From a substitute's perspective...

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Home : 2004 : November : 21

From a substitute's perspective...
By Brewer

I've graduated from college with a Bachelor's Degree & almost a double w/Secondary Education in English. I really didn't feel that I was fully ready before I dropped the program.

I've now since gone back to a different
school & will be ST finally in January. Do classes alone fully prepare you? Not in the least... they give you a good idea of what to expect... but until you are in the classroom... it's very difficult to know what to really expect. Even Clinical Observations only give you a glimpse (unless your supervising teacher didn't give you a chance to teach a lesson).
That's just some background

for my answer. Being a substitute teacher on every level for almost a year & a half... I've seen a lot of things. I can tell which teachers have great classroom management & the ones who really don't have a clue. I've been in positions where I had NO clue of how to teach things (e.g. Radicals in Frosh Algebra on about 10 minutes notice)... yet I not only pulled it off... but also did quite well.

The moral I'm getting to is this... Student teaching has been described to me as a "leap of faith." You just have to dive in & go with it. You're going to have those days that you wish you were doing something else. But you'll also have those days that you will wow even yourself.

Don't fret about it... even the "teacher" voice will come in time & experience! Just win the students' respect right away & you'll have no problem!