STUDENT TEACHERS - PLEASE READ

As we approach my 20th anniversary of teaching, I'm reminded of key points that aren't necessarily spelled out for student teachers but I think are very important to know.<br><br>1. You don't necessarily have to teach like your mentor. This is key because the reason I started this thread was the student teacher in my class last year did everything I did (because she was thrown into that role a day before school started and didn't know how far along my classes were on the curriculum so she just did everything I did) and when I got student teacher evaluations this spring, they mentioned how they would never teach the way I do in that specific subject area (cause they didn't like it). Looking back, that was my fault. I should have told her, "I'm doing this because I've done it this way for 17 years. Feel free to teach it your own way at your next school!"<br><br>2. "To 'oom' or not to 'oom'... THAT IS NOT A QUESTION." Never, ever, in any situation ever say "oompf loompas doompa dee da" when a kid gets hurt. It will haunt you for the rest of your career. <br><br>3. Don't get too attached to particular kids that you aren't going to see again after you leave. I knew a student teacher who was having a hard time because she had to say goodbye to her 4th graders who she'd had for a month. I told her, "You will be having to say goodbye to kids every year so you can just get used to that right now." Looking back, that was a very shitty thing for me to say. So I'll phrase it better this time: As a student teacher, it's hard not to get attached to the kids you're teaching. You've just spent an entire semester with these great kids and when you leave, you'll never see them again. And you'll start imagining what they'll be like at their 8th grade or high school graduation, and what they'll be like when they have kids. Please realize that this happens every single year you teach and you can't spend your career fantasizing about the kids you used to have because you have 100 current kids depending on you. (This is something that I'm still working on myself.)