Student Teaching

[Alexander]

As I mentioned elsewhere, I start student teaching in January. I have two assignments. The first is at a rural high school (my cooperating teacher teaches grades 9, 11, and 12), the second is in a suburban setting (9 and 10) at a MUCH bigger school. While I've contacted both teachers by phone, I have thus far only met with the second of the two teachers (I'll be going up to the rural school on January 4th). While she couldn't say for certain what she'll be teaching, she basically told me to be ready to teach "Romeo and Juliet" to three 9th grade classes, either "Huck Finn" or "The Great Gatsby" to her 10th grade Regents classes and something from the Harlem Renaissance ("A Raisin in the Sun," most likely) for her 10th grade AP Prep class. Needless to say, I am absolutely THRILLED. I can't wait to get started. I only hope that my first placement is as good. I'm already thinking about ways to incorperate film, music, and art into my lessons (if I'm talking about the Harlem Renaissance, you KNOW I'm going to play some jazz). I'm especially excited about teaching Shakespeare. I LOVE the language, and I'm hoping to make these students' first experience with Shakespeare fun and accessible.

I know we have some teachers here among us, so I wonder if you'd be so good as to share some of your student teaching experiences here. What should I look for? Am I getting too far ahead of myself?

[JSngry]

If you want to incorporate jazz into "A Raisin in the Sun" , there's always tha Hughes/Mingus collaboration that uses the poem where the line originated (although way before this project, I think).

I enjoyed my student teaching. It made me realize that teaching was not the career of my choice. But I did enjoy it.

[pryan]

Some of my friends are currently student teaching. Some dig it, some don't. One friend who's going to school in the States, liked teaching junior high bands better than elementary level music. Another friend is going to be a gym teacher.

I actually may end up teaching (a certain topic I know far too much about) at a local university, if everything plays out like I hope it does...

[Michael Fitzgerald]

Student teaching, no matter how good the experience, is NOT the real thing. You really don't learn what you need to learn until you are out there on the job yourself, where YOU make the decisions, where YOU handle the problems.

Hopefully you get a good cooperating teacher who is open to advising you after your student teaching is over - because that's when you'll have all kinds of questions.

My last job was very close to a big university so I've had quite a few of what NJ calls "pre-student teachers" - observer/helpers for a total of 20 hours in a semester. I've tried to impart the fruits of my experience, distilled into tips, tricks, etc. but I have a feeling that because they hadn't been out there as teachers that many of the students didn't pick up on them then. Maybe now that some of them are out there they will remember them.

Mike

[Late]

With Shakespeare (and you probably already know this), I strongly recommend bringing in a disc (an audio disc) of a performance by professional actors. I find this much better (i.e. more successful, more meaningful) than watching a video. It has students focus on the use of language, and you can pause any time you want without too much disruption, and discuss certain passages that deserve closer attention. Nothing is worse, in my opinion, than having students slog through reading it aloud in class.

The Langston Hughes poem that Jim's referring to was actually incorporated into the opening of the play by Lorraine Hansberry (which of course you know). It is a good lens by which to view shifts of action in the play, almost as if "A Dream Deferred" is a microcosm at times for the larger concerns of the drama itself. For this one, I think it does help to bring in the movie with Sidney Poitier (though it edits out some scenes). But ... I'm sure you have your own ideas, which is great (and important).

Bringing to class the other activities you seem to have in mind (film, music, art) I think is a good idea, especially for high school students who attend the same class five days a week. It can hold their attention (not easy), but the challenge is making the connection useful between the primary work you're studying and the cross-referencing work you're introducing.

You'll have a great time — even if it gets frustrating, because it will still be educational (at least for you). High school students like to talk ... or drift off into space. For some, you'll be able to switch on the lightbulb above their heads, and for others you won't even be permitted the chance. Teaching requires — beyond a solid knowledge of the subject at hand — endurance and performance. That is, psychological endurance to creatively surmount your doubts, and performance, just like an actor, in front of an audience every day. When you connect with some students, and you will, there is nothing more rewarding. You have the opportunity to become a (relatively) permanent part of their memory.

