Student Teaching

Hi Alex, and welcome to BlogsNH!

I think I'd have to agree with you there, that getting a letter grade for student teaching makes students work their hardest and helps ensure the best quality of teachers. If students are allowed to simply pass, they may just do as little work as needed just to get the "P," and not much more.

Alex, I have enjoyed your blogs.  I have wanted to write a blog on teaching and education for over a year now.  Your blogs have finally given me the inspiration to do so.  First, I want to wish you success in achieving a teaching position.  Allow me to give you some friendly advice.  I was planning to retire from my last position, but I was let go.  For I am another transplant to New Hampshire and I had not worked in this school for three years as a teacher, so therefore I could be let go without reason.  I had worked in the school for three years, but my first year was as a paraprofessional and that did not count.  Therefore, my advice to you is to make sure the principal is going to be at the school for at least three years after you have received a teacher’s full time contract.   Even though New Hampshire is not a tenured state, the teacher’s union will be more apt to go to bat for you, so the administration will probably not challenge you.   Unless, you have contacts, say in your hometown, or they want you back and there is an opening at the school where you student taught, you will probably end up substituting or taking a paraprofessional position.  This is how I got my first position in Massachusetts and here in New Hampshire as well.   Just another note of advice on this topic based on my own experience, but evidently is also prevalent in other areas of the country as well.  When I was planning to continue in education, which really meant starting all over again, to get recognized in a school system; I came across an ad on Craigslist “Teachers This is for You”.  It was to invite teachers to form a local chapter for the National Association for the Prevention of Teacher Abuse.  This is how the ad read:     “As most teachers with any experience know, the climate of any particular building is set by the principal.  When she or he is intelligent, friendly, respectful, has integrity and even is demanding, most often the professional and non-professional staff will follow with honest and diligent performance…     However, if the principal is demanding but is lacking intelligence, friendliness, respect or integrity, she or he will have employees who do the work, but are not happy with the environment.  In those situations, the principal may become a tyrant who gets results by pressure.  Teachers, wary about their jobs, don’t speak out.  If they do, they become targets for removal from the school by discipline or intimidation. ..” I do agree that the principal sets the climate, and my life was happier when I knew the principal was able to respect the teachers and lead by example.  .    I also, substituted in another school after being let go.  This is when I decided to give up teaching altogether.  There was a teacher retiring, very young age wise, but after 22 years of teaching.  One reason she was retiring was because she was given a poor evaluation the year before by the new principal.    As I came to work in that building pretty much on a daily basis, I came to find out he was a nice man, but moral was declining rapidly.   I’ll add to this, to me an excellent teacher is a person who likes children, who sees the best in all the children in front of her or him, and motivates them to do their best.  This teacher did this and I did this, however our principals did not see this.  Interview your principal as he or she interviews you.  Teaching is tough and it is very important that there is mutual respect between teacher and principal.At this time, I will refer back to your first blog that I read “Student Teacher Grading”.  I loved this part and I quote: “Without the different grades, where is the incentive to achieve excellence, if in the end it won’t matter?”  I hope you do not get too discouraged, because you are entering a profession (I use that term loosely.)  Where everyone gets a raise based on time on the job, or extra degrees which you may have to pay for out of pocket.  Not on the actual work accomplished.  The only other way you make extra money is by coaching or extracurricular activities, where you get paid an extra stipend.   This does not include the extra committees you are requested to take part, which make you look good to administration.  You are right when you say people do not have a clue, when they say Teachers only work during school hours for not only, do you have planning and correcting, you have endless meetings to attend.   “Meetings (Committee Meetings) take minutes and waste hours.”  Communication with parents is extremely important, but if done correctly can save you time in the long run.  As you probably guessed, I have much more to say, but I am going to stop for now.