I
absolutely love my student teaching experience! I am
in a first grade class in New Jersey and I am having
a wonderful time. I am very organized (neurotic..
some would say) so I think that has defiently helped
me. The winter break before I student taught, I
started making lessons and found out what I would be
teaching the students. It is important to make
contact with your cooperating teaching before you
start. Good Luck!
Sure,
buy some books meant to emphasize the positive in
teaching. Also study classroom management-- buy
"The First Few Days of School:How to be an
Effective Teacher" by Harry Wong. And keep up
your physical and emotional health-- get enough
sleep, keep up an exercise program...this can make
all the difference in the world in terms of attitude,
energy and the ability to think on your feet
I
had a wonderful student teaching experience, and I
think that is mostly due to the fact that I got to
choose my mentor. I learned so much, but I still
don't think anything can fully prepare you for having
your own classroom. My mentor went the extra mile for
me by telling the administration how great I was
doing. They liked a couple of us student teachers so
well that they created a brand new position for us in
the district to keep us there. I was offered the
position of permanent sub with teacher salary and
benefits on my last day of student teaching! My
mentor talked the principal into hiring me as her
long term sub for when she had her baby.
I
just finished my second week full time teaching first
grade. It is great because I get to be with the kids
I student taught; it was an easy transition for all
involved. As for next year...I really like the
district, and I have already signed a letter of
intent. I will end up in first or
second grade, I imagine, and I will probably be
teaching with a girl who student taught next door to
me in the fall. We were going through pretty much the
same thing, so it was very easy to become such close
friends.
Another
reason my student teaching experience was so good was
there were seven student teachers (including myself)
at my school. We had an amazing supervisor! In fact,
it turned out that he was my mentor's supervisor when
she did her student teaching. Small world.
Advice...be
prepared, ask the principal or vice principal to
observe/evaluate a lesson and learn as much as you
possibly can in the short amount of time you are
there. Don't be afraid to screw up, because you will.
Just remember to reflect on everything. Also be
prepared to not always get a long with your
mentor/cooperating teacher. No matter how much you
like, admire or respect your mentor, whenever you are
working that closely with a person, problems are
bound to arise.
Ok,
I just really felt like sharing. Sorry if this was
too long, but I guess you didn't have to read it,
right? :) Good luck to all student teachers and
future student teachers. It was an exciting time in
my life that I am glad is over now.
Monica
I've
been a co operating teacher many times, and here are
my tips.
-Be
there bright and early. Never, ever, be late.
-Listen and take in everything. Ask lots of
questions.
-Whatever your course outline says, know it.
-Whatever assignments you may have to complete during
your time there, let the teacher know. He/she wants
to help.
-If you are struggling with something, or a lesson
bombs, don't be too hard on yourself. Talk openly
with the teacher about what you learned from the
experience.
-Always be reflective. There are no one shot deals in
teaching. There's always something to remember for
next time.
-Dress professionally. (cleavage and minis are out. I
know I shouldn't have to mention this, but I've had
to mention it in real life way more times than I ever
would have thought.)
-Speak professionally. Every single time you talk to
a class or a student you are modelling an ideal.
Slang words that aren't foul but are not particularly
desirable should stay at home.
-Don't ever miss a deadline. If you are teaching a
lesson in math Monday morning, make sure it happens.
-Look for subtle signs of feedback, too. If the
teacher shoots you a look in the middle of a lesson
(rather than interrupting and derailing what you are
doing) try to adjust for it right away, and discuss
it later.
-Don't take it personally if something goes wrong, or
the teacher has a bad day. Smile, and chalk it up to
experience.-Do a little more than your course outline
expects. Teachers are looking for students who show
initiative. If you are to do X% of the teaching at a
certain point, do not keep mentioning that or loudly
object if one day you end up with X+5%.
-Don't ask if you are needed to go out for recess
duty with the teacher, just go. Shows initiative.
-Go to the staff room for lunch and recess with your
teacher some of the time. Staff rooms are
intimidating, but you need to build relationships
with all school staff.
Okay,
sorry that was so long.
I
guess my overall bit of advice is, remember that
student teaching is like the world's longest job
interview. The teaching assistant in the class next
door may be married to the principal of a nearby
school. You want to make a good impression on
everyone because you never know who might be
connected to someone critical to your future job
search.
Finally,
have fun. That is one way, for sure, to show everyone
that you are a natural. If you look like you are
enjoying every minute of your time there, despite the
heavy workload and all the stress that comes out of
it, people will warm up to you immediately, want to
help as much as possible, and see you as a future
professional.
Good
luck. Just the fact that you asked the question tells
me that you are interested and have initiative. It
will take you far. Enjoy!
As
a recent graduate who's just been thru this here's my
advice:
Things will go wrong. Lessons will backfire, kids
will push you, your teacher will shoot down your
ideas, and so on.... You're trying to do something
new, something hard, and beforyou succeed you will
fail. There will be days where you go home and can't
possibly eat enough chocolate or drink enough wine to
make it better! But things will also go well. You'll
create a lesson that will engage the kids and go
perfectly. Your teacher will praise you for things
that you thought you were doing terribly at. Kids
will tell you that you're their favorite teacher, and
that they really learn things from you. You'll learn,
you'll grow, you'll make friends with teachers and
start to feel like a part of the class.
Practical
advice:
-talk to your teacher constantly - run lessons by
them, management ideas or problems, ask them what
they thought of what you did - you'll never have this
chance again to have someone give you detailed
feedback and to learn from them so
take advantage of it
-try things - again, this is the best time to try new
ideas since you're allowed to fail
- talk to the kids - ask them what they like about
your teaching and what you could do better
- relax and enjoy it - if you're nervous the kids
will pick it up - relax, have fun, and enjoy it
Hope
that helps maybe! Good luck Ashli
Oh,
I would say relax and enjoy it. Try to not look at
your assigned teacher as someone who is continually
finding fault. Some are,laughing out loud, trying to
help with some many points of improvement all at
once. Just take this in stride (with a smile) and try
to improve each day.
Understand
something, that we experienced teachers already know,
that what we are as teachers will never be complete.
We are always changing and learning to teach. Just
look at your experience as the beginning of a long
walk, not a run. We really never stop learning to
teach. rick rick
lynn
My
Tips To You!