Tomorrow is my last day of Student Teaching.

Over the last four months, I have taught about 700 students from grades K-12 in Band, Chorus, and General Music. I have worked with four cooperating teachers, four administrators, and four schools. I taught in both public and parochial settings, with both experienced and relatively young teachers.

More than all of that, I’ve become accustomed to being a teacher. I’m no longer a college student studying music education, but an active music educator with varied experiences that inform my active teaching. I woke up most mornings and really looked forward to my day of making music with young people!

For me, the transition from student to teacher was easy. I’m far more worried about the transition that starts tomorrow at the 3:13 bell. The space of not-teaching between student teaching and my first teaching position scares me far more than a class of menacing 7th grade chorus students. The limbo of joblessness will haunt me for the next few months (hopefully very few!)

On the other hand, there are a few things about student life that I’m very much looking forward to:

• Pleasure reading
• Seeing my close friends who were also student teaching
• Off-Days
• Sleeping In
• Being in Choir
• Being in Band
• Voice lessons

PS: My cooperating teacher told me today that a few of the seventh grade boys were impressed by my “ninja skills” when another student tried to throw a chair a few weeks ago. I value student assessments of my teaching very highly.