And it beings

My hope is that I will be able to set aside time at least once a week, but hopefully daily, for reflection on my semester as a student teacher.
Tomorrow is the first of two seminars required for the semester where I will learn about how to end my college career of six years and start my career as an educator. I'll learn about the PDP (professional development plan) which is now used in place of the credits teachers used to take to keep up their certification.
The PDP is a 4-5 year plan where I set a goal or two and then work on it and document that work and any progress until the fourth year. At that point I gather a committee to review my goal and progress reports. I'll have some say about who is on the committee, but I must choose from the predetermined list.
We will be instructed on portfolio 3 and have the opportunity to talk to principals about the interview process and what they look for on a resume. I will also find out who my supervising professor will be and meet with him/her for about 2 hours. There will be time for lunch and a couple of breaks. These seminars take the entire day.
I was talking to Nathan and Stephanie the other day about their past experiences with student teachers. They told me, "don't be scared. It's so obvious and so stupid for them to be scared." But I am scared. Not of the students necessarily, but of the critique from the professors. I hate the grade part of all this schooling. Like the possibility of a better grade is going to make my brain work better!
My first placement will be in a Learning Disabilities classroom with fifth and sixth graders. What are fifth and sixth graders supposed to be learning? I have never been placed in anything above the second grade! Hopefully my experience with my siblings, my children and my church callings with the youth will help out when it comes to disposition of fifth and sixth graders. This placement runs from Tuesday, January 26 until Thursday April1.
My second placement starts Monday April 5 and finishes Wednesday June 9. I will be in a general education classroom with fifth graders. Hopefully my experience with the students in my first placement will help with the experience with students in my second placement.
Two different schools. Two different districts. Less than 10 miles apart.
As of now, I don't really know how much homework (lesson planning) I will have. So I don't know what kind of schedule I will have as far as school, homework, and family time. And really I expect it to continually change as the semester goes along because as I take on more and more classroom responsibilities, I expect to have more and more homework. But I still in-vision being able to come home from "work" and fix dinner, spend time with the kids and go to bed at a decent hour. No more all nighters!
At the moment I am contemplating what to take to school for lunch for the next 16 weeks. I can't afford school lunch and I don't always have left overs that are conducive to a lunch bag. Sandwiches are going to get really boring.