Chapter 1 - It’s Your Very Own, Brand New Environment: It’s eerily similar to school when you were young, but a whole lot has changed in you and in here.
From the outside, very little has
changed. It looks, sounds, and smells (especially during the warm months) like
a school. Lockers slamming, complaints about uniforms, loud laughter, and
silent insecurity fill the air. Take a moment to be grateful that you are not
an adolescent. The classroom layout is the same with a few new technologies
integrated into the scene. Kids are still kids, teachers are still teachers.
You are wearing your “I’m not a real teacher” WSU College of Education name
tag. You do not have keys to the building so you enter through the same doors
through which the students enter. It is very important that you project an aura
of comfort in the school building. It will be difficult at first but for your
students’ sake and your own sanity, get comfortable. Ask for a locker near your
home room. Ask for a desk in your home room. Request a laptop from the tech
person, request a classroom key from the office, stop in and say good morning
to the office staff. Explore the building often so that you know where things
are when students ask in desperation during passing periods.
Chapter 2 - Act One, Act Like One: It may mean nothing in a literal sense, but seriously, it means everything, kinda.
One of
the expectations is that you “Act like a teacher.” It is a very ambiguous way
of implying a need for unity among the adults so that we can stand up for or
against the students in our charge. We all have different ideas about what a
teacher acts like. A seven year old’s perception is different from that of a
college student. Create your own professional educator persona. Adjust it as
necessary, but have it figured out as soon as possible for the sake of being
consistent for your students. Dress for success. Don’t wear jeans unless it is
a jean’s day. Do not participate in silly dress down days because no student
will take you seriously in your pajamas even if it is pajama day. Get teacher
stuff, like a desk in the classroom. Bring a few school appropriate books that
project your dedication to learning and show your humanity. You are a member of
the staff, though you do not get a paycheck and students will pick your
“student teacher” status to pieces. Call the classroom YOUR classroom. (Do not
act like that in MY classroom!) Work on your stern get-back-on-task face, your
disappointed-in-your-behavior face, and your trust-me-I-know-what-I’m-doing
face. All three will be of value in your first week.
Chapter 3 - Do Not Take It Personally: The students will try to hurt you, never let them know when they are successful.
Kids
are great. Kids are the future. Kids are works in progress. Kids are mean. They
will not always appreciate your efforts. They will not be logical. They will
not be considerate. They will be disrespectful on occasion or in some cases
anytime they are awake. They will gripe when you challenge them and fail
frequently. They need encouragement. They need consistency. They need to be
able to figure out who they are. They are mean to each other and they will
direct their aggression at you without warning like a velociraptor testing the
electric fences in Jurassic Park. Do not ever let them think that they are
successful in hurting your feelings. Like sharks or piranha, they will destroy
you if they smell blood in the water. It helps me to imagine that we are all as
big as our maturity levels. We educators (for the most part) are gigantic
compared to them. This analogy helps me to view their verbal daggers as slight
annoyances and not flinch when they lash out. Remember that whatever has their
little backsides chapped probably has nothing to do with you. That being said,
if you never tick them off, you are not doing your job.
Chapter 4 - The Careful Collection of Influences: There are a million factors at work in a school on any given day. Yes, you are there to learn, but be careful who you let teach you.
It is a
balancing act of teaching and learning. Rather than earning a paycheck, your
wages are those of experience, wisdom, and growth. Your college courses and
advisors have gotten you this far along with your own personal motivations. Now
is the time to absorb the influence. Dive into the pool of learning and swim
around in it. Your CT was chosen to help guide you through the process. Theirs
is the most valuable influence you will probably have. Your CT is only part of
the experience. Observe other teachers in your placement school. Ask around and
find out who the staff considers to be the best and most effective teachers.
Ask the students too. Between the sad reality of some students’ dysfunctional
home lives, poverty, hormones, human error, personal tensions between teachers, differences of
opinions with administration, union politics, and
your own personal ups and downs, seek out positive attitudes and cling to them.
If you are asked how you are doing, don’t use the lame standby answer “fine”
rather pick a few better adjectives like “fantastic” or “great” or “if I was
any better I’d be in a straight jacket.” If you cannot muster genuine
enthusiasm, fake it. Your students need you to be uplifting and so do some of
the more battle hardened veteran teachers.
Chapter 5 - Go Get ‘Em, Tiger: Before this race is over, you should be thinking about the next race; when you will be doing it all as a paid professional.
Ask for
references from your CT, other teachers and administrators in your building. Your
principal should know who you are. Invite him or her to come observe you in
your classroom. Their positive opinion of you might as well be a gold medal for
your potential future employers to gaze upon. Impress everyone from your CT to
the counselors, the office staff to the custodians. Epitomize good teaching.
Exude fresh desire and competency. Smile through boring meetings. Attend
interview days, even if they yield you nothing. They are great practice.
Assemble your resume and make yourself look like a rock star. Email principals
about openings in their buildings. Be concise and clear about your desire to
interview at their school and attach that shimmering resume. Research a school
before you interview there. Know a few things about it. Master answers for
these two questions: “What is your biggest weakness?” (be honest, but not too
detailed) and” Why do you want to work here?” Remember that graduating from
college is not your end goal; a teaching position is your end goal. Being paid
to do what you want to do is your end goal. A diploma and licensure are steps
on the way to reaching that goal. A job to help pay off that massive student
loan is your ultimate goal. Lastly, enjoy teaching. Enjoy what you do and you
never work a day in your life. Besides, you are working with the best product
in the whole world: young minds and hearts. Be awesome at it!
