Graduation

Well, I'm done. Done with college. Weird.

My last day of teaching was yesterday, and since I chose not to come home to walk at graduation, my parents, host teacher and students thought I should have some sort of graduation ceremony. So, in the middle of my exciting lecture on "The Federal Courts as Policymakers" (available now on 2 CDs for two not-so-easy payments of $13.99), my parents and my sister walked in and put a cap and gown on me. Then, the entire senior class (most of whom I've had in class; the others, I've gotten to know quite well) followed them in and sang pomp and circumstance. Needless to say, I was blown away. I had an extremely difficult time giving a speech -- my students noted that it was the first time they've seen me speechless! We spent the rest of the hour eating cake, taking pictures and, much to the students' delight, not learning. My graduation was a thousand times better than UNC could have provided.

But, with all of that, I am sad. I'm done. I've had an amazing student teaching experience (My teacher called it the cushiest student teaching assignment in the history of UNC. Methinks she's right.). My students were amazing, both academically and otherwise. My host teacher said that the students had never done this for any of their other student teachers. My host teacher was awesome. She let me completely take over her classes and let me make my own mistakes... I truly was lucky. It's going to be difficult (if I ever find a job) to teach back in the states.

I'll post pictures as soon as I get some.