But ... maybe I haven't really addressed your question(s). I guess I mean these words simply as encouragement.

[A Lark Ascending]

Prepare thoroughly.

Listen to the experienced teachers - you may choose/be wise to discard some of their advice but the chances are it's born of experience.

Be emotionally prepared for the lessons that go badly; it's going to happen and it's unlikely to be just you at fault. You're learning to ride a bike; you'll fall off many times until you gain your balance. Unlike riding a bike you'll fall off regularly 26 years later!

Be cautious in investing too much of your own interests/enthusiasms into a class; it can backfire if the class are not interested, or detect a way of winding you up by making fun of those enthusiasms. There's a fine line between inspiring with enthusiasm and boring with an obsession that seems irrelevant to the kids. And no book can tell you where that line is.

Remember that what kids appreciate most is a professional adult who is approachable, understanding, prepared to give them time; but who will also say 'thus far and no further'. They want you as their teacher, not their friend. A friendly teacher, but they expect a certain distance (the biggest student teacher disasters I've encountered...very few as it happens...have been those who've watched too many movies where a school of martinets is transformed by a single, saviour teacher who is the kids' best mate! Don't do it!).

Above all, remember that they're still kids. At times some of them will try your patience to the limits. It's rarely malice, mainly high spirits.

Oh, and that line attributed to Miles Davis 'Don't play what you know, play what you don't know' applies to creating lessons too. It gets very easy to rely on a stock of lessons built up over time but you get bored, they get bored. Try to find other open-minded teachers - at the same stage as you, older than you - and brainstorm ideas, plan lessons together, try teaching one another's lessons. This keeps you fresh and excited. I'm lucky enough to lead a very large department and I can't overemphasise the joy of working with other teachers.

The greatest pleasure, of course, is rather like jazz. That lesson when the lesson takes off in a wholly different direction and the plan goes out the window. And just like jazz it can lead to total self-indulgence; or, if well steered by yourself, can be the best sort of learning experience out there.

Good luck.

[A Lark Ascending]

And one very practical recommendation. This book:

The best book I've come across for the classroom teacher. Packed with practical ideas for 'active' lessons that get the kids doing instead of just listening. It's British but the activites apply to all subjcts an any country. Quite brilliant. It will become a bible!

Worth the cost of overseas postage a thousand times over.

Details here:

http://www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/thinkings...565144?view=get

Edited December 17, 2004 by Bev Stapleton

[Alexander]

Thanks for the tips, Bev! Thanks also for the lead on the book. I'm always looking for good teacher reasources...

[neveronfriday]

Alexander,

I've been teaching for about 12 years now (all levels, but mostly high school classes 9 - 12/13 (we have a 13th grade over here).

I could give you a million tips, but ...

There's one single thing that I think is really important. If you prepare too much (meaning that you strap yourself in, so to speak), you'll miss the big chance of actually adapting to your students more fully. In my experience, you'll never be teaching the same thing in the same way twice. Every class/course is different and for me, the main aspect of teaching is finding out where those students stand, what they are all about and then to "go with the flow". Adapt your material, add new/different stuff, listen to what the kids say and/or see how they react to certain things and pick it up from there.

That does not mean that you don't decide what's done, basically, but if you listen and watch closely and pick up the vibe of your class, your teaching will improve. I guarantee it.

It is that aspect of teaching that keeps the job interesting (and actually adds quite a bit of work to the work you already have to do), but it can be very rewarding once you feel that your adaption technique is actually bearing fruit.

It took me a while to get the routine to be able to do this successfully, but once you get the hang of it, the fun part of teaching starts.

Cheers!

