An Open Letter to My Pre-Teacher Self

At the time of my writing this, I am about a week shy of my 24th birthday. As a reflective creature, I've spent some time over the past week or so thinking about what the past few years have looked like for me in terms of my journey to becoming a teacher. The time between high school graduation and college graduation felt like simultaneously the slowest and quickest years of my life, truly a whirlwind. As a young woman who now has real teaching experience in her own classroom, I often think about that young girl, fresh out of high school with a heart for making a difference in the lives of kids. If I could talk to my 18 year old self and offer her encouragement and advice, this is what I'd tell her. Pre-teacher Courtney, this one's for you.


Dear Courtney,

Congratulations. You're a recent high school graduate with your heart set on becoming a teacher. You didn't choose teaching, teaching chose you, and one day you'll fully understand the depth of what that means. I know you're excited about what the future will bring, but you're also feeling anxious and uncertain, and that's okay. Contrary to what you currently believe, you're not the only person your age who doesn't have it all figured out. As someone who knows how the early chapters of your story unfold, I want to tell you a few things. 

First, let's talk about college. Yes, you made the right choice with MTSU. Going there will enable you to live at home and grow in your roles as a daughter and a sister. It will also allow you to keep a job where you'll gain invaluable experience with children and families every day. You'll WILL get over your fear of driving and before you know it, you'll even be comfortable taking the interstate to school. You go girl! As it turns out, there are more struggles with being a commuter than just the drive. It will be a bit of a lonely time for you, as high school friendships fade and fall to the wayside.  You'll spend as little time on campus as you can get away with in the beginning as you adjust to your newfound autonomy and responsibility as a college student. You won't really have much of a niche, not until later. Those first two years will feel like a drag as you get through general education classes, but you'll make it. The one thought that will keep you motivated through it all? Your future students. Eventually, you'll finally get into Education classes that'll provide you with the knowledge that you've craved for years. You will finally be among people who have goals similar to yours. You'll thrive during this time as you soak up a plethora of information about the inner workings of classrooms and your future responsibilities. (Later on, you'll even take a condensed class that'll require you to read 13 novels in 14 days. Seriously. Get the coffee ready.) This time in its entirety will ultimately shape your character in a big way. You'll spend a lot of time contemplating whether you're doing things right, but in time you'll learn to trust that you are. 

Next, let's talk student teaching. I know that this is one of the things you fear most because you're a perfectionist and you don't want anyone to see you mess up. Student teaching will not turn out to be the nightmare that you currently envision. God will truly look out for you on this one. Are you ready? You'll get not one, but two amazing placements. One elementary, one middle. You'll have two amazing mentors who will support you and influence you in the best ways. You'll meet students who will hold a special place in your heart forever. This time will also characterized as a time of testing and big projects that determine whether or not you get to fulfill this dream of yours. It'll be stressful, but it all works out in the end. One piece of advice. Get comfortable with waiting and anticipation. 

Finally, I'll address the one question that you still have. You know the one I'm talking about. Where will I end up teaching? I know you've got your heart set on getting the opportunity to one day teach within the walls of a place that's very special to you, but let's not get ahead of ourselves just yet. For starters, you'll have a few interviews. You'll be nervous, but you'll leave each one feeling immense gratitude for the chance to talk with and be considered by different schools. On the day that you think will be the last of your interviews, you'll get a call for one final one. The one. Your nervousness and anxiety for previous interviews will be far outweighed by this one, but you'll leave there feeling like you left it all on the table. Remember what I told you about waiting and anticipation. In the waiting you'll have to make a choice. You'll have to take a leap of faith and trust that things will work out the way they're supposed to...

And after a few years of long days, sleepless nights, hard work, stress, MANY miles put on the car, successes, failures, and a few tears shed along the way, you'll get a call. The call. An invitation for you to come back to a place that has always felt like home. A dream come true.

There's so much more that I could tell you about your journey, but I've got to let you figure out some things organically, in the moment. Just know this, it'll be a challenging ride, but also a remarkably beautiful and rewarding one. You've got this. 

Love, 
Your Future Self

#TeacherGoals

I love the feeling of a new year. I equate the way a new year makes me feel to the way I feel when I buy a new journal or a new pair of shoes. Excited. Hopeful. Motivated. There is nothing like that feeling of newness, fresh starts, and clean slates. As someone who can be overly reflective at times (i.e., agonizing over what I could've done differently in most situations), I definitely spend a good amount of time at the beginning of a new year considering areas of my life that I'd like to grow in personally, professionally, and everything in between. Today I'd like to share about my new year teacher goals and intentions, in the hopes that getting them out of my head will help to hold me accountable. Here are a few things I'd really like to focus in on!

1. Giving more timely feedback. This is probably the most concrete goal on my list. This goal simply stems from my habit of letting student work stack up on my desk for a long time. Usually, by the time my students get some of their graded work back from me, they've forgotten what we were even working on in the first place. A lot of student learning comes from the feedback and reinforcement that they get from teachers. In the interest of helping my students grow in the skills that we're working on, I want to get better about giving them quality feedback quicker.

-How I can grow in this area: I'd like to start by allocating a few minutes of my planning time each week to grading and providing the written feedback that my students need. I feel like this is a very simple shift for me, from using my planning period to do a miscellaneous host of things, to being more intentional with the time that I have. In the long run, I think getting helpful commentary on a more consistent basis will undoubtedly benefit my students, but I think this will also help me bring less student work home and avoid the dreaded mountain of work to grade at the end of the quarter.

