When I Became A “Real” Teacher

When I was doing my student teaching, kids would ask me all the time, “So when are you going to become a real teacher?”

Because, apparently, what I was doing in the classroom then was just fake, pretend teaching. 

But I do have an answer: when I started that semester, I remember being overwhelmed and thinking, “Sixteen weeks?!  How am I ever going to fill up all that time?”

Around the middle of the semester, I was looking at calendars and lesson plans very differently.  My mindset had completely changed: “Only eight weeks left?  How am I going to get everything done in only eight weeks?” 

And that’s when I became a real teacher.