Student Teaching in Chicago: Hello from Intelligentsia Coffee!

Erin Walters - Irving Park Chicago International Charter School

This coming Tuesday will mark the one-month anniversary of my move to Chicago for the semester, and time has flown by. I’ve been so busy from school and events and exploring that I feel as though I’ve been here for six months, but at the same time it feels like I arrived just this morning.

One thing I’ve found is how easily I’ve adjusted to life here. It’s definitely overwhelming at first, but as soon as you get settled into a routine and start to become more confident in navigating, everything falls into place with ease. I’ve already met a lot of great people in this program too, which makes this experience that much more of a blessing.

Life at school has been so fulfilling too. This past week my class went on a field trip to The Museum of Science and Industry. Opportunities like this are part of what makes student teaching in Chicago so fun. The students loved getting out of school for the majority of the day and getting to explore the exhibits the museum has to offer. By the end of it, the four girls I was in charge of were lying on the floor, absolutely exhausted.

I’m finding that I, too, have been very tired from teaching. I’m starting to do better with this, but learning how to budget energy is turning out to be just as important as budgeting finances. I ended up losing my voice at the end of this week, which forced me to take it easy this weekend. It was difficult to stay put, but I am almost fully recovered now, so the resting was worth it!

After school, I’ve found that the best and most efficient way to explore the city when you’re tired from teaching is to find places to go along the route you take to get home. I am fortunate to commute with another student teacher that loves to adventure, so we’ll often find different shops or coffee places that are off of certain stops we pass on the way home. It’s so easy to just get off the train earlier, or ride it a bit further, and see what that stop has to offer. It’s fun to walk around and see new places in Chicago. So far we’ve gone to Irving Park, Belmont, and have gone places off of our normal stop as well. We’re hoping to check out Fullerton soon!