is teaching way better than other jobs? why or why not specifically?

I am finishing up my junior year of college in the secondary education program and was wondering what the semester long practicum experience actually looks like. I’m located in Washington state with a focus on English and would like to know differences between middle and high school practicum, what a day to day could look like for a student teacher, am I leading the class every day or is it on and off with my mentor teacher? Am I making my own lesson plans or teaching what my mentor has already created? Do I make make my own units? Any information people might have would be amazing as I start this process!

Hello everyone!

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Currently I am expecting to student teach during this fall semester. In preparation for this, I’ve been checking my emails and forms to ensure everything is in order. That’s when I noticed I missed a form- a student teaching background check, due nearly a month ago.

I had not been told to anticipate such a thing, and the first email mentioning it happened nearly a month after moving out of my dorm. I’ve been able to start two of the steps, and I’ve reached out to the coordinator. Everything else seems in order- I’m still registered to student teach, and I still have a placement. I just wanted a general consensus on how screwed I am, and whether or not I will be able to student teach this upcoming Fall.

Before anyone says anything, yes, I am aware I messed up by not checking this email. I’m also curious if anyone else experienced something similar.

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Hey! I'm a 20-year-old female and a second-year Foundation Phase Education student (I think that's called Elementary Education in some countries). It's my second time being in this classroom.

I start my teaching practical in a week, and about two weeks later, someone from my university will come to assess me and grade my teaching.

I'm really worried because I have two very busy 6-year-old boys in my class. One of them doesn't listen to me or even his teacher. He often screams at me if I try to correct him or redirect his behaviour, and he also breaks the teaching materials I bring for my lessons.

As a student, I make most of my resources myself (DIY), so it's quite expensive when he destroys them.

I'm also naturally quite shy, and I sometimes feel like the learners walk all over me because I struggle to be firm. I don't want to be too strict because I once made a child cry, and I felt terrible about it. However, my mentor teacher told me that I need to be more strict and confident in the classroom. I'm finding it difficult to strike the right balance between being kind and being firm.

Do you have any tips? I'm feeling really nervous. I'll be teaching a maths lesson to the 6-year-olds. I don't know which concept I'll be teaching yet, but I'll find out soon. I'd really appreciate any advice on classroom management, especially with learners who are very challenging.

Hi all!

I am a kindergarten teacher and next year will be my 12th year of teaching. For the first time, I will be hosting a student teacher in the spring!

I am very excited to share my classroom and experience with someone, but also a bit nervous. It is quite daunting to think someone other than 5- and 6-year-olds will be watching and learning from me, but I am up for it!

What did your mentor teacher do for you that made you feel comfortable, or what do you hope your mentor teacher does to make you feel comfortable?

What part of student teaching is making you most nervous, if any? Any parts you are dreading? What do you think you need the most help with? I can think back to my own student teaching experience, but it is hard to remember all the nuances of what I was feeling at the time.

What can I do to make this experience as positive as possible for my student teacher?

I know everyone is different, but any insight you have is much appreciated.

Thanks so much!

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Hey! I'm a 20-year-old female and a second-year Foundation Phase Education student (I think that's called Elementary Education in some countries). It's my second time being in this classroom.

I start my teaching practical in a week, and about two weeks later, someone from my university will come to assess me and grade my teaching.

I'm really worried because I have two very busy 6-year-old boys in my class. One of them doesn't listen to me or even his teacher. He often screams at me if I try to correct him or redirect his behaviour, and he also breaks the teaching materials I bring for my lessons.

As a student, I make most of my resources myself (DIY), so it's quite expensive when he destroys them.

I'm also naturally quite shy, and I sometimes feel like the learners walk all over me because I struggle to be firm. I don't want to be too strict because I once made a child cry, and I felt terrible about it. However, my mentor teacher told me that I need to be more strict and confident in the classroom. I'm finding it difficult to strike the right balance between being kind and being firm.

Do you have any tips? I'm feeling really nervous. I'll be teaching a maths lesson to the 6-year-olds. I don't know which concept I'll be teaching yet, but I'll find out soon. I'd really appreciate any advice on classroom management, especially with learners who are very challenging.

Hi all!

I’m a music education major and I will be student teaching in the Spring. My first placement will be secondary, and my second will be elementary.

Do you have any advice/tips for me so I can prepare in advance? Thank you!!

I’m looking for a planner that will help me balance my student teaching schedule along with the courses I’m taking as a part of my program. Any recommendations?

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Hey! I'm a 20-year-old female and a second-year Foundation Phase Education student (I think that's called Elementary Education in some countries). It's my second time being in this classroom.

I start my teaching practical in a week, and about two weeks later, someone from my university will come to assess me and grade my teaching.

I'm really worried because I have two very busy 6-year-old boys in my class. One of them doesn't listen to me or even his teacher. He often screams at me if I try to correct him or redirect his behaviour, and he also breaks the teaching materials I bring for my lessons.

As a student, I make most of my resources myself (DIY), so it's quite expensive when he destroys them.

I'm also naturally quite shy, and I sometimes feel like the learners walk all over me because I struggle to be firm. I don't want to be too strict because I once made a child cry, and I felt terrible about it. However, my mentor teacher told me that I need to be more strict and confident in the classroom. I'm finding it difficult to strike the right balance between being kind and being firm.

