College Dean Just Denied Me My Student Teaching Internship Again When I Was Finally Given the Okay

This week, I got an email from someone who is merely about to outset pupil teaching. Feeling anxious well-nigh the semester ahead, she asked if I had any advice.

I'm going to share my ain thoughts here, but I would like it if this could be one of my crowdsourcing posts, where we pull together all the collective wisdom of my incredibly smart, insightful readers (similar the times yous brash parents on skipping kindergarten and having your child take actress math courses). And then after I share my ideas, I would love for anybody else to utilize the comments below to give all beginning teachers communication on how to make the about of the student teaching feel.

Okay. I'll go first:

1. Inquire All the Questions

Unless you're very extroverted, yous might hold back on asking questions. Perchance you lot don't want to bother anyone or you don't want to look stupid.

Endeavor actually hard to get over that. You lot demand to be asking lots of questions this term: Questions about classroom procedures, grading, and technology. Questions about how your host teachers handle tricky situations, how they manage to steal bathroom breaks, and how they decide whether an 89% is an A or a B. If you don't ask, you're not going to learn.

If you feel like you're taking upward a lot of your host teacher'southward time, go on a list of questions every bit y'all think of them, so inquire several at once. Or ask unlike people different questions, and then you lot're non "bothering" the same people all the fourth dimension. Seriously, though, information technology's really not a bother. Nigh experienced professionals love sharing their expertise, and so ask away.

2. Get a Buddy

When I did my student pedagogy at Penn Land, my friend Dan had too 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 blessing to have Dan around. We didn't have much chance to talk during the school day, but virtually once a week nosotros would have dinner and talk about things that were going well and things that weren't. We asked each other the stupid questions nosotros were afraid to ask anyone else. And we gossiped similar crazy. It was a nifty stress reliever, and information technology really helped to have another "outsider" to talk to.

If you don't have another student teacher in your edifice to share the experience with, find someone else in your programme and gear up some kind of regular cheque-in. If that's not an selection, await effectually online for a community. Find someone who gets you, someone who has a similar amount of force per unit area on them, and schedule time to hang out. You'll be glad you did.

3. Find Like Crazy

The best way to learn what skilful teaching looks similar, and what not-then-good teaching looks similar, is to observe LOTS of teachers. Chances are your program is going to crave yous to do a certain number of these; my communication is to triple that number. Use your planning catamenia to sit in the back of someone else's classroom; course papers if you demand to multitask. You'll still pick up plenty of instructional techniques and tweaks, bits of presentation flair, and classroom direction strategies. You'll go cool ideas for organizing materials, establishing expert procedures, and fifty-fifty decorating a classroom.

Although it's vital to observe teachers in the aforementioned content areas and grade levels as yours, observing outside these parameters volition also exist hugely informative, so seek out teachers who teach something different from you. And don't limit your observations to classroom education: Sit in while a colleague makes a parent telephone call (those are tough, and there's an art to it). Attend an IEP meeting if y'all are allowed. Watch a colleague coach a sports team or run a club meeting.

How do you ask for these observations? Only tell the teacher in question that you want to observe in equally many classrooms as possible, then enquire if you tin stop by 5th period. Elementary equally that. They will near always say yeah.

4. Network

Just similar substitute didactics, student teaching is an splendid opportunity to get to know lots of people in your field, which can eventually pb to securing a full-fourth dimension position. Schools are much more likely to hire someone whose work they are familiar with, so make sure people get to know you during your student education semester. This ways going to the social events, introducing yourself to people yous don't know, eating lunch in the staff room (at least sometimes) and putting your paw upward when volunteers are needed to sell tickets at the basketball game. Every person y'all meet is a potential connection for subsequently employment, and then make lots of connections now.

5. Put Together a Professional Wardrobe

This is an expanse that a lot of student teachers get incorrect. In full general, when dressing for schoolhouse, your clothes should be a fiddling more than conservative and a petty more dressed up than what yous unremarkably wear. If you are young (in your early on twenties) and are didactics students who are older (i.e., loftier school) this is particularly of import because y'all need to look different from your students. Before school even starts, learn your host school'southward clothes code for teachers and follow it, keeping in mind that some of the other teachers in your school may not necessarily do then. Never mind that: Yous don't have the seniority to thumb your nose at any dress code. Follow information technology. And for those greyness areas, if yous take fifty-fifty a tiny doubt about something you'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 Fashion on Pinterest, then check out The Styled Instructor's weblog, where you tin can find tons of photos of ensembles that are beautiful AND appropriate for the classroom. For men, Pinterest also has a lot of bully ideas for male teacher fashion, and check out this article on edifice a male person teacher's wardrobe from Real Men Existent Style.

6. Make clean Upward Your Social Media

If yous oasis't already done so, you need to SCRUB every one of your social media accounts until they sparkle. Untag yourself from incriminating photos, delete any posts that might exist considered controversial, un-like whatsoever pages that might crusade administrators, parents, or students to make unflattering assumptions nearly you lot. Switch public settings to private when it is reasonable to exercise and then. Basically, await at your online footprint through the eyes of an administrator who is thinking about hiring you lot, and remove anything they might object to. You are virtually to begin the stage of your life when y'all are no longer merely a private denizen; part of you is now somewhat public-facing, so your online presence needs to exist professional person.

If you retrieve your students are going to desire to connect with you lot on social media, become alee and set upwardly a "teacher" business relationship right now (e.m., Mrs. Grand's Instagram Account), where you volition refrain from posting your existent-real-life stuff, and ship students there.

7. Take Small-scale Bites

Remember: This is just practice. You lot are not expected to be able to know everything and practise everything, and you're certainly non expected to exercise it all well. So when you kickoff to feel overwhelmed by all the things y'all're supposed to be learning and all the other things you could exist trying, but remind yourself to take small-scale bites right now. Good teachers spend their whole careers trying to go it right, and some of the very best will tell you they yet accept a lot to larn, so cut yourself some slack.

8. Keep a "Next Year" Notebook

Information technology'southward homo nature to recall y'all're going to remember all the ideas yous come up with this semester, all the lessons you learn, all the things yous want to practice differently next time around. I'm here to tell you that y'all won't remember half of them if you don't write them downwardly.

nine. Find Your Marigold

If yous've never read my article about teachers and marigolds, become read it now. I'll await.

Okay, that applies to student teachers too. To really have a wonderful student teaching experience, y'all need to notice one person in the building who embodies everything you want to be in a teacher, then spend as much time with them equally you tin can. If you're very lucky, this could be the person who has been assigned to be your host instructor. If it'southward non, go find them. It will make all the difference in the earth.

More Advice to Come…

Okay, I'1000 done 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 educatee teachers. Permit's conductor in the next batch of newbies with gusto. ♥

If you're a new teacher, the Cult of Educational activityNew Teacher Checklist will provide a structure to follow as you progress through the school year. To download a gratuitous copy, justsign up for my mailing listing. Yous'll go the checklist, plus all the other free downloads in my Members-Only Library. (If yous're already a subscriber and want this resource, just bank check your nigh 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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