In this guest post, Jennifer Tartaglione shares an honest and fresh take on what it’s like to be a student teacher. If you enjoy Jen’s story below, be sure to follow her teaching adventures on her personal blog or follow her on Twitter. And if you’re an MAT student living in the Bay area, be sure to reach out and say hi to Jen who just moved there this summer.
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There are moments in life when you realize that what has previously been working for you is no longer inspiring, and it seems as though your very insides are bursting to make a change. Making a decision to change your life is often the hardest part – you painstakingly weigh the pros and cons before that last bit of anxiety thrusts you in a new direction. Once the decision has been made you may feel victorious, that is, until the high of change wears off and you realize there is hard work ahead.
At least that was my experience when I decided to go from professional writer to professional educator via the MAT@USC program. When I first started feeling the pangs of a career path that was empty of purpose, I was nostalgic for the Ivory Tower. After all, my professors were the most rock star people I knew and they got to read, write and engage in stimulating discussion everyday AND make an impact on student’s lives. So when USC called me about their new MAT program (somehow they psychically knew that I wanted to be a teacher), it was quite easy to respond with an emphatic, “Heck yes!”
One year later, I am going into the final 10 weeks of my guided practice. I know now that idealism and big ideas do little to prepare doe-eyed student teachers hungry to make a difference. In order to become an effective teacher, you need to actually witness a classroom environment for yourself and its day to day challenges.
What You Can Expect
Everyone’s teaching placement is different, so I would like to share mine as I feel it’s one of those “worst case scenario” type teaching assignments. I was placed in a middle school, so it wasn’t quite like Dangerous Minds, more like the younger brothers and sisters to Dangerous Minds.
Another fun revelation was that all of my 7th graders read between a 2nd and 5th grade level. My dream of re-enacting Dead Poets Society was simply not going to happen. But as if that wasn’t enough, this Los Angeles school also participated in something called “tracking.” For those who don’t know, tracking is when you place students in groups based on ability level. Guess which kids I got? Yup, the ones at the bottom. Some think tracking is brilliant because then a teacher can teach to specific abilities and needs. I however, think tracking is detrimental to student learning because you put all the bad kids in one class which means that zero learning goes on and the teacher ends up having panic attacks while all the really smart kids are off in another class never learning how to interact with others in their age group.
So how did I deal? One word… creativity.
If you don’t have creativity you have no business being a teacher – teachers must innovate and adapt based on unique circumstances that often change everyday based on a student’s moods or obstructions in their personal lives. In urban, at risk schools like the one I taught at, creativity is often the missing ingredient between those who make it out and those who don’t. When I arrived at my classroom, my master teacher told me they had a set curriculum and I had to follow it – there was no room for diversion. Most of the assignments were handouts and short reading assignments that had little to do with the students’ interests. For me, that simply would not do and I led the class in discussions on reading assignments about Facebook, let them practice peer review by writing dinosaur comics and made the 5 paragraph essay into a game using oversized, brightly colored sticky notes. As a result, my kids loved me and I garnered more attention, participation and quality work.
Urban students can be intimidating from a classroom management perspective, but there are four secrets that have worked for me. They are:
- Always treat your students as peers and equals. Sure, there are times when you get frustrated or have to lay down the law, but being the cool, nice teacher gets way more street cred than the scowling, impatient teacher.
- Let your students be creative! Don’t just give them handouts, give them choices and varied activities. I definitely do not believe that school always has to be fun, students are there to learn specific skills, but by creating a welcoming environment that values innovative work, students are more willing to be there which goes a long way.
- Even if you’re terrified, always be confident. Plan yourself to the point of having a script if you have to! Confidence shows the kids that you know what you’re doing and you mean serious business. They like you for it.
- Get to know your students and what they like. It shows that you care and is an invaluable resource when picking supplemental materials.
No matter where you end up, students are understanding – you’re a student too after all. So focus less on the fear and more on preparing to become the kind of teacher you want to be. One final bit of advice – use social networking resources such as Twitter and Personal Learning Networks. Many teachers connect through these tools and have a wealth of advice for a novice teacher.
Happy teaching!
If you’d like to know more about how MAT@USC can prepare you to become a teacher in California and make a difference in your local community, contact our Admissions office at 888.MAT.1USC or email us at matadmit@usc.edu.
