Reflections

Some days I feel defeated. True story-teaching can be really defeating. (And for all you full-time teachers out there, you probably agree even moreso since you do it 5 days a week). The victory is found in the hope that God has called me to do it, so I know everything’s gonna be alright. If God is for me then who can be against me? That’s right, no one. But still, some days it feels like the doubt overshadows the faith. And then God comes on the scene in all his amazing ways that still blow me away. Let me just fill you in on some reflections from this semester of interning:

I went on a field trip in March with my OSTE’s Kindergarten class; I rode with a parent to the final destination while the students rode the Amtrak train. I am so glad and so thankful I got the opportunity to travel with this parent. We talked about where we were from, where I go to school and where she went to school, her kids, magnet schools, and then I mentioned Daystar. She exclaimed that she used to live right near Daystar and she knew of Pastor Allen. I also mentioned Urban Ministries and we started talking about Grace Community Church in Greensboro and the awesome work they do with the homeless and her knowledge of the church. She told me about where she spent a lot of time with her grandparent who lived in the Burlington area and she explained how the area has changed over time. She told me all about her grandmother, now her kids’ great-grandmother and how she is still going strong in her 90’s. We had been driving around downtown Burlington looking for coffee and happened upon two places that were closed before we hit one that was open. When we reached the second shop, I insisted on paying for a coffee while she insisted right back that she was going to pay for me. She looked at me and said something to the effect of ‘Considering you go to Daystar, I assume you know of the Grace of Jesus Christ’. I smiled widely and said ‘Yes mam I do’. This parent who bought me a cup of coffee and took the time to have great conversation with me just made my day! And the funny thing is, God knew that was exactly what I needed. He knew that I needed to see the classroom from a different perspective. I believe that deep down, most parents want was is best for their child and they love them immensely. Each child I teach and will teach is someone’s child. It made teaching so much more personal for me to have this interaction with this particular parent and I’m so thankful for it.

Reflection number 2: The day I got to spend with 11 EC students at a festival, wow! I’ve always said I could never work with Exceptional Children, but after taking the time to learn and interact with these brilliant kids, I have completely reversed that statement. This was a diverse group of students and their personalities and needs were all different; it was a blessing to see these students so curious, engaged, and they loved to just be around me and hold my hand or ask questions. Again, God knew exactly what I needed. It definitely revived me and my desire to teach.

All of this reflecting noted, I am officially done interning for my junior year (How crazy is it that I graduate in about one year!!), and will be interning and student teaching in 5^th grade at the school I interned at during my fall semester. Wooot J