I think it is important to help up coming teachers become aware of what it really is like in the classroom. Three times I have looked forward to helping to mold a quality teacher. For many of the college seniors, they have no clue. Methods class teaches about utopia, which is not reality. Consider that many of the teachers teaching these classes have not been in the classroom for several years. Student teachers need to get out in classrooms and observe and actually teach. Maybe even before the traditional student teaching. Out of the three student teachers, I have had ONE that was prepared! This most recent student teacher put me over the edge. I knew as soon as he started to communicate with me over the phone and via e-mail that he did not have what it takes to be a teacher. He addressed me very casually, Ex: “Hey, just wondering if we could meet on Friday.” Excuse me???!! “Hey”?? We had a discussion about that right away! This student came to me as his second placement and he was very “green”. He had no clue about how to put the students into groups! He did not anticipate anything about his plans for the day or assignments. Being his second placement, I was shocked! The thing that really amazed me was that he actually thought he was doing a good job! He had no clue that he was horrible. The first time he taught my class, I had 5 pages of notes! Most of what I said, he claimed he had not even realized. I kept wondering, what he did at his previous placement? He said he listened to a book on tape?! How would the college he was attending allow that? Is that teaching?
The final clincher came one week after being in my class, his supervisor came to observe him. She wrote one page of information and for the remaining 84 minutes, she played on her blackberry. When class was over we conferenced. She directed her first questions to me, what I thought etc. I said I was very shocked at how inexperienced he was in basic teaching strategies. His supervisor then said that this young man had problems at his other placement and she tossed on my desk a sheet of paper / a contract sigtned by him and instructors from the college with a list of about 10 criteria he had to improve on. She told me he was on probation ( news to me!). If this student did not improve upon the criteria on the list he would be out of the program. She nonchalantly mentioned that (lets call him Max) had not improved and she was taking him out of the program! My jaw dropped to the desk, Max turned white! Here this kid is in his second semester senior year and was being told he had to withdraw!!!!!!???? This just does not seem fair! How could they do this to him? How could they let him get this far when he clearly was not cut out for teaching??! He as spent all this time and money to be denied two months before graduating?? I was apalled! I didn’t think he was treated fairly and dismissing him from the program right in front of me? Teachers in the field take a big risk and a huge responsibility taking on a student teacher. Being unaware of what I was getting into and what my class was getting into was not explained and that made me angry. Of course I communicated my displeasure with the entire situation to the powers that be at the local college. The final comment my student teacher of 4 days said was: “My cooperating teacher at the other placement stood up for me last time.” I told him, I was sorry and could not do that for him. He had not learned nearly enough to be out in the field.
