Practicum (aka the 7 week death of my social life)

So after several weeks away, and 20 minutes of trying to log back into my blog (vendetta is not only continued, but reborn), Yours Truly is back to talk about the big bad 7 week Practicum Block (but not for too long, because lucky me, I have a portfolio to finish)
Anyways, the truth is Eddy students fear the 7 week Practicum block, but on the last day, the kid's reaction and the staff reaction justifies the entire experience, and you flat out do not want to be "back in the Bay" because you miss your class. All sentimentals aside, here are some tips for future Eddies to survive practicum ( as always, donations are accepted)
1. You do NOT use a Unit Plan, because after the first day, you're trying to figure out what the hell you are going to teach the students ( and 40 minutes of Silent reading time does NOT count as a lesson plan, no matter how much you had to drink on Super Bowl Sunday)
2. Schedule your FA evaluation in the second week of the practicum. The reasoning is simple kiddies; after you have had your evaluation- kiss those pesky Lesson Plans goodbye! (AT's check lesson plans in March as thoroughly as you check the leftovers in your fridge at 2 am when you have a "midnight-ish snack!")
3. Prepare to teach 100 percent the day before the March Break. What an AT will normally say is "we'll have our normal day in the morning, then have the kids watch a movie/or have free time in the afternoon." This is what they actually mean- "we'll have you teach ALL the subjects in the morning, because I'm taking the day off from teaching!" - the term they use is "you need the experience", but in truth, they actually do not want to teach that day-AT ALL!
4. DO NOT leave all your marking to the last minute!- Students of all ages will question the marks they receive if they did not perfect (and some might complain about that as well), and the response they do NOT want to hear is "well Jimmy, it was 2:30 am when I marked your assignment, and I ran out of coffee, so I co-related the lack of caffeine with your assignment, and that's why you failed!"
5. Plan, Teach, Reflect. Plan, Teach Reflect. Plan, Teach, Reflect. And throw Mark in there somewhere as well.
6. Enjoy the experience. You will doing so much work that your friends will wonder if you've crawled into a hole and disappeared( but you haven't disappeared, because you are planning, teaching (marking) and reflecting.) However, 7 weeks will seem like 7 days, and before you know it, you will be surrounded by your students on the last day of practicum, and two little girls will present you with a card from the whole class. You will open the card, and tears will stream down your face as you read-"Dear Sir, please don't leave. You were a great teacher, and we will miss you. All of us think you will be a great teacher, even though sometimes we thought you were boring and we didn't pay attention!" (Got to love the honestly of 10 year olds)
Alright, that's it for now. I have to finish my portfolio. In the words of Cage the Elephant, "There Ain't No Rest For the Wicked"
The south-west shall rise again! (this weekend, for the next exciting blog!)