horrible student teaching experience...HELP!

I hope the original poster of this message has gotten out of the horrid student teaching situation. I am a veteran teacher in my 29th year. I have had five or six STs, some good, and some not so much. I have also seen some supervising teachers who were great and others who were not so kind to their STs. Mean spirited teachers are not behaving in a professional manner and should never have accepted the STs in the first place. They are power hungry bullies who have no business in the teaching business. They treat their students poorly and often do the same to anyone else they think of as inferior, such as aides. Sadly, many of them are more than kind to their superiors and often end up in supervisory positions, so you cannot afford to burn any bridges where they are concerned.

If you are still in that impossible position, try to get placed somewhere else…another school would be best, because you can bet your hateful supervising teacher is bad-mouthing you to the other teachers at that school. People like her do things like that. Teaching is hard enough without this kind of demoralizing treatment.

Talk to your college advisor/supervisor immediately, if you have not already done so. It might not be an easy thing to do, but you will have wasted your student teaching experience if you do not get out right away.

Again, take back a little of your power, and discuss this with your college advisor. Honestly explain what is happening. If s/he hesitates moving you, have him/her come in and observe often, even though everyone is uncomfortable being observed more than the required number of times. If nothing else, I would wager your supervising teacher will be better behaved while your advisor is in the room. You are going into a tough career. You deserve better.

Good luck.

I was in exactly your same position when I first went to "teacher college". My mentor teacher was so bad that I quit the program and went into psychology instead. Yet, here I am - fifteen years later- a teacher with masters degree in education. I finally found the "right" program with the "right" mentor. Please, don't let this one cruddy experience ruin it for you. I wish someone had told me to talk with my advisor before I quit!

I'm sorry to hear you are having a miserable experience. I strongly agree with the advice that you must involve your advisor, liason, whoever it is that is responsible for your placement. In the best case situation, you'll be reassigned; in the worst case situation, you'll at least be on record with your struggles so it will be clear you've had issues from the get-go, and are not simply making up some sob story at the end to try to explain a less than steller evaluation. Be careful not to get consumed with the unfairness of it all. You know your mentor is difficult, so don't be surprised and wounded every time she shoots you down. Control what you can and roll with what you can't. It sounds trite, but you will come out of this better for it. Finally, be sure that you don't disregard everything your mentor has to say. She may have some good points that she is simply not conveying well. Good luck!

Being a student teacher is a difficult time. You are forever trying to satisfy others, find your way and experiment with new learning opportunities and environments. It is dissapointing that you have been placed with a teacher who is less than responsive to your needs. Just think of this time with her as just another class in high school. We don't get to choose who we word with and rarely to we manage to get on well with all our fellow teaching staff. Maybe you could ask to speak to your supervisor and discuss your problems and try to find some activities that will work within the teacher's guidelines and ask her questions about her procedures so that you can find the reasons behind her actions. Sometimes reasons are not obvious and you may either get her thinking or learn something new.
Anyway - hang in there. This won't be the first or the last time teaching will frustrate you!

The person who replied by saying you should choose another career because you couldn't act professionally or spell is outrageous and hostile. Spelling correctly is not a determining factor on whether or not you will make a good teacher and that person should avoid teaching all together because they are insensitive and rude. I am student teaching right now and am experiencing some of the same problems that you are having. Just keep trying your best and try not to take her to personally, it will end eventually.

[Judy]

Student teaching was tough for me. I was expected to do everything exactly the same way the teacher in the room did it. The results for me did not turn out to be the same as she got. I think that your cooperating teacher may have forgotten how hard it is to come in to someone elsed turf and teach. Just remember that student teaching is not going to last forever. Buddy up with another student teacher or classroom teacher to get the moral support that you will need. Remember what you are going through so that you won't do it to your student teachers. This is my 18th year and I have seen great and not so great teams student teaching. Good luck and don't give up. Teaching is definately worth it.

This is the strangest thing-- I was searching online for lesson plans, and came across the headline "worst student teaching experience ever! help!".. I'm in my second to last week of student teaching and can't see the light at the end of the tunnel because of the mental stress my teacher has put me through! SO, to find this page and read all of the advice about bad student teaching experiences on TODAY was a blessing! My teacher and I have different teaching personalities, and she never leaves the classroom... so I have NEVER felt what it would be like to OWN a classroom, and BE in COMPLETE CONTROL w/ nobody evaluating me, interrupting my instruction, never giving me an ounce of positive feedback when I KNOW I'm not horrible at what I do! I know there are a lot of things I need to work on, because I'm not supposed to have it all together (maybe in 20 years! ), but there are good things that happen, and I am losing my confidence in my performance, as well... and it's so frustrating to come home everyday feeling as though you've failed! lol.. I sound like such a sob story, but I need to vent! I am nervous to go to my college supervisor, bc I fear she will go to my teacher about my concerns, and I don't want to be uncomfortable for the next 7 days (7 days! yay!)... but I hope you're experience lightens up! All things do come to an end, so just make the most of it... turn the bad around and put on a good show-- be an actress and pretend as though nothing's bothering you.. completely throw the teacher off so she won't have room to say you did anything wrong


... which is WAY easier said than done,.... but what do we have to lose??

Let me lighten this discussion up a little bit.

I came to teaching later in life, when I was 40. I had spent nearly 20 years in business. I had an MBA, but no teaching degree or experience. I sent my resume into the district just for kicks. I got an interview (only one!) and was hired to teach HS marketing/business on a waiver. The condition was that I take certain mandatory courses at the local university and become certified within 3 years. I finished the courses and the time came for my student teaching semester. Since I had already been teaching for nearly 3 years, my student teaching experience was merely writing a check to the university and enduring a 10 minute observation by some professor I had never met.

I love my new career more than any other job I have ever had! My advice is to hang in there, get better at what you do, and enjoy your job. It may not make much sense now, but it will someday. If you have confidence in yourself, do not quit. The world needs good teachers.

BTW, my intial training/orientation, before my first day teaching was given to me by an assistant principal, who merely said, "Here is the key to room 401. Ask the teacher across the hall if you have any questions."

Well I know I am only 9 but still.This is what I think you should do,tell the teacher how you feel.If that does not work then, get a job at a different school, like North Point Elementry.

To that unregistered person making that comment about spelling....s/he must be one of "THOSE" teachers!! We all have been there hunny. There are always one or two teachers that are very territorial. They want to help others, but they have to have it their way. Ironically "their way" is best done by them!!

Take this placement as preparation for the future. Only then, IT'S THE PARENTS of your students that give you problems!!

Just remember why you are teaching. I am willing to bet that those students would rather it be YOU teaching them....mistakes and all!