"My Program"

♥ So this semester has been my first actual semester in the Teacher Education Program at the University of Louisville, and all I can say is that it has been absolutely wonderful. It is ranked as the 74th school of Education in the top 100 schools in the United States. All my teachers have been so nice and helpful during this transition from "regular classes" to the teaching program. I am taking 4 classes this semester as opposed to the 5 that the others in my program are taking. I got credit for the Language Arts methods class from Union so that has helped my stress levels a lot. These are the classes I am currently taking:

General Methods (3 hrs.)
Reading Methods (How to Teach Reading) (4 hrs.)
Building a Learning Community (4 hrs.)
Mathematics Methods (4 hrs.)

I have a total of 15 hrs. that I am taking which seems to be the normal amount that I always end up taking. I only have classes on Thursdays and Fridays which I scheduled that way on purpose so that I could have the other three days dedicated to other things (such as my field experience). Mondays I have had the mornings and afternoons free and have been working the 2-10 shift at the hotel. This works out great because Alex has work and night class for his Master's program. We tried to make our schedules very similar so that we would have many evenings at home together during the week. It has been a great schedule so far! Tuesdays I am at Farmer Elementary all day, and that has been a great experience as well. It has allowed me the opportunity to see what a full day at school looks like for a teacher. My 4th grade class has been so helpful and welcoming that I have looked forward to spending my Tuesdays and Wednesdays there. Wednesdays I only stay until 12 or 12:30, and I have the rest of the afternoon and evening to get things done and get ready for my looong day of school on Thursday! I thought that Thursdays would just wear me out since I am at UofL from 8:45 until 7pm, but because I have such long breaks in between my classes that it allows me the time to work on homework or catch up with friends! I usually get to spend an hour with my friend Holly that I went to Whitefield with on Thursday afternoons, and it has been so good to see her since during the semester it is really hard to catch up with friends! We are all so busy!

So I know that nobody really cares about my school schedule, but the whole point of me posting this was because I am just so thankful for the great education that God has blessed me to be receiving. I am also so thankful that Alex and I were able to coordinate our schedules this way and that we have many nights to spend together. I know a lot of couples that are still in school who never get to see each other because their schedules conflict, and I am just very grateful for how things worked out this semester.

- love, briana -