about my student teaching?  Is it because I think I'm going to get a mass following of people who worship my eloquence in the written word?  Is it because I think I've got some groundbreaking strategies in the field of teaching that I ought to share with the world?  Not really, I made it with a more pretentious motive in mind:  I sometimes think my life is entertaining and I figured I might as well share it.  At first I thought this whole blogging sphere was an excellent practice in narcissism... but when I look back on the journals I've kept since 5th grade, it's almost even more selfish to write all these thoughts for my eyes only (a warning made clear on the cover of the diary chronicling my middle school years).  Which brings me to another random self-conscious justification I feel that need to make: the URL of this blog is the failed attempt at me being clever.  After several rejected URL names (because apparently I'm not the only mnash in the world) I thought Chronicles of Monica was painfully clever since it almost, sort of, kind of sounds like a certain series which I once loved (wont watch the new movies because it's just not the same, didn't read the books because the revelation of Lewis' blatant religious agenda steered me away).  Anyway, that URL was also taken and I was starting to get irritated, so I settled with Chronicle of Monica. I know it's singular. I know it's not the same. I got over it.  I hope you can too.

SO, the sole purpose of this blog is to give me a place to share the amusing (and not-so-amusing) tales of my semester as a student teacher, hence the title. Hopefully you understand the whole oxymoron of being both a student and a teacher at the same time.  If you didn't, you should now.  If I'm not entertaining enough, I can say with unwavering assurance that the English classes of high school sophomores I will be teaching should definitely provide me with some fodder for this blog and for your reading pleasure.

So, there's that.