Dear
Mr. Thompson…well, Michael…you haven’t earned your honorific yet,
You are probably wondering who I am. The answer is simply that I am you. We (that's me and you) just celebrated our 10-year-reunion and you are well on your way to getting a Dual Major in both English and Secondary Education. Believe it or not, you are going to be a teacher.
At
some point in the future, you are going to finally decide what you want to do
with your life. Believe it or not (and
you probably will not actually believe it), you are going to decide to follow
in the steps of the might Green Ink Nazi and become an English teacher.
Once
you make the decision, you are definitely going to have your doubts, but
continue on and hold strong as you continue on your path. You are going to feel like you have waited
too long to return for your education, but this experience will also help you
to succeed in this new venue.
Getting
a job in the district through the Cooperative Education program is going to
feel like it is getting nowhere, but you will get on at a school that will show
that you have made the right choice. The
students are going to do what they can to challenge you, but this is just their
way. Co-op is going to be one of the
best experiences you will have and will prove to be an extremely valuable
experience as you get started on your career.
You will work with some amazing teachers and their knowledge will help
you find your own way as a teacher. This
will give you a great chance to learn different perspectives about the
profession and to apply what you can to a classroom setting (or at least what
is realistically applicable, since some of it just isn't quite practical).
You
will be studious and will do your best, but there are definitely times when you
should study more diligently and should be more thorough with your reading,
especially in your literature classes.
You are going to cut it close in certain classes, and some of your
better professors are going to push your writing to its limits, and it is going
to be worth it in the end. Remember to
always be reflective and challenge yourself, even when some of the
less-challenging professors will not be doing the pushing for you.
Don’t
freak out about your inexperience with some of the classic literary works: you
are not the only one who has not read every single work in the canon. Be aware and learn all you can from the texts
which you do end up touching upon throughout your educational career.
Instead
of trying to keep to yourself like I know you are going to your first year at
WSU, branch out and get to know the people who are also in your classes. You are going to meet some really clever and
interesting people who you will want to keep in touch with for a long
time. You don’t need to hide in the
front row of class and be a mute. Your
policy of keeping school and personal life separate is going to make that first
year in your new school lonely. The
school is only going to feel like an airport terminal because you aren't getting to know the people you sit next to throughout your classes (especially
that horrible poetry class that almost turns you off of poetry). Surround yourself with these friends you make
and you will get through the stress.
Overall,
I would suggest you go through your program as you normally would choose
to. Inquire about the dual major and
acquire as much knowledge as you can from your courses. You do not have to have a favorite author,
but learn as much as you can about the ones that you delve into with your
different professors.
Finally,
and probably most importantly, do what you can to enjoy the process. You will be the first in your family, both immediate
and extended, to earn a college degree.
Your 4-year degree is going to take about five years, but it’s well
worth the ride.
Sincerely,
The you that is me, and all you hopefully will be,
Mr. T
Mr. Thompson,
ReplyDeleteThank you for this lovely letter to yourself. I noticed some similarities between your experiences and my own. I also took the five year route to my degree (let's just call it a victory lap). Co-op was also incredibly beneficial to my growth as an educator, although my experience only lasted one semester.
Your last piece of advice to yourself, to "enjoy the process", is quite true, and I feel that you did an excellent job with this! Your ideas and opinions over the past few years have challenged our class and helped our class grow as educators.
Thanks again for this great reflection on your college experience, and good luck!
Sincerely,
Mr. Wike
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteDear Mr. Thompson,
ReplyDeleteI use that term with the most endearing and the sincerest way that I possibly can. I want to thank you for the amazing and entertaining letter to yourself. I know exactly how it feels to take much longer to get a degree than it should (let's double your five years to get my decade!). I just like Mr. Wike, would call it a victory lap, but I also included my extra victory lap and a couple of cool down laps too.
I'm glad that you and I got to enjoy and experience our college education together, including our Co-op experience! I will always look back on our times at that wonderful middle school and remember how even though we were not placed within our content we learned so much! That experience can make or break you as a teacher. Thank goodness for the both of us, it made us better teachers!!
I have to agree with this piece of advice whole-heartedly, "You don’t need to hide in the front row of class and be a mute. Your policy of keeping school and personal life separate is going to make that first year in your new school lonely." I am extremely grateful that you came our of your shell and decided to not be a mute and not to keep your personal life and school life separate. I'm grateful to have had such a wonderful, supportive friend to share these last two and a half years with. From our first encounter in American Writers 2 to our student teaching semester, you have made a complete 180. I have watched you emerge into the amazing teacher that wrote this letter.
You are going to make an magnificent teacher, Michael! Thank you again for your letter to yourself. Your support not only applied to yourself, but hopefully it will apply to some of your students one day too. Thank you for being that supportive friend who I could turn to when I needed that "educator" talk. I look forward to hearing what wonderful, creative things that you are sharing with your students. Good luck! But most importantly, don't worry! The right job will come along, for all of us.
Truck buddies from the Dell!!
Ms. Roseberry
Mr. T,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your inspiring letter. I love how you have placed yourself ten years from now, it makes this letter so much more than that. I can easily relate to socializing more. I often found it hard to socialize my first few years of college. I hope to learn from my lack of socialization skills my first few years of college and apply it toward my first year of teaching. I hope everyone will know who I am! Hopefully you can apply the same in your first year! Congratulations on graduating. It is such an accomplishment to be the first in your family! You rock!!
You will be a great teacher! I am so proud to have had the opportunity to work with you as a colleague and peer this year.
Ms. H.
Thank you so much for your comments everyone. The whole "still-hunting-for-a-school" I've been dealing with has really been getting me down and making me doubt myself and whether or not I'm even trying to go into the right career, but all of the positive support makes me feel better about it all and hopeful. I even started to tear up a little bit. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteMicheal,
ReplyDeleteI can relate to a majority of your letter and wish someone would have written me a letter like this at the end of high school to help me prepare better for college. I like how you focus on your uncertainty. This was something I, and probably every college student ever, was not prepared for. College is hard and with every struggle you question yourself and your path in life. I wish someone would have warned me that that is what college is for. It sounds like you pretty much figured it out on your own though.
You are going to be an amazing teacher and I'm sure you will pass on some of the wisdom that you have gained from your experiences during that last ten years.
Kelly