Back to School
One mediocre day can assure a student teacher that teaching is what they want to do, said Ali Cole, a senior in history teaching.
According to the College of Education, there were more than 400 students awarded bachelor’s degrees in the 2005-06 school year. All those students had to do student teaching, and each had their own unique experience.
Both Tawnya Rasmussen and Mandi Sharp, graduates of USU and current teachers, agreed the students are the best part of teaching.
Rasmussen completed her student teaching in math at Sky View High School in Smithfield, Utah, and Sharp completed hers in special education at Sky View and River Heights Elementary.
Each had ups and downs along the way.
Rasmussen said she had a student at the beginning of the semester who was disruptive in class. She later found out he had a learning disability that made him struggle with math and that he actually loved learning.
Rasmussen said it was her favorite thing to help him succeed in class and give him all the tools he needed to learn.
Cole, who completed her student teaching at Mountain Crest High School, in Hyrum, Utah, said she had a student staple another student in the leg on her first day teaching.
“I don’t even remember what happened, but five minutes later my students were silent and in their seats,” she said.
When student teaching, each teacher said they had to find a way to take over the classroom they were assigned without infringing on the regular teacher.
The beginning of the semester was the worst, Cole said, because her students hadn’t figured out that she wanted to be there and they were flat out disrespectful.
Rasmussen said she had less of a battle over classrooms as one of her teachers handed it over to her the second day she was there. She said she never really saw him much after that.
Sharp said she can understand now that it is hard for a teacher to hand over their classroom completely, so she said she wishes she had realized that before.
Even with the disrespect and insecurities, the teachers said they can look back and laugh about things now.
Sharp said one of the funniest times was when she and her cooperating teacher were taking the students to the pool at Sky View. They all had their suits on, but when they got to the pool it was closed. When Sharp told her students, she said one of the girls threw up her hands in exasperation and said, “I shaved my legs for nothing!”
Rasmussen, a native of Salt Lake City, thought it was funny when she dressed up like a farmer for Halloween, but since Sky View is in a farming community, none of her students even thought she was dressed up.
Cole had a student who was compulsively late for the class following lunch. He always brought her a Diet Coke to try to smooth things over, but finally she’d had enough. She instructed her class that no matter what she was doing, as soon as the late student walked in, they were to give him a standing ovation. They did that for two weeks, and then he was never late to Cole’s class again.
Although the teacher said USU’s education program is very hands-on, all three said nothing can prepare student teachers for student teaching.
“It was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done, but it’s like Nike, you just do it,” Cole said.
Sharp said her professors were amazing and prepared her as much as they could, but student teaching is just something a person has to experience to be ready for real life teaching.
Even with tough days and feeling a little unprepared, each had a moment when it was worth it for them.
The best part for Cole was seeing her students “taking pride in their work and who they are.” She said she had one student e-mail her after the class was over and thank her for one of the things she had taught, and that made it worth it.
The kids, Sharp said, made her want to go back every day, and they still do.