First Day Of Student Teaching On Monday...

[spartyon8]

As a teacher myself (3rd grade), don't sweat the lesson plans. I remember having to do formalized plans during student teaching and the first year on my own. While planning and classroom management are the most important, formalized plans are not. The toughest part of the job actually isn't teaching. The toughest parts are the certification requirements, state/federal mandates, and paperwork. Every so often I find time to teach.

[flyfisher]

I am learning that is definitely the case.  Luckily after showing my faculty student teaching advisor that i have the ability to create a lesson plan using the formal format, she was fine with me using a style that basically has objectives, which standards and then the lesson sequence.  Much more useful to me.

 

And classroom management is probably the most important thing in the class.  If the students can do what is expected of them and even more so without being told, the day goes by much more smoothly.

[Sam]

Good news.

And everybody thinks teaching is easy.

[flyfisher]

Another update....week 9 is now in the books with 3 more to go.  I am still enjoying it and have been responsible for all subjects for about 2 weeks now.  Next week is gonna be a fun one though with our "family life", i don't teach that luckily, and spring break the next week so keeping the kids on task is going to be a challenge to say the least.  I am looking forward to it being done and getting my masters and my certification and hopefully, my own classroom next fall.  It has been the fastest 9 weeks i have ever had at any "job".  

[Grizzn N Bassin]

Good luck man!

[flyfisher]

Things are going even better now, just found out today from my coordinating teacher, that the principal is going to be talking to me about taking a long term sub position after my student teaching is over.  Not sure on the grade yet but right now getting my foot in the door and a paycheck, since i haven't had one since mid January will be really nice.

[aceman387]

Great news !  I'm glad things are coming together for you after all of that hard work. Always enjoy your posts.

[flyfisher]

Last week of teaching is coming to a close....had my last formal evaluation yesterday....didn't go well the kids were a little crazy so it was by far not my best lesson but it happens and i think i will still ok.  This is the last one and basically tells me if i pass my student teaching experience or not....While i am not too concerned i am still a little anxious.

[A-Jay]

Good Luck man - hope the ball bounces your way.

 

A-Jay

[flyfisher]

Good Luck man - hope the ball bounces your way.

 

A-Jay

Thanks.  My advisor who was performing the evaluation stated that i reminded her of situations she had in her first year of teaching and that I handled it better than she did  I knew better than to try something new on an evaluation day, but it is what it is and making mistakes is how we learn....at least that is what i tell my kids in class  

[spartyon8]

I hope the long-term sub thing pans out for you. I was given the same opportunity by my coordinating school when I finished with student teaching (computer lab teacher, classroom aide, in-house sub and then 3 months in  5th grade for a leave of absence). After everything I did for that school, I wasn't even considered for any full time position. I also received tons of praise and requests from other teachers but the administration never batted an eye in my direction.

 

Like you, I always seem to plan new things that I want to try when being observed. They never work out and I have learned to just live with it. Not everyday is going to be 100%. I wish you luck and hope it all goes well.

[fishinfiend]

Thats awesome dude!

[flyfisher]

Figured I would give another update....well my last day of student teaching was last friday and my first day of substitute teaching in this same school was today  This will most likely be the beginning of my 6 week long term sub position so there is nothing like stopping student teaching and going straight to the sub position.  I only have a few more weeks to finish up in my last class and then it will be time to apply for virginia certifications and to the various school systems around here with the hope of landing something for next fall....i am still semi in shock that I am almost done and at how quickly the 18 months or so went by to get this Masters degree.....

 

The only bad thing was that today i was planning on going fishing but getting a text at 4:00 am changed that plan pretty quickly  

[fishinfiend]

Congratulations and good luck, sir!

[FirstnameLastname]

Check it out gentlemen fresh meat...

[flyfisher]

Well here it is, my last day of classes for my Masters.  I submitted my last assignment yesterday and since i already have a 95% i think i am ok as far as my grades go.  I think my final GPA will be around 3.65 or something.  It is pretty crazy at how fast it went by even though it was not easy it was obviously manageable because i did it.

 

I began my third week of my long term sub position this week and it is going ok.  We are starting the standardized testing this week so it has been a lot of review and these kids are pretty crazy compared to my student teaching class but i kind of expected it when i observed the class for a few days prior to taking over.  Anyways, all i can say is if anyone is wanting to do a career change or is debating on making a move to better yourself or your career or whatever, just go for it.  It won't be easy but in the end it will be worth it.

[flyfisher]

Well I found out about a month ago that I needed one more test to be eligible for my Virginia teaching license so I registered and took the test all in about a 2 day timespan....unfortunately i had to wait to get my results for almost a month....it as pretty brutal but i got my score today and I passed with some room to spare

 

Looks like early next week my VA license application will be in the mail and hopefully processed quickly so i can add that to my resume.

[K_Mac]

Flyfisher I have read with interest your story of changing careers and advancing your education. You have achieved something to be proud of, and I wish you much success. Well done!  

[flyfisher]

Flyfisher I have read with interest your story of changing careers and advancing your education. You have achieved something to be proud of, and I wish you much success. Well done!  

thank you.  It was something i wanted to do for years and I finally just went for it.  I hope others can find a little motivation because if you want it, you can do it, even if you have to make sacrifices along the way.

[flyfisher]

And the education circle, for this round has been completed.  I received my teaching license for the state of Virginia this week.  Now i just need to find a job and finish out teaching summer school

[Mike L]

thank you.  It was something i wanted to do for years and I finally just went for it.  I hope others can find a little motivation because if you want it, you can do it, even if you have to make sacrifices along the way.

If you can get your students to believe that...No matter what they learn going forward, You're a success Pal!!

Mike

[A-Jay]

And the education circle, for this round has been completed.  I received my teaching license for the state of Virginia this week.  Now i just need to find a job and finish out teaching summer school

 

Congratulations ~ 

 

Your challenges may be many but the gratification will be better.

 

Best of Luck moving forward.

 

A-Jay

[FishTank]

And the education circle, for this round has been completed.  I received my teaching license for the state of Virginia this week.  Now i just need to find a job and finish out teaching summer school

 

Congrats.  My wife starts back on Monday.  It's been great having her home for a few weeks.  This year she is doing Academic Team after school.  I think she is nuts but I am proud of her all the same. 

 

Good luck in the job search.  I hope you find a school that fits you and your style.

[flyfisher]

got a few calls from the schools here in the city and an interview next week.  It is probably one of the roughest schools in the area so it could be interesting.  I am just looking forward to summer school being over next week.

[flyfisher]

just another update...

 

I have had three interviews, all city schools.  Two i really liked and one i wouldn't want to teach there unless it was my only option.  The one school is probably the worst in the city and the other isn't far behind.  I have a second interview tomorrow and then 2 more interviews on thursday in a different district.  All my teacher friends told me that once the calls started it would be a busy time and they were right.  After thursday, i will have had more interviews in the past two weeks than my previous 15 years.

 

Hopefully a few offers are made and i can then sit back and make some decisions on where i want to teach next year.