Things I Wish I’d Learned As A Student Teacher, Part 2

As I continue working with my student teacher, I continue to wonder what my transition to teaching would have been like if I had actually had a student teaching experience. Now, I don’t regret my undergrad experience at all. In fact, I’m grateful for it. But if I’d taken a different route to teaching, I would (possibly) have had more support. These are a few of the things that crossed my mind:

1. Lesson Planning. When I was a Teaching Fellow, we did not learn how to lesson plan. We knew were supposed to create lesson plans, but we were never really taught how to create them. (The Fellows have since gone in the other direction, requiring pre-service teachers to create these in depth lesson plans that are in no way realistic for everyday.) Because of this, I plan to sit down with my student teacher and help him create lesson plans that work for him but will also please his professor/administrator.
2. Outreach is important, especially in a remote environment…but is sometimes more complicated than it should be. In grad school, we were told about parent outreach, and it was made to seem like teachers never had trouble reaching parents and outreach was always effective. In reality…that isn’t totally the case. We have to navigate many different scenarios with empathy and grace while sometimes delivering news about a student a parent might not want to hear. And also, remember to be culturally sensitive – if you find out a parent doesn’t speak English, you can’t talk at them in English and say you did outreach. Best bet is to call back with a translator or send an email in their language.
3. It is in your best interest to stay on good terms with as many people as you can – deans, the payroll secretary, administrators you don’t directly report to, custodians, guidance counselors, etc. For Special Ed, I would add in related service providers (Speech/Counseling/OT/etc) and school psychologists. These are often people who have more experience than you and can help foster the sense of community within the school. They are also people who might know students in a different capacity than you do, so they can offer insight that you might not have.
4. Know your rights. While you are probationary, you don’t totally have the same protections as when you are granted tenure. However. That does not mean you should be taken advantage of. If you work over time, you should be paid. You are entitled to your lunch and off periods just like everyone else. You should not be teaching more than 3 periods in a row. Another person to make friends with is your union rep. If you’re unsure a situation, they know your rights and can help you.