other ideas...

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Home : 2007 : May : 8

other ideas...
By professor

I have been a coop and now supervise student teachers as one of my responsibilities in the college where I teach...

The desk and space idea...wonderful! They love this because it makes a statement to the students...I
am a teacher, too...and coops who have made the effort to create that space...it just means a lot to the student teacher...

Think about a journal type of communication...I used this throughout my student teachers' stay...each day...I would write how that day went for he/she...then the student teacher would get the chance to write his/her thoughts back to me...would leave the

journal on my desk in the morning...it then became an excellent resource for them to keep...could go back and read comments I had made about a particular lesson or possibly behavior management...

I always made time for this...just don't always get the time to sit down and have long chats...so I used the journal...my student teachers who now teach say...they have it in the desk drawer...

Also...allow your student teacher to include a letter to parents in that newsletter you send out...self-introduction gives them practice for greeting parents...they can tell a little about their college background, past things they have done (hobbies), and where they are from...again...makes them feel important.

Final word...I have been blessed in knowing many coops who are caring and really want to see the student teacher progress...however, there have been a few who have tried to include them in the "discussions" colleagues will have about each other...yes, I'm sorry...it is true...please stay away from that...faculty lounge types of conversations...that we all know just should not happen...but do because of the need to vent...just keep your student teacher out of those...some have talked with me about occurrences like I have described because they feel so uncomfortable...my advice to them has been to excuse themselves from the gathering...

Other than that...thanks to all of you who take on the responsibility of teaching the next generation of teachers...they are so excited about getting into the profession...it's our responsibility to make sure they stay excited and positive!