Summer Job – Something New

Posted May 1, 2020 by Peggy Hogan-Rao

Today I filled out my paperwork for a new job, which is so exciting! I will be a personal shopper at Stop & Shop, working in the Peapod home delivery department. Although the semester is coming to the end, I’m excited to have a new beginning. I am not taking summer classes, so a job will give me something to do this summer. Except for a few forms to be signed for practicum, I am all done with the semester! I got my last grade back for my online technology class a couple days ago, and I had my final meeting with my supervisors for practicum yesterday.

It feels so weird thinking about how the semester is over now, after working so hard. Thinking about those students at the elementary school in Waltham, I am so sad that I missed out on a whole month in school with the kids. I am happy that I still saw the Kindergarten students I got to teach my 4-lesson unit with on Google Meets, but it isn’t the same. As much as I didn’t like how the semester ended, I gained valuable experience in learning how teaching lessons virtually provides its own challenges. I now know how to manage a class when students are bundles of energy during a read aloud on the story rug, and I know how to create lessons for many different learning abilities.

That said, I’m excited to have a break from studying for a while. In the fall, I will be taking Information Services for Diverse Users. Knowing how to serve diverse populations is so important, and these are going to be valuable skills that I can carry over into my career as a school library teacher. Finding a practicum placement for the fall is a bit of a struggle, but in these uncertain times I am coming to accept that there are some things we just don’t know right now.

In my summer break from studying, my plan is to write poetry and possibly get into writing some bigger projects too. I will also be trying to catch up on reading with the books I have not yet read in my apartment. Hopefully the weather will get warmer soon so I can go for walks or maybe short runs. As of now, next semester will be my last semester at Simmons and then I can apply for my library teacher license. Exciting!