Things I Wish I Learned as a Student Teacher…

Starting this week, I will be mentoring a student teacher. I did not have much of a student teaching experience as a Teaching Fellow, but I’ve been thinking about things that I wish I’d learned then but didn’t.

1. Don’t take students’ behavior personally. Their anger is not about you. It might be directed at you at the moment, because you’re there and they’re seeing you as an obstacle to doing and acting the way they want to.
2. Be yourself. Some advice I got when I was interviewing for my first teaching job was “don’t smile.” I’m here to say that is terrible advice. Students want to get to know you, and they need to trust you. If you’re not being yourself with them, they can tell and it adversely affects your relationship with them.
3. You are not their friend. While it is important to foster positive relationships with students, you are still the leader of the classroom, and have to enforce the class and school wide rules. In addition, you are a mandated reporter, so if a student tells you something concerning you HAVE to report it.
4. Optimize your prep time. Try not to take work home every night. That is debilitating, and will lead to you hating teaching in the very near future. Try to get as much planning and grading done during the school day as you can.
5. That said…also take a break. Eat lunch. Talk and commiserate with your co-workers. Discuss students. Hang out in the office. I got through my very challenging first year because I had a good relationship with my co-workers.
6. Find a lesson planning style that works for you. Always have a lesson plan. But the templates that you get from grad school or the Fellows are not always realistic for everyday use. Your boss can suggest a template, but can’t mandate that you use it, so find something that works for you.
7. Especially now, become adept at using educational technology. You can’t hide behind “I don’t know technology.” You have to be willing to learn it, at least the basics.