Student Teacher Needs

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Student Teacher Needs
By L.P.

After a space of their own, I would have to say that feedback and letting go of the students are the most important things.

I student taught last fall and my coop. teacher never gave me any feed back except at the
start of the year when she told me I was doing "Great." You can imagine my shock when at midterm she presented my supervisor with a three page list of every mistake I had ever made and some that I don't know where she got. I had even asked her at the start of the year to let me know these things.
At the root of it all was her inability to let go, even after teaching 12 years. She

simply did not want to let me teach "her kids". It took her weeks before she would even let me read them a story! So when she absolutely had to let me teach, I'd had little practice, and her resentment and jealousy increased the more I taught. She wouldn't even let me lead them to assembly and would come from where ever she had been to take them from me. By the time I was done with my solo time, she was severely depressed over "missing the students" (and talked about it to others). I was not allowed to evaluate them or do any of the report cards.

We had started out as friends, too, and she had been excited about having me in her room. So all of this came as such a shock to me. I cried for the entire weekend after she gave my supervisor that midterm report not to mention what it did to my confidence. I talked to my supervisor about it and he said it would not go in my record, thankfully.

The really strange part was after she took over teaching again, it was like none of that had ever happened! She was happy, gave me a surprise party for going away, and rave reviews on my final. I took it in stride but it was difficult to find it sincere or to trust her after all that had went on.

I look forward to having a student teacher when I have more experience. (I was hired to teach kindergarten this year!) I love sharing what I know. And to be able to launch someone else in this very special profession would be a thrill.

You sound like you would be the same way. Just remember, let your student teacher try his/her wings. The more practice they get, the better.