It's the end of August and soon my children will go back to school. This year I will be heading into school too as a Special Education Teacher. After graduating Rutgers University in May 2013, I had an interview lined up for Triton High School the very next day. The interview went well, and I was called in for a second interview. That went so well that I left with a teaching position! As the summer went on, my schedule came in the mail and I discovered that I would be teaching 11th grade English and intro to Spanish. This schedule seemed to solidify the fact that I would indeed be a teacher come September. I emailed my supervisor to find out when I could set up my classroom. After all, my wonderful co-op teacher when I was student teaching gave me a wealth of supplies plus a huge start to a classroom library. My supervisor informed me that I would be the in-class support teacher for English.  Would this mean no teacher library? What will I do with all of my color coordinated supplies? Where will I put the dry erase markers I purchased from the Staples sales? Am I a 1/2 teacher? I was crushed, since I've dreamed from the start of my education that I would set up my own classroom the way I would like. Not to mention, what would happen to the boxes of books I accumulated in my garage?

With every situation I am faced with, I always look for the positives (not that this is a negative in any way.) So I decided to make a list and here's what I came up with:

• I love collaborating and I'll always have other teachers to talk to.
• It's a great way to start off my teaching career because I can learn from other teachers that have taught for a while. 
• I can really focus on the students that need help reading and writing; what I love to do!
• I can probably take a bathroom break since I drink lots of water and tea. 
• I'm not a 1/2 teacher; I will have the same responsibilities as everyone else.

School starts in about 3 weeks and I'm still very nervous and excited to teach. I have shifted focus from organizing books to learning how to use the SMARTboard to make resources for my Spanish classroom. As the summer wanes, I will take this time to relax and finish reading a few novels before the crazy schedule sets in. As a side note, why haven't my own children asked me about school shopping yet? Mom wants to get some new clothes too.