Dear Ashley Jean,
Congratulations for surviving the first four years at UNH. I know it was not easy - your best friend and roommate discovering she was pregnant the first weekend you arrived, being away from home for long stretches of time, not feeling like you fit in with the "party" atmosphere and how that made you an outsider not to mention all of the actual school work you had to do - Please, be proud of yourself for this accomplishment; it is worthy of praise.
Now, though, as you embark upon your year-long internship and your first experience with teaching, I would like to offer you some advice.
First - when looking for a Mentor Teacher you will attempt the path of least resistance, either because you are lazy or because you're afraid of talking to adults (or both). Rest assured, though, that even though you waited until the last minute and chose the only available Mentor teaching, things will still turn out OK.
Next - Forget everything you learned in your English Teaching classes during undergrad. Yes, it was "valuable" work, but no, your perfect-world lesson plans are no match for real, live 6th graders.
Remember - Don't let them smell your fear! You will be anxious the ENTIRE time you're teaching that these students will realize you have no idea what you're doing and run you out of the building. Accept this fear and bury it deeply. If they smell weakness, they will pounce. So - speak with authority and hope they don't question you.
Lean on the Interns - you will not survive this experience without leaning on the other interns. Together you will learn about what it means to be a teacher, how to develop a relationship with students, and that it's OK to falter. Soak up all you can from them. Appreciate the relationships you'll build. They are wonderful people and your time with them will change you.
Mike and John are Invaluable - Your adviser, Mike, and Mentor Teacher, John, will be essential to this first year. They will guide you through all of the ups and downs that happen in teaching. Mike will be the calm, sturdy presence who challenges you and supports you at the same time. John will lead by example - watch him closely as he leads the class, interacts with students, and collaborates with his colleagues. You will learn more from those observations that you can ever know.
Even when you don't think so, you will make it through this alive. There will be issues in your personal life that make teaching seem unimportant. It will be exhausting - emotionally and mentally - to deal with everything that comes your way. I want to warn you that December and January will be particularly challenging, but know this: Aunt Andy will survive her heart attack and she is still alive and well today. Dad and the dog will make it out of the fire alive, and while he may lose all of his possessions, he does not lose his spirit. Vertigo is horrible, but it will pass and you'll only be left dizzy because of your blondness. And Matt - oh, Matt - he will survive his snowboarding accident and he will walk again. In fact, the two of you will realize just how important you are to each other and the world will find it's center.
You are happily married today, and he is the best thing in your life.
Trust the process, Ashley Jean. Life will throw you curve balls and obstacles, but you will find a way to persevere. With the help of your friends, fellow teachers, Matt, your family - the community that surrounds you - you will make it through and be better for it. You will even stumble into the amazingness that is the National Writing Project which will only add to your journey of self discovery.
Great things are waiting in your future. Just trust the process.
Your older and slightly less anxious self,
Ashley "Sarcasmo" Nicol
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