When I was doing my student teaching, kids would ask all the time, “Are you a real teacher yet? When will you be a real teacher?” I’d usually respond, “What? Because I’ve been faking it so far?”
But here’s a better answer:
When I started student teaching, I wasn’t as scared of those classes full of teenagers as I was of all those blank calendar days needing lesson plans. “Sixteen weeks!” I thought. “How will I fill up all that time? What the heck will I do for sixteen weeks?”
About halfway through, though, my thinking changed. “Eight weeks!” I thought. “How can I possibly get everything done in just eight more weeks?”
That’s when I became a real teacher.
