Are you an education major who is student teaching next semester? Or planning to in the future? Here is some advice from two current student teachers, who are here to help ease any stress you may be having.
Taylor Stuono ’14 (pictured on the left)Hometown: Montville, NJLocation of student teaching placement: Milton, PAWhat field are you teaching: I just finished my first placement in a Middle School Life Skills Support Classroom. My second placement will be in a kindergarten classroom.
Gabby Jenkins ‘14Hometown: Tunkhannock, PALocation of student teaching placement: Hazelton, PAWhat field are you teaching: I am currently in my second student teaching placement at Hazleton Area High School teaching Secondary Education Spanish (grades 10-12.) I am in the same placement for my first and second, so I am with the same co-op and students throughout my entire experience.
Her Campus: First off, what do you enjoy the most about your student teaching experience?Taylor Stuono: I enjoyed the relationships I built with my students, my cooperating teacher, and the aides in my classroom. I was able to joke around with my students, as well as provide instruction to them. These students will always have a special place in my heart, and I have already made plans to visit them.
Gabby Jenkins: I enjoy working with my students and being able to witness first hand the progress each of my students make daily. It is really rewarding knowing that I was able to teach a lesson successfully! I have been able to build a strong rapport with each of my students, especially because I have been with them now for 12 weeks. We have truly gotten to know each other and it makes class a lot more fun!
HC: What do you find as the most challenging aspect of student teaching?TS: The most challenging aspect of student teaching is classroom management. At times, it is a challenge to try and teach a lesson while also managing students to stay in their seats and to have them not call out. It is also a challenge to try to keep 12 students on-task to complete an assignment, while also providing support to them.
GJ: I definitely agree with Taylor. My biggest challenge thus far has been classroom management. I am 23, and the students I am teaching range from ages 15-18. Because I am young, sometimes they try to take advantage of me. After a solid 6 weeks, I can say that my classroom management has improved and my students do see me more as their teacher, however some days are still pretty difficult.
HC: How do you balance your social life with all of the lesson planning and grading students’ work?TS: Balancing a social life can definitely be a challenge at times, but it is necessary to do it. If you do not take time for yourself, you will have breakdowns and go insane. Plan ahead when you will complete assignments and manage your work. Ask your cooperating teacher for help, that’s what they are there for! Set aside time to do your work, as well as to hang out with your friends. Just going out to dinner with your friends is a good break. Go out at night on the weekends and do work during the day!
GJ: It is not impossible to balance your social life and be an excellent student teacher! Time management is key. I try to get all my lessons for the week written during the weekend. I usually will take either Saturday or Sunday and just bang out all 10 of my lessons for the following week. At first, it took me about two hours to complete one lesson. Now, I can write about 3 or 4 lessons in two hours! Eventually, student teaching becomes second nature and it is a lot less overwhelming and it is easier to go out and relax….without feeling guilty.
HC: What takes up most of your time to prepare for your next day?TS: I didn’t have to write lesson plans for this placement, however I still did need to prepare every night. Reading over lesson scripts to make sure I understand the lesson information, and making sure I have the materials necessary for the lessons is what takes the most time.
GJ: At the secondary level, I am required to create lessons for each class I teach. Creating 10 lessons a week was overwhelming at first, but I have mastered it. I have found that each unit will last about 2.5 weeks, so it is a lot easier now to plan ahead and stay on top of things. Since I am teaching complex grammar lessons, I find that direct instruction is necessary. For grammar and vocabulary, I prefer using PowerPoint presentations. Generally, I create about 4-5 PowerPoint presentations per unit (on top of my 10 lessons per week) to accompany the lessons. This is definitely time consuming but it is effective.
HC: Finally, what advice do you have for younger education majors? And do you have any suggestions to help them prepare for student teaching?TS: Be prepared for anything and go in with an open mind! One day you may want to leave your classroom crying and not want to come back. But every day is different and remember the next day is a new day, and your love for teaching and your students will bring you back. Remember, your students appreciate you more than you think!
GJ: Breathe. Take it one day at a time. As Taylor said, some days you will leave school crying while others you will leave feeling accomplished and proud of yourself. It will get easier! It is a learning experience and everything will eventually fall into place. Be prepared to work hard. Student teaching has been the most work I have done in college thus far, but it is also the most I have ever learned over these past four years. It’s really awesome being able to apply the methods and theories we have learned in our college courses in an actual classroom. Enjoy every second of it, make time for yourself and remember why you chose to be a teacher…. because it is the most rewarding job in the world!