california what to do if you are unhappy with "student teacher" position?

This week, I got an email from someone who is simply nigh to first student teaching. Feeling anxious most the semester ahead, she asked if I had whatsoever advice.

I'yard going to share my own thoughts here, just I would similar it if this could be one of my crowdsourcing posts, where we pull together all the collective wisdom of my incredibly smart, insightful readers (like the times you advised parents on skipping kindergarten and having your child take actress math courses). So after I share my ideas, I would love for everyone else to employ the comments below to requite all showtime teachers advice on how to brand the nigh of the student pedagogy feel.

Okay. I'll become showtime:

1. Inquire All the Questions

Unless y'all're very extroverted, you might hold dorsum on asking questions. Perhaps y'all don't want to bother anyone or yous don't desire to look stupid.

Try really hard to get over that. Yous need to be request lots of questions this term: Questions nigh classroom procedures, grading, and applied science. Questions about how your host teachers handle tricky situations, how they manage to steal bathroom breaks, and how they determine whether an 89% is an A or a B. If you don't ask, you're non going to larn.

If you experience similar you lot're taking upwardly a lot of your host teacher's time, keep a list of questions as you recall of them, and so ask several at once. Or inquire dissimilar people different questions, so you're not "bothering" the same people all the time. Seriously, though, it's really non a bother. Well-nigh experienced professionals love sharing their expertise, so ask away.

two. Get a Buddy

When I did my student teaching at Penn Country, my friend Dan had also been assigned to the same school. Everyone in my program had been placed in schools all over Pennsylvania, so we were pretty isolated, and it was a huge approval to accept Dan around. We didn't accept much chance to talk during the school day, but about once a week we would have dinner and talk about things that were going well and things that weren't. We asked each other the stupid questions we were afraid to ask anyone else. And we gossiped like crazy. It was a great stress reliever, and it really helped to accept another "outsider" to talk to.

If y'all don't take another student teacher in your edifice to share the feel with, find someone else in your programme and set some kind of regular check-in. If that's non an pick, await around online for a customs. Find someone who gets you, someone who has a like amount of force per unit area on them, and schedule fourth dimension to hang out. Yous'll exist glad yous did.

three. Observe Like Crazy

The best manner to learn what adept teaching looks like, and what not-and then-good didactics looks like, is to detect LOTS of teachers. Chances are your plan is going to crave yous to do a certain number of these; my advice is to triple that number. Use your planning period to sit in the back of someone else's classroom; course papers if you need to multitask. You'll withal choice up plenty of instructional techniques and tweaks, bits of presentation flair, and classroom management strategies. You'll go absurd ideas for organizing materials, establishing skilful procedures, and even decorating a classroom.

Although it'southward vital to observe teachers in the same content areas and class levels as yours, observing outside these parameters will too be hugely informative, so seek out teachers who teach something different from you. And don't limit your observations to classroom instruction: Sit in while a colleague makes a parent phone telephone call (those are tough, and there's an art to it). Nourish an IEP meeting if y'all are allowed. Sentinel a colleague coach a sports team or run a order meeting.

How do y'all ask for these observations? Just tell the teacher in question that yous desire to observe in as many classrooms as possible, and so enquire if you can end past 5th period. Elementary as that. They will near e'er say yes.

iv. Network

Just like substitute teaching, pupil didactics is an splendid opportunity to get to know lots of people in your field, which tin eventually atomic number 82 to securing a total-time position. Schools are much more than likely to hire someone whose piece of work they are familiar with, and so make sure people get to know you during your student pedagogy semester. This means going to the social events, introducing yourself to people you lot don't know, eating lunch in the staff room (at least sometimes) and putting your hand up when volunteers are needed to sell tickets at the basketball game. Every person yous meet is a potential connection for later employment, then make lots of connections now.

5. Put Together a Professional person Wardrobe

This is an area that a lot of student teachers get incorrect. In full general, when dressing for schoolhouse, your clothes should exist a little more than conservative and a little more dressed upward than what yous ordinarily wear. If you lot are immature (in your early twenties) and are pedagogy students who are older (i.e., high school) this is especially important considering you need to look different from your students. Earlier school even starts, learn your host school's dress lawmaking for teachers and follow it, keeping in mind that some of the other teachers in your school may not necessarily exercise so. Never heed that: Y'all don't have the seniority to thumb your nose at whatsoever dress lawmaking. Follow it. And for those grayness areas, if you have fifty-fifty a tiny doubt about something yous're wearing (Is this too depression-cut? Too tight? Would this t-shirt offend anyone?), don't wear it.

For inspiration, women should starting time by searching for Teacher Mode on Pinterest, and so check out The Styled Teacher'due south web log, where you can find tons of photos of ensembles that are cute AND appropriate for the classroom. For men, Pinterest as well has a lot of slap-up ideas for male instructor mode, and check out this article on building a male teacher's wardrobe from Real Men Real Style.

6. Clean Upwardly Your Social Media

If you oasis't already washed so, y'all need to SCRUB every 1 of your social media accounts until they sparkle. Untag yourself from incriminating photos, delete any posts that might be considered controversial, un-like whatever pages that might cause administrators, parents, or students to make unflattering assumptions near you. Switch public settings to private when information technology is reasonable to exercise so. Basically, await at your online footprint through the optics of an ambassador who is thinking about hiring you, and remove anything they might object to. Y'all are about to begin the stage of your life when you are no longer just a private citizen; role of yous is now somewhat public-facing, so your online presence needs to be professional.

If you lot remember your students are going to want to connect with you on social media, go ahead and set up a "instructor" account right now (e.g., Mrs. G'due south Instagram Account), where you will refrain from posting your real-real-life stuff, and send students there.

seven. Take Pocket-sized Bites

Think: This is just practise. Y'all are non expected to be able to know everything and do everything, and you're certainly not expected to do it all well. And then when you start to feel overwhelmed past all the things you're supposed to exist learning and all the other things yous could exist trying, just remind yourself to take minor bites right now. Expert teachers spend their whole careers trying to get it right, and some of the very best will tell y'all they however accept a lot to learn, so cut yourself some slack.

8. Keep a "Adjacent Year" Notebook

Information technology'south human nature to recollect y'all're going to call back all the ideas you come up up with this semester, all the lessons you learn, all the things you desire to do differently next time around. I'm here to tell you lot that you won't remember half of them if you don't write them down.

9. Find Your Marigold

If you lot've never read my article about teachers and marigolds, get read it now. I'll wait.

Okay, that applies to student teachers too. To really take a wonderful educatee teaching experience, you need to find i person in the edifice who embodies everything you want to be in a teacher, so spend every bit much fourth dimension with them as you tin. If you're very lucky, this could be the person who has been assigned to be your host teacher. If it's non, go find them. Information technology will make all the divergence in the world.

More Communication to Come…

Okay, I'yard washed for now. I hope this has been helpful. Now I want to hear from the rest of my readers. In the comments below, share your advice for pupil teachers. Let'due south conductor in the next batch of newbies with gusto. ♥

If you're a new teacher, the Cult of PedagogyNew Teacher Checklist volition provide a structure to follow as you lot progress through the school yr. To download a costless re-create, butsign up for my mailing list. You'll get the checklist, plus all the other free downloads in my Members-Only Library. (If you're already a subscriber and desire this resource, only check your most recent email for a link to the Members-Only Library!)

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Source: https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/student-teaching/

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