[ejp626]

Well, my teaching experience was unusual and fairly horrible, being dropped into the Newark (NJ) public school system with almost no experience. They didn't have the mentoring program set up properly, so I actually taught everything myself for a couple of weeks, then when I started getting into a groove, they yanked me out and undermined my authority further. I got into it with the teacher who I shared the classroom. She would literally write her problems up on the board at the beginning of the school day, then sit at her desk while each class went through the problems. I wasn't "allowed" to use the board, since it would have meant she would have had to write the problems again. I finally threatened to quit, and was given a different set of classes (in three different rooms) that were even worse (here they grouped all their behaviorally challenged kids who had failed their reading and math pre-test together -- and this was the group they gave to the starting teacher!). The whole place was mobbed-up (the teachers more than the students), kids pulling the fire alarm an average of once a week, trying to get kids caught up after they were returned from stays in juvenile homes, etc. Real movie of the week stuff, but without a happy ending. It really was a hopeless situation, and tragic for the children, and I left after two years (right before attacks on teachers went up incidentally).

Anyway, the small advice I would give is not to overdo it on the multi-media stuff up front. If the kids decide you are too friendly or enthusiastic or just different, you risk being marked as a pushover (as I was), and this will make your job so much tougher. You are not there to be their friend, as a few other people have remarked.

[Craig23]

I agree that you need to be very prepared. Always have enough work for the kids and always know what objectives you are attempting to teach. The more prepared you are the better. In the beginning, go in knowing exactly what you want to do (it probably won't end up that way, but that is a good thing). You will always have the opportunity to connect with your students once you find your teaching style/voice. By being overly prepared when you start you will cover your ass when you have "extra time" and you will one less thing to stress over each day.

My first student teaching experience was horrible. I nearly quit the program. I lost 20 pounds in two and a half weeks and slept 2-4 hours per night. My master teacher and I didn't get along. It was a fourth grade class that he did not want to give up any control over. As a result I felt like a visitor the entire time. I saw a teacher who I did not want to be like. The teacher yelled and was very disrespectful. The more honest and respectful you are to your kids the more honest and respectful they will be to you. Be firm but fair.

My second placement was in a third grade class. It was then that I knew this was the job for me. I jumped right in and started teaching full days after about a week in the classroom (aside from the fourth grade placement, this was my only experience in a classroom in the teacher role). My teacher gave me all of the independence I needed and respected my decisions. I learned so much during this placement because the the teacher let me feel like it was my classroom. She answered all my questions, and, better yet, got me to answer my own questions. Don't be afraid to get advice from many sources because it will make your life easier. I was told that there is no such thing as a new lesson plan. With the internet, you don't need to think of your own lessons. Take ideas from other teachers and the internet and use what you can to fit the character of your class.

Always, always, always, have lunch in the teacher lunchroom and talk with the other teachers. The more connections and the more friendly you are in the beginning the easier it will be to find a job later. Plus, in the lunchroom, while you are, um, eavesdropping you will learn the most useful little techniques to help run your class that school will not teach you. Visit as many other classrooms as you can and take pictures of good ideas that you see in various classrooms.

Obviously, you will have easy days and hard days but stick with it if for nothing but the days off you get throughout the year: Today was my last day of official work for two weeks.

[neveronfriday]

Anyway, the small advice I would give is not to overdo it on the multi-media stuff up front. If the kids decide you are too friendly or enthusiastic or just different, you risk being marked as a pushover (as I was), and this will make your job so much tougher. You are not there to be their friend, as a few other people have remarked.

I work in a somewhat rural area in Germany, at a school that does not have any of the problems described above. Here, teachers are still respected by both students and parents.

The only "problem" children I have are the ones with eating disorders or things of a similar nature.

Violence against teachers? Zilch.

Most of the parents are upwardly mobile and their kids behave respectively. I've been fortunate enough to be able to help place several students at Cambridge and Oxford, MIT and leading German universities. We have some extremely bright kids here, and the rest are almost always above average ... all 1000 of them.

Yes, we do have problems, but it is mostly the teachers that constitute those. Too old, burned out ... or simply too lazy.

A problem inherent in the system.

It's good to be a teacher here.

I think I'm one of the lucky few.

Cheers!

I agree with the above advice regarding the use of multi-media stuff in class. My experience is that the students have enough contact with all of that in the first place - no need to pour it over their heads at school as well. In small doses it can be quite effective though.