Thoughts from a Student Teacher Week One

As you may have noticed, I am very behind in my blogging! However, I have a good reason for my absence. I have been student teaching, full time, at a middle school here in town. This past week I clocked in approximately 53 hours! I have been keeping a journal that I turn in to my supervisor and thought I would share it with the blogging community. So here is my journal from week one of my student teaching adventure....

So far, my student teaching experience at the middle school has been exciting, emotional, and tiring. There are at least 3 things that have surprised me this week:

1.     How strict the teachers are on the kids. There are some things that my mentor teacher will not let slide that I think are small and I feel that when she holds them accountable on it, her reaction could make the student act out more. This is something I have to think about a little more. I also feel that it is important to “wipe the slate clean” at the end of the day and start the next day fresh, but Mrs. C (as I will call my mentor teacher from hear on out) will bring up the student’s wrong doings of the previous day which I feel makes them upset again, causing them to act out. It is amazing to me that every little thing a teacher does affects the students in some ways!

2.     The pressure of the upcoming standardized test is excruciating!!! It is like a black cloud hanging over all of our heads. Yes, the teachers teach the state standards, but constantly they are telling the students “This will be on the test,” “If you don’t work harder you’re going to fail the test,” “Guys, we don’t have time to goof around the test is coming!” Everyone is running scared. The teachers do not know what is on the test and they tell the kids they do not know what is on the test and everyone is running scared! For me, it is hard to enjoy learning in this kind of environment.

3.     I had no idea how tiring it is to be a teacher. The last four days I have been up at 5:30 am so that I can get to the school at 7:15 am. I’ve stayed at the school until 4:30 or 5:30 every evening!! I know that in reality I can leave when the other teachers leave, but when my cooperating teacher stays I feel like I’m going to miss something! One night she gave me a 2 inch stack of paper of things to cut out. I still have bruises from the scissors! Being a teacher is exhausting!

The most rewarding experience so far has been participating in Mrs. C’s SIOP class. She has a group of 8^th graders who primarily speak Spanish. They are all on very low reading levels due to the language barrier. Yesterday, one of the boys was taking an A.R. test on one of the books he was reading and I found out that his goal for A.R. points for the year is 16. He has 36 points!! He has already surpassed his goal! I so admire these kids. I took 6 years of Spanish in high school and college and hardly know a thing. I know how hard it is to learn a language and that if you do not work hard you will not succeed, but these kids are working hard and they are speaking English and raising their Reading Levels and exceeding students who take for granted that they can read English. I feel that I will learn a lot from this group!

The biggest way Mrs. C has helped me so far is that she believes in me! Not only does she tell me that she believes in me she also tells the kids. She has told the kids that I am her partner. They do not know I’m a student teacher (though if they are smart they have probably figured it out by now). Also, at the end of the day she will hug me and tell me that I am a huge help to her. It makes me feel pretty special. J