2. Reminding my students that they are welcome, worthy, and valued. It's so easy to get caught up in the chaos of planning, grading, paperwork, meetings, and everything involved with growing the minds of our students. Our jobs are busy and different every day, making flexibility paramount. But we have to remember our why. We do all that we do out of a genuine desire to help kids learn, evolve, and flourish. Our students are the very heart of our work. I have 114 students who walk into my classroom every day, but strip that "student" label away and you have 114 children. 114 human beings. 114 souls, trying to figure out who they are and where they fit in this world. As they figure those things out, they need extra love, support, and understanding. That's where we come in.

-How I can grow in this area: Making more time for authentic conversations. Telling kids that they're seen, important, and cared for. Encouraging kids to pursue the things that they're interested in. Supporting kids at extracurricular events. Reminding myself that the relationships we create with students require consistent nurturing, but taking the time to do these things is so worth it.

3. Continue reading, learning, and trying new things. I'm not much for cutting myself slack. If I feel like I've messed up in my classroom, I'm not quick to let myself forget about it. When I sit back and think about it, however, I can acknowledge that I'm still very much in the process of establishing who I am as a teacher. This is year #2 for me. I need to embrace this time for what it is and allow myself to fully experience it.

-How I can grow in this area: My to-be-read pile of education books is a mile high with books that I'm confident will provide me with different insights, strategies, and  to weave into my own teaching practice. I'd definitely like to designate some down time for diving into those. Beyond the learning that books provide, I'd like to be more open to letting myself fail. I'd say that I'm pretty open to trying new things in my classroom, be it dressing up in character for a novel study or incorporating new technology. I don't plan these things, however, with the possibility of failure in mind. While we obviously want things to work seamlessly day in and day out, that's simply not realistic. I think I need to be more mindful of the possibility of things not always working out, and what I can learn from those moments when they come up. It's these learning experiences, both the successes and the failures, that are ultimately molding me into the teacher that I'm meant to be.

4. Keep growing my PLN. I haven't been active in the online educator community for very long, but in the time that I have been here, I've been so inspired by other teachers! I've learned all kinds of EdTech tips, participated in Twitter chats, and connected with people in the education world that I may not have otherwise connected with. I want to keep sharing and fostering genuine connections with those who are committed to creating engaging, inclusive, and supportive learning spaces. I'm excited to see all that I can learn from the amazing digital education community in the next year!

-How I can grow in this area: Keep sharing. Keep tweeting. Keep blogging. Keep supporting fellow educators in the pursuit of providing students with the quality education that they deserve!

I'd love to hear about your professional goals for the new year. Leave me a comment here or tweet me @MissCEaton on Twitter. Let's root for each other!

Wishing you the best,
Courtney

A Quick Introduction

Hello! My name is Courtney Eaton and this is my first blog post. I've toyed around with the idea of blogging several times in the past, but it's something that's never quite made it past the "idea stage" for me. That little nay-saying voice in my head never fails to scare me back into my shell anytime I dare try and come out of it, posing questions like "Why do you think people want to hear what you have to say?" or "What do you actually think you have to contribute?". When I think about the times that I've been too afraid to follow through with something that might "put me out there" so to speak, I think about my students. I want my students to feel like they can come into my classroom each day and share their thoughts and try new things without letting the fear of failure get in their way. I want that for them more than anything, but.... why don't I want the same for myself? Why am I afraid to let myself be heard? After pondering these questions for a while, I've decided that I think it's time that I start practicing what I preach. So, I'm carving out this little corner of the Internet to do just that. 

I'll start with a quick introduction. I'm Courtney and I am currently in my second year teaching middle school RLA in my hometown in Tennessee. I graduated from Middle Tennessee State University with my Bachelors in May of 2017, and began my teaching journey that August. I cannot pinpoint the exact moment that I knew I wanted to be a teacher. As the oldest of three children in my family, I've always had two live-in students. Perhaps that had an influence? :) Regardless of its origin, teaching has just always been a part of me. Something I do know to be true, however, is the impact that a few of my very own middle school teachers, some of whom I now call colleagues, had on me along the way. I think their influence in my life during the trying middle school years is what ultimately brought me back to Westwood Middle School. This school has always had a piece of my heart and I consider the opportunity to be back here teaching to be one of my biggest blessings. Outside of being a teacher, I'm a daughter, sister, friend, reader, and avid supporter of the Nashville Predators.

We all lead beautifully different lives, and with that comes beautifully different experiences and perspectives. I want this to be a space where I can share mine. Here you'll find the real thoughts, experiences, and perspective of a teacher who is still figuring things out. I want to share what works for me (and what doesn't) along with the reality of the challenges and triumphs that come with being a teacher. More than anything, this is me acknowledging my voice and allowing myself to be heard. If you're here, I thank you and hope you'll join me on this journey.

Wishing you the best,
Courtney

Sidenote: The title of this blog, Eaton Books for Breakfast, comes from a combination of my last name and a couple things that I love. As a Reading teacher, I have an immense love of books and reading. (Can you imagine if I didn't?) I also just love a good pun. When your last name sounds like a verb when spoken aloud in the South, you've gotta take advantage, right? The breakfast part wasn't really intentional, but I am a breakfast and coffee person, so it just works. We'll see if the title sticks! :)