"Hey! How's student teaching going?"

Of course, they have the best intentions in mind.
Of course, they are just trying to show they care about me and what is going on in my life.

But, sometimes I wonder if people understand how loaded some of their questions are.

"Hey! How's student teaching going?" is probably the most asked question I receive on a weekly basis. Friends I happen to run into, supervisors, family members... they all ask it. At least they know what I'm up to! That makes me feel great. But, "how's student teaching going" is a question that cannot be answered in a simple, catch-all phrase that will get the point across. That will cut to the chase. No, there isn't one phrase that will suffice, other than  "Well, you know.. it's going" (and you have to put the emphasis on the going so people understand there is a lot more implied).

And that's because student teaching is so many things all at once.

Student teaching is great! For 99% of my experience, student teaching is wonderful. I'm so blessed to be able to step foot into a real-life classroom every day for a span of 12 weeks and truly hone the crazy craft that is teaching. It's an honor to work with one of the most talented teachers and passionate teachers I've ever seen; I learn so much from her in one classroom alone. It's incredible! And she's so caring, and knowledgable, and gives amazing feedback. I am thankful to work with her. I'm thankful for this experience

Student teaching is stressful. Even that is an understatement. I LOVE the TEACHING part of student teaching.. but the class portion stresses me out just a touch. So many TLAs (Three Letter Acronyms) thrown at me. On top of teaching every day, I have to fill out a Teaching Performance Assessment (TPA), which is a very detailed, very agonizing document that showcases my teaching. It's a great tool, and will in the end make me a better teacher. But I don't really know what I'm doing with it, and much like the rest of my life, the music world is WAAAYYY different than all the other disciplines. So it's hard to figure it out. And THEN, I have to work on my Senior Year Experience (SYE) project which challenges me to expand my focus to more than just the classroom and create a project that helps out the community I am teaching in. Again, it's a great concept, but nothing has really been explained to me. I have handouts and flyers and guidebooks, but that is essentially just words on a page that teach me nothing.  So yes, student teaching is stressful. I feel like I'm swimming in work that I haven't started yet because I'm not quite sure WHERE to start.

Student teaching is lonely. I am on a different schedule than pretty much all of my other friends. I see my roommates, and they're great. However, I don't get to see any of my other friends on a regular basis because I am at school all day, and they're at class. When I get home, they're still at class. OR, I get home and am so exhausted that I nap for part of the afternoon, and spend my evening working on lesson plans and other work. It's great, and definitely teaching me about time management and how to balance work-life and home-life; but, I don't really get to see my friends. And being the extrovert that I am, being alone all the time is extremely draining. Some may argue, "But Brice, don't you spend your whole day with students?" Yes. Yes I do. But they aren't my friends who I have life experiences with.. so I get lonely sometimes. And it takes me down.

Student teaching is everything I'd hoped it would be! This statement is so true. Every day I go into the school, I am certain that this is the right field for me to be in. I'm excited to start my career as a new teacher, and look forward to shaping the minds of my students. They will love music as much as I do in some way or another! But seriously, student teaching has been fabulous so far. I have laughed, I have cried, I have gotten sick, but I have never been more happy to be where I am now.

Student teaching is NOTHING like I'd thought. Although it is everything I'd hoped in the sense of my feelings. It's going in NO way like I had thought it would. And, honestly, that's a good thing. It's better than what I thought, because it's real. It's happening. And it's a wild ride.

Student teaching is not for the weak-hearted. It is a rough time. But, man, is it worth it.

So.."Brice, How is student teaching going?"

"It's...going."

And so it goes...