Student Teaching: Part 1

It felt so good to get back into the school environment this week! My first week of student teaching went well, even though I didn't get to actually teach much. I get along great with my cooperating teacher and she is extremely knowledgeable. I'm finding that the more I learn about running a school library, the more I don't know. Coming from an elementary background, I'm unfamiliar with a lot of the authors and books that the students are asking for. I'm not too worried, though, because I figure the longer I work as a librarian, the more I'll learn. I'm hoping to take on more teaching responsibility next week!

Snowed Out

Last Friday I left Pittsburgh to spend a weekend with my sister's family in Kentucky. Because the forecast was calling for a major snowstorm to hit Pittsburgh by 7am, I left my apartment in the wee hours of the morning. I figured with the snow coming, it would definitely be good time to be out of town and around other people. I didn't want to be stranded in my small apartment by myself for days!

The visit was great! I got to spend quality time with my sister, her husband, and their 9-month old son. We spent a lot of time cooking, eating, and watching movies. While everyone was gone during the day, I spent time on my school work and doing some housekeeping for them.

I planned to drive back to Pittsburgh Monday morning. However, I was working on a project for which I had to make 80 hardcopies of an informational sheet. I knew that it was supposed to start snowing again in Pittsburgh by 8am the next day and wasn't sure if I'd make it to the copiers on time before the class started at 6pm. What if the copiers were closed? Thankfully, my sister graciously offered me the use of her copier. However, after everything was said and done, my belongings were packed, and my car de-snowed it was 6pm - meaning I would not get back to the 'burgh before 1am. Less than five minutes after saying my good-byes, my phone rang. It was an automated message from the University stating that it would be closed on Tuesday. I had to listen to the message a second time to make sure I heard it correctly - I was in shock! That would never have happened at my undergrad university! A phone call from a friend immediately afterward confirmed my hearing concerns. I turned around and went back to my sister's place, not in the least disappointed to spend a couple more days with my nephew!

Turns out that the University closed Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. In addition to that, both of my Thursday classes met online rather than in person, so I stayed the entire week in Kentucky. I just returned last night and the roads still look pretty bad. I'm sooooo glad I wasn't here for the worst of it!