Home Again

Well, that's it. After 15 weeks here at Penns Manor Area High School, I have officially completed my student teaching internship. As I reflect back on the past 15 weeks it is so hard for me to put into words my final thoughts. How can I summarize 15 weeks, almost 500 class sessions, field trips, SAE visits, conferences, and more into one blog post? How can I share just a few words on what was one of the most special and transformative seasons of my life? Honestly, I really can't. It's even hard for me to really conceptualize it myself. But as I sit here, smiling after a fun day of celebration with my students and trying to hold back the tears as memories cross my mind, the one word on my mind is love.

I love Agricultural Education. I love teaching. I love my students.

Before coming to Clymer, I knew that I enjoyed teaching and was passionate about Agricultural Education. But over these past fifteen weeks, my students have taught me a lot. Sure, I could tell you how I learned to write better lesson plans and handle classroom management issues but honestly, that's not what is important to me.

The real lesson I learned is one that I will never forget and that I will carry with me for the rest of my life. After four months here at Penns Manor, my biggest takeaway is the importance of loving your kids, all of them.

I could share so many examples of how I have learned this lesson over and over again as I have built relationships with my students. Feel free to read through some of my past blog and Twitter posts. But today, as my students showered me with love, gifts, goodbyes, hugs, tears, and laughter, I couldn't help but smile.

I know that Penns Manor is where I needed to be this semester. For me and for the kids. But I also know that there is another program out there where I need to be in the fall. The students will be new to me and I to them but I am confident that there will be a day at this new program that I smile because I feel at home again. And I can't wait until that day.