For the past two weeks, I have been met with the incredible opportunity as a first year college student to complete a job shadow of a high school English educator. I have written a previous article a few weeks back describing what has led me to want to pursue a career in education entitled "I Want to be an English Teacher, So I Can Make my Life Count." In the article I explained that I feel called to serve such a larger purpose in my life other than simply ‘taking care of kids’ or ‘liking the school environment’. During my shadowing, my perspectives on teaching, the classroom, the entire operation of a school building, and even myself have tumbled over themselves down the mountainside repeatedly, as if they were a snowball rapidly descending off a cliff.

When faced with the opportunity to entangle myself within an entirely original atmosphere, I delved immediately into every ounce of knowledge I could soak up. I read teaching manuals and books (well, skimmed them), aided in leading a lesson or two, plugged Gustavus, built rapport with students as well as building faculty, and scribbled at least twenty pages worth of notes on everything I observed, asked, or all of the endless advice I was imparted with. I was met with challenges along the way, such as the feeling of having too many questions, though I am so thrilled I am asking them and thinking of them now in an effort to recall them later on.

I also faced the task of obtaining the opportunity to visit with different teachers all over the communication arts and literature field, so that I might begin to examine various teaching styles and determine or merely ponder which one(s) mesh best with my personality. This made observing how the students reacted to different teaching styles or their level of engagement very critical in my note-taking.

A few of the primary aspects that created the optimal classroom environments were things such as community, collaboration or rapport, and facilitation (making certain that you are striking a firm balance between how much of student learning is independent, working with their peers, and being aided by the adult in the room).

Obviously, I am not able to discern to you a complete rundown of my experiences, nor explain absolutely everything I’ve learned about teaching thus far as it is simply so much and I just want to soak it in like a sponge and comprehend it as best I can and utilize every snippet of information to align myself with my aspirations, nor would I want to because that would be a book-long endeavor.

What my true motivation behind telling you all of this is, is to inform anyone out there my age who is even considering teaching or any other career that this might be even slightly applicable to, if you are able to in your first year or two of college, absolutely go complete a short-term job shadow, merely a week or two, your ideas will completely change and you will obtain the best sense of whether or not the field you want to go into is truly right for you.

Get the inside scoop on the ins and outs of the profession, you’ll find that it will never be a simple task, but if you are passionate about anything, truly, I cannot urge you more...get out there and explore it!

An immense thank you to everyone who is supporting me on this journey, has helped me or is currently aiding me, or who will help me and work with me in the future.