Unpacking, Unpacking, and More Unpacking...

Today has been a day of getting some stuff organized. I always feel better when things are unpacked, clean, and put away (even though I'm a messy person), so as I have unpacked today I've started to feel more calm and less frazzled... For lunch, I went with Tracy's parents to meet his aunt and uncle at Steak and Shake (my first time at this restaurant!), which was very enjoyable.

I also found out some more info about my placements. Stephen Foster Elementary School is a Title I school, with 68% of the school population being economically disadvantaged and 21% having a disability. The school is very racially mixed. I'm excited to begin my student teaching here, as it sounds as though it'll be a completely different experience than the schools I'm used to being in in Norman. This school gets out at 1:45 each day, except for Wednesdays, in which they are finished at 12:30. That's going to be a nice change as well-- I can actually eat something other than a sandwich for lunch on Wednesdays! It's the small things that make life enjoyable :)

The second school in which I am placed, Westwood Middle School, has school uniforms. I am with a co-teacher/inclusion specialist, which means I'll probably be in a general education classroom at least most of the time. I'm not sure their school even has a distinct special ed classroom. I'm a little nervous about this aspect of my placement; middle schoolers without disabilities intimidate me slightly, and I don't feel that I look much older than them, so it feels difficult to establish authority. At my most recent middle school placement, I was mistaken for a new student a few times. I'm crossing my fingers that my teacher works mainly with 6th graders.