Hello, fellow and future Chicago Semester students! My name is Erin Walters, and I will be blogging for CS on my experiences while I am student teaching this spring. I have already been in the city for about four weeks and have fallen in love with the views, the people, and the pace of Chicago already.
While
I am here, I am living in Canterbury Court Apartments, which are conveniently
placed in a nice area close to the heart of Chicago. There are so many amazing
things happening just outside my door at every moment of the day, and I love
that I can hop on the L and go just about anywhere easily. I am a runner, and I
have already gone to the lakeshore trail a few times to run along the water,
despite the 20-degree, and colder, weather.
My
apartment is small, but my roommate and I did some rearranging and decorating
as soon as we arrived, and it has made a world of difference. It’s comforting
to look at pictures and paintings from home and know that even though I am
enjoying myself here, I still have pieces of Holland to keep me company. Living
in basically one room with another person sounds like a nightmare, but I’ve
found that with school, events in the city to attend, and other friends to
visit, it’s actually quite nice.
As
for my placement, I am working in a 3rd-grade classroom at the
Irving Park campus of Chicago International Charter Schools. I have 29 students
in my homeroom, and they are all enjoyably energetic, happy to be learning, and
overall a wonderful group to work with. My teacher has actually taught this
group for two years now, and I can see how this has strengthened her
relationship with her students immensely. I haven’t done a lot of teaching yet,
but what I have done has been great and I have learned so much already on how
to adjust my plans to tend to the needs of my students, even while I am
teaching them. 
For
the most part, I have adjusted well to living here. The early mornings and
commuting to school isn’t always fun or easy, but even that has simply become
routine and hasn’t phased me too badly. I am lucky to have another student
teacher from CS in my school, and we are able to commute together each morning
and evening. I love having someone to share stories and experiences with as
we’re taking buses and trains to and from Irving Park.
I
look forward to posting more about my experiences while I am here, and hope
that you will enjoy reading more about them! The Lord has blessed me with this
amazing opportunity, and I am honored to be able to share it with you all and
to also record all that I am able to do while living in Chicago.
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