First Day of Student teaching

[Molly92]

Well I made it through my first day of student teaching. The school I am in is open concept which I have never seen before. My teacher is really nice and layed back which I am so thankful for. The students are a challenging bunch though. She says that it is the most challenging bunch of kids she has ever had in all her years of teaching and there are only 15 students in the classroom. It is a second grade. I am there for the next 8 weeks so wish me luck.

[ponydreamer]

Good luck! When I was a little girl, my mom went back to school, and majored in El-Ed. She student taught in 2nd grade. We still have a picture that one little girl drew of my mom when my mom made her stay in at recess time.( the little girl had been very naughty)

Anyway...it's a picture of a woman with big poka-dots drawn all over her face. She captioned it with: Mrs ---- is a Red Headed Wood Pecker!

I was really mad at that little girl for calling my mommy that! LOL! We looked at it again not long ago, and it's the most hilarious thing!

[kikilives]

How fun! I substitute teach occasionally and 2nd and 3rd graders are my favorite. Of course two of my three children are in those grades so maybe its because I know them better. Anyways, have fun and good luck!

[Felicity_Fan85]

Good luck!

[judiaci]

I think after you get to know the kids, things will go better. Good luck! Teachers make a big difference in this world. [img]graemlins/star.gif[/img]

[vew-tori]

I'm glad you like your supervising teacher. That can make a huge difference in your experience. I'm on my 22nd year of teaching high school. The first 3 were the hardest. It can be very rewarding and it is always interesting, never dull. I admire Elementary Teachers for their patience. I wish you the best of luck!

[julliams]

Hey there,
I am a teacher of 11 years myself and while this is a daunting thing, it is exactly what may happen when you get your first job and it would not be to your benefit to have only "lovely, easy" classes when you are practising teaching.

My first class was 33 grade 4 children with BIG personalities.

You will come to really enjoy some of these personalities and you will always know that at the end of 8 weeks you get to hand them back and never teach them again.

Look at this experience as a chance to try out some techniques to manage behaviour. It's great that your supervisor is easy-going. It makes the whole experience so much easier and fun. The other way around (lovely kids and an awful supervisor) would definitely be worse.


Chin up - you will be great and they will love you!

Juliette

P.S Today was my first day with my new class 2/3 composite class. They are lovely but there are a couple in there that I am going to have to win over. I take it on as a challenge and I kind of get a kick out of it when suddenly they are listening without being asked and the parent says they have had a great year!!

[mayergirl]

well, good luck, and if I can just throw in my two cents, nothing inspires an ill-behaved child more than having good things expected of them, and those are the kids who are worth every second of your time [img]smile.gif[/img] Good luck and enjoy those kids!!!!

[TexasMom]

Best of luck! I began my student teaching two weeks after 2 classes of 16 had been "merged" in order to transfer a teacher! 32 fifth graders who had not "jelled" yet so to speak.

I had a WONDERFUL lead teacher and learned SO much more than all of my college classes! It was a tough but good experience!

Faith

[kreed]

I am also a teacher. I am so excited for you!

I agree with Vew-Tori and Juliette- use this time to try behavior management techniques while you have the safety of an agreeable cooperating teacher. You need someone to tell you the truth in a polite way.
Take time to get to know your students. This may seem like a waste of time due to school demands but it is well worth it in the end. Let the students know a few things about you also - pets, collections, siblings, etc.
I could go on-and-on, but I won't. Just remember you have someone's beautiful babies in your classroom. As tough as they may want you to think they are, they are just babies. Handle with care. Try to find one way each day to tell them how great they are--they will be putty in your hands.
Also, sorry to say on average the first two years of teaching are the roughest. Stick with it- always remember the reason for teaching.
Good Luck,