The first thing that I’d like to mention is how good it feels to be part of a professional

team! I’ve been studying education for the past five years and have been working in the field for
the last three years. In all this time, this was the first meeting where everything really started to
feel real for me. I was very nervous going into the meeting because I know one of our 5th grade
cohort teacher’s Utah Teacher of the Year in 2015. His expertise definitely intimidated me, but
once the meeting got started, I realized that my input was something that the whole team was
excited to hear. I never felt like my voice wasn’t being heard and it was a wonderful opportunity
to demonstrate all the learning I’ve done at the University of the past few years. I helped our
cohort put together a pre-test for the module that could be used for formative and summative
assessments on the module. We talked at length about what the problems were getting at and
how we could phrase each problem to ensure we were getting at each core idea present in the
Eureka book. It felt wonderful being a part of a team like this and it only excited me more to get
into my own school and be able to work with my own cohort!
Another thing that surprised me was how lax the meeting felt. While we were getting in
great work for the two hours, there was coffee and snacks available and everyone was in a
wonderful mood. There were people joking and having fun while also carving away at a
wonderful curricular map that would set us all up for success in the next coming weeks. It was
great knowing that I could laugh a joke a bit with my coworkers as it helped make the meeting
move along. I’ve been in many meetings where it feels like it drags on, but this group felt like a
group of professional friends who had their students in mind first. I’ve worked in a few schools
where I felt the friendships outweighed the professional’s need to be a strong teacher, and I’m
glad to see that not every school functions that way. I can’t stand the student gossip/complaining,
so it was a breath of fresh air knowing that my team put their professionalism first.
The last thing I’d like to mention is just how helpful the meeting was in alleviating stress
from my plate. I’m a constant worrier and am always trying to think ahead so I can be the best
teacher I can be. Getting together with other professionals allowed me to get some of the stress
out of my head because we had built a plan, together, that allowed all of us to have a path to
follow. Even if I felt stuck in a lesson, it was nice knowing that we had planned for that extra
time. Just the mention of, “and if anyone gets behind, lets just let each other know,” reminded
me that the curricular map was just a plan and that I had a team of professionals available to help
me in case I ever got a little behind. All the support is something I’m going to need to lean into
because I’m really good at only relying on myself and it often brings me a lot of stress.
Overall, I’m just so glad that I’m starting to feel like a professional and less like a college
student! It’s exciting knowing I’ll be in my own classroom less than a year from now and it is
even more exciting knowing I feel ready for that challenge once it rolls around.