"parting is such sweet sorrow..."

and with that, my first practicum block of teachers' college is finished. 'twas a sad day at TLK on friday, as my kids (though most of them if not all of them either matched my height or towered over me) and i said our goodbyes to each other - the day was filled with various exchanges of encouraging words, three 40-pack boxes of timbits that were well-devoured, a few camera ops, and more than enough warm fuzzies to last me a lifetime. thank God first impressions never stuck, because TLK has definitely left an amazing lasting impression on me that i will carry with me for what i know will be a very long time. my mentor teacher at one point during the block had told me that regardless of how many years of teaching you experience, you never forget the students of your first teaching practicum... i think he may well be onto something.

it certainly has been *quite* the interesting 4 months that have just come and gone, and i feel that even just in the past 4 weeks alone i've learned so much and have been able to define who i am as an educator. and though there were indeed many memories made, a few highlights come to mind that will always bring a smile and slight giggle to my visage:

"miss gonzales? are you a gangstaa?"
"miss gonzales? are you a party girl?"
"miss gonzales, you make Romeo and Juliet fun when you talk ghetto."

dang, i'm gonna miss 'em. snap dizzle.