Before you can become a professional teacher, you need to complete a student teaching program. During this time, you will take over a number of classes from a teacher with whom you are teamed up. Experiences certainly vary as there a lot of factors that can make this a wonderful or a dreadful couple of months. The most crucial factor is the teacher that takes you on as a student teacher. Some teachers will go above and beyond their responsibilities to show you the ropes. While others will take advantage of your presence and treat your semester of student teaching as a vacation. The most important thing you need to keep in mind is that you have an obligation to your students. As the student teacher you are responsible for carrying on the curriculum and covering the material that these students deserve.

There are sure to be days when your lessons don’t go well or the students seem to tune you out. These should be used as learning tools. Spend some time at the end of each day to reflect on what went well and what didn’t go the way you planned. Remember that all teachers, regardless of experience level, have some rough days. Teaching is such a fluid process. While planning out your lessons is helpful, you have to be prepared to adjust on the fly. A lesson you put together the night before may seem flawless, but your students may not react the way you always envision. Don’t be discouraged when things don’t seem to be clicking. This happens to everyone.

It is human nature to be nervous when you are standing in front of a group of people. The key to success is being prepared. If you thoroughly know the material, you will automatically be more comfortable teaching the material. Students of all ages can sense when a teacher is unprepared. If you show that you care about what you’re teaching, your students will also pick up on this. They will begin to reciprocate your passion, even if it’s a class or material that they don’t really care about. Passion can be contagious.

Pick the brain of your cooperating teacher. Teachers that take on a student teacher typically need to have at least three years of experience; they’ll likely have more than that. They are there to help you through the good times and the bad. Go over your lesson plans with your mentor before you actually teach them. An experienced teacher can usually spot a flaw in timing or in your procedures. Often, they will allow you to make your own mistakes because eventually you will be on your own. Talk with them at the end of the day about what you think could improve upon. However, be sure to highlight what went well so you can build up your confidence level.