Hi!

Hello there!  This is my first blog post in a very long time and I’m hoping I can still do a good job at it.  I’m Lauren and I am currently student teaching in a 1^st grade classroom in Bucks County, PA.  I am in graduate school, career-changing from a business/pharmaceutical background.  I have previously worked in marketing research for the pharma industry, as a manager of a local independent bookshop, and as an assistant at a pharmaceutical clinical research imaging core lab.  Teaching has always been my passion, and I am finally returning to the career path I was on back in 2001-2003 when I first began my undergraduate career.

I began student teaching just two weeks ago, and I am already overwhelmed with the amount or work and preparation that goes into each day.  I was aware that student teaching was a full-time job and that it is a lot of work, but I don’t think I quite grasped how much there is to do.  I have gotten quicker at writing out lesson plans, though, and learned in a recent online class that I do not have to write long-form lesson plans for each and every lesson I do – only those that will be observed or video taped.  I think that will help a great deal.

So this blog is really to gather my thoughts, generate discussion among teachers, and share resources and ideas that I have found to be helpful along the way.  I have a journal writing requirement, so I think that blogging will work alongside my journaling requirement.  I can use portions of the blog in my journals and vice versa.  I look forward to sharing my experiences!