First, my family is full of educators--extended relatives, grandparents, and father. My dad has been a teacher, a principal, and an assistant superintendent.

I have worked at a summer camp for the past 4 summers with youth ages between 5 and 18, I was a counselor for two summers and a Day Camp Director for 2 summers.

I got my Bachelor's in Secondary Education with a focus on English. I did my observations in one high school and another set of observations in an early college. I then did my Student Teaching in a completely different high school. I worked with students between 9th and 11th grade.

Throughout my time in college, I rebelled against every rule the professors shared with regard to how education works, and I pushed the line as far as I could.

RANT WARNING--this is not a means of venting; it was too long ago. However for those student teachers out there, I want you to reconsider the difficulty level of what you are dealing with while reading this.

I had one of the most difficult Student Teaching experiences of anyone I have ever heard of and of anyone most of my professors ever knew. Why? I practically taught an entire semester by myself without the help of my host teacher who was never in the room. I had full lesson plans for an entire week due the Wednesday before the week I was to teach them. I had to take my methods class during my Student Teaching and a seminar for the Student Teaching(both of which had enormous project requirements), I had a 45 minute drive to my school everyday and back again. Did I mention that I was working part-time to help pay for all of this? This is not to mention extracurricular activities and a girlfriend. Within the High School, there were two different schools--the main school and a New Schools Project. For the High School, I had to work within the main English department. However, I also had to work with a team of various subject areas for the New Schools Project as well. Within this aspect of the experience, the team decided they wanted to do an intercurricular project which would have been fine had they not waited until halfway through the year. Within the English Department, I was told that we had to do a research project--with only about 2 months notice.

So much for Pacing Guides :$ Lastly, the science teacher hated me and constantly dogged me about my inexperience with a nasty habit of trying to make me look bad every chance she got to my host teacher.

I got a job in December and had to leave my school before even finishing my student teaching. I got a job as an 8th grade Language Arts teacher. So I was out of grade level, no biggie. When I arrived, I found out I would be teaching Social Studies as well. Still--not too big a deal. Of course, there is the issue of the school being Title I, but that couldn't make that much of a difference. My student teaching was at a Title I school. The school is culturally diverse. That's a plus right. Then 2 weeks into it while pulling my hair out, I find out that this particular group of students ran off 3 different 7th grade teachers and one 8th grade teacher before me--her excuse (she got engaged). I looked up this particular group of students' EOG scores from the past two years--20% lower than the class before or after them. 40% passed in 6th grade. Only 20% passed in 7th grade. Point being, it was a long semester.

I still work there, this being my official First Year according to the Board of Education--meaning, I will still be a BT(Beginning Teacher) in 3 years before I see any sort tenure.

Thus, I am a first year teacher with a full year of horrific teaching experiences under my belt. Why do I believe myself qualified to write an article to first year teachers? I got more experience out the past year of teaching than most.

Forgive what appeared to be ranting; take a look long and hard at what you are dealing with, and get honest with yourself about what it really means to persevere--to push into blessings and to have hope even in the hardest of times. You will survive, but you cannot give up.