Student Teaching Semester

My goal of blogging during my student teaching experience certainly didn't pan out. However, I'm back at it and have reflections to share from last semester which I wrote shortly after student teaching was completed.

Written 12/30/16: As I reflect on my semester of student teaching, there is a whole lot I could say. It was a very formative experience, and I am definitely a better teacher and person because of it. I matured a lot this semester. I think that was largely because I was no longer dealing with hypothetical constructs or theoretical ideas. These were real kids with real stories and real emotions. And, I was a real person too, if “stuff” that I brought to the equation.

I quickly discovered I am not the perfect/”super” teacher I had always dreamt I would be. I’ve spent many years reading, talking, and dreaming about teaching. I know this is a calling on my life. And while, I did come with many strengths to student teaching, I was also made aware of major areas of growth that I wasn’t expecting and was humbled quite a bit.

The student teaching experience made me realize that teaching is not exactly what I thought it would be. It’s a lot harder, very time consuming and doesn’t always feel as rewarding. But, it is so worth it.

As I embark shortly on this new adventure with my very own classroom and literally just me making decisions about the behavior and curriculum that occur there, I hope I remember the lessons I’ve learned during student teaching and make as few of the same mistakes again as possible. J

Lessons I’ve learned during student teaching

• It is possible to learn to fully trust a stranger quite quickly. My guess is that this happens more easily when both parties are working diligently towards it. [Sidenote: I had an amazing mentor teacher who had a great balance of encouragement and challenging me to grow.  I am thankful for the energy and wisdom she invested in me and I'd love to be like her in many ways in 20 years].
• Students crave knowing the boundaries and expectations. Just being nice is the worst thing a teacher can do for them.
• Developing a solid, challenging, engaging curriculum is really hard and takes a lot of time.
• Each class has a different personality.
• Social engineering is a real thing and it can work beautifully!
• Apathy is a hard disease to treat.
• Collaboration makes teaching so much easier. Specifically, sharing ideas is helpful and TPT costs less. ;) [Sidenote: I was abundantly blessed to collaborate closely with the other 8th grade math teacher during student teaching. She is in her first few years of teaching and it was helpful to have someone to relate to and talk about the specific challenges beginning teachers face. Working with her was a huge gift!]
• A student’s emotional house must be in check before they are willing to learn math. Sometimes it’s more important to teach them how to behave/interact in a classroom first.
• Teaching is different than coaching Upward Bound.
• Teachers must work harder to develop a relationship with the quiet students. They have a voice and want to be heard.
• Lower my voice to maintain authority. Act/speak in confidence.
• Smile a lot more than I think. J J J
• Students need to be invited by an adult to use any 1:1 devices.
• It is possible to recognize the hard in situations, but to never give up on kids.
• Teachers do have specific favorite students and classes that they look forward to each day. And, they wonder what happens to certain kids after they leave.
• It is important to help advanced students learn how to put less pressure on themselves.
• Parents typically want communication from teachers surrounding concerns in class.
• My past/stuff affects how I teach.
• Analyzing one’s personal biases is an ongoing and pretty humbling process.
• The staff in a wing or building become a community/support system for one another.
• I get the most done early in the morning before school. Except when copy machines are evil.
• I do rise to the occasion. I can be the solo teacher with little support for 3+ weeks. [My mentor teacher had a family emergency she had to attend to near the end of my student teaching experience and I took over. It was exhausting, but definitely helped prepare me for my current long-term sub position]. 
• There’s no such thing as a perfect teacher whether you’re right out of college or have been teaching for 20 years. 

2/5/17 Overall, I was blessed with a great student teaching experience to launch me into my career. I miss my students and the other teachers as I still feel like quite a newbie in my new school.

I took this selfie the night of the open house at the start of student teaching. I was SO excited.

My picture on the board outside the Education Department. 

This was taken on the last day of student teaching as I was leaving my placement.

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