Do you have any tips? I'm feeling really nervous. I'll be teaching a maths lesson to the 6-year-olds. I don't know which concept I'll be teaching yet, but I'll find out soon. I'd really appreciate any advice on classroom management, especially with learners who are very challenging.

I would also really appreciate any tips for when the person from my university comes to assess my lesson. If you've been through a teaching observation before, I'd love to hear what helped you and what I should expect.

Hi guys! I start Student Teaching next week in first grade and the classroom i’m supporting has EL learners and I want to know what’s the best way to approach centers for ELA and Math. I know for sure that Wednesdays will be the day I want to go over our weekly spelling and sight words and Thursdays for review games for both ELA and Math but outside of that I have no idea how I want to approach it. The teacher i’m working with does not have a good reputation in my school and I know her because I worked as a Teacher Assistant for first grade last year. I’m really worried that I won’t get as many opportunities to lead lessons and plan activities so I really want centers to be where I can really take charge! Any advice helps thank you!

does anyone have any good study tips for taking the PECT exam Prek-4 module 1? anything would be helpful:)

I hate teaching for a reason that i havent seen anyone mention i hate having to figure out what to teach everyday i hate having to sit for two hours wondering what to teach everyday i hate the annoying kids that are hyperactive its been hard because i never thought that i would choose this career i teach english without diploma bcs i was asked to but i never dreamed or wished to be doing that but i guess thats the path that im taking especially since im falling in stem

Is being a teacher draining?

Hi everyone! I'd really appreciate some advice.

I have a demonstration lesson on Monday for a Kindergarten/First Grade teaching interview. I've been asked to prepare a 15–20 minute lesson for 5–15 students.

My current idea is a simple lesson on circles and triangles:

• Students work with a partner to sort picture cards however they think makes sense.
• They share their thinking with each other.
• I introduce the defining attributes of circles and triangles.
• Together we identify shapes hidden in real-world pictures.
• Students finish by creating their own picture using circles and triangles and share their work.

I like that it begins with exploration, includes partner discussion, follows an I Do, We Do, You Do format, and ends with a hands-on activity.

My hesitation is whether this is the strongest choice for an interview lesson. I also thought about doing a read-aloud, but I'm worried it would take up too much of the limited time and wouldn't allow for as much student participation.

This is my first demonstration lesson for an interview, so I'd love to hear from anyone who has been through the process.

• Does this lesson sound like a good choice?
• Would you change or add anything?
• Would you choose this over a read-aloud?
• Any tips for a successful demo lesson?

Thank you in advance for any advice! I'm excited but definitely nervous, and I really appreciate hearing from those with experience.

I hate observations where I’m being watched like a hawk while someone sits there with a clipboard writing notes about everything I do. It gives me so much anxiety.
I’m currently teaching a class of five 6 year old students with disabilities. They’re genuinely great kids and I really like them. My mentor teacher definitely pushes us hard, which I appreciate because I’m learning what works in her classroom. But at the same time, I know this isn’t how I want to run my classroom one day.

What’s been stressing me out the most is that she keeps returning my lesson plans after I’ve completed them without any comments or feedback. She’ll send them back, but I have no idea what’s actually wrong, so I’m left guessing what she wants me to fix.
Today is my first observation. I already warned everyone it’s probably going to be choppy because I was randomly placed in this classroom and was expected to learn the students in basically a day. It’s only an informal observation, but I’m still anxious.

To make matters worse, the lesson was originally designed as a 1:1 lesson for a student in a different classroom. Now I’m expected to teach it as a whole-group lesson, so it feels awkward and honestly kind of pointless. I keep worrying everyone is going to think I’m a bad teacher because of the lesson, even though I have a much stronger, more interactive lesson planned for next week.
I only have 12 more days with these students (we don’t see them on Fridays), and I’m definitely counting down.
I think the biggest thing, though, is that I hate being watched. When people are observing me, I stop being myself. Normally I’m silly, funny, and relaxed with kids, but the second I know someone is evaluating me, I become socially awkward and overthink every little thing. Ironically, observations make me teach worse than I normally would.

Hey I was wondering if anyone would be able to give me some advice on how to be better prepared for my 2nd teaching prac. For context I finished my 1st prac which was deferred just last semester and now this semester I have another prac, the date for it has not been announced but I’m pretty sure you’ll have a supervisor from Curtin marking you on it?
On my first prac mostly due to my fault I mis read the requirements and only ended up teaching for the 4 days instead of the 2 weeks since I thought it was observation only till last minute, from the full 4 days I did teach however, my mentors praised me for how well I did and how well I engaged the students. I am worried as although they have said that I still feel like I am behind on experience and also am unsure if I’ll be sent to the same school or not.
Any pointers or general advice would be greatly appreciated !! :)

Welp! I just flopped a pre-recorded interview. This is my sixth interview for ELA short term and long term positions since April and I have another interview tomorrow. I currently work at an alternative school, but I am desperately trying to get my foot in the door at a public school. I had a pre-recorded interview today where it was three questions, you only had thirty seconds to look at the questions and one to two minutes to answer the questions, and there were no retakes. It was through SparksHire. I genuinely flopped the last question so bad that I didn’t even submit my answer. Mind you, I still live at home and both of my parents WFH and they were on calls and my cat was crying to leave my room. The whole thing was a disaster. Any time, I have these pre-recorded interviews they never go well compared to ZOOM or in-person interviews. Anyone else?

How to be a coding teacher?