Being a teacher means more than just teaching. They have many roles, but it is certainly a rewarding profession.

As a student intern, I have witnessed firsthand many of the hats teachers must wear to be part of a learning community.  Being a teacher also includes being a creative artist.  Teachers have to constantly create lessons, activities, experiential that are creative and imaginative.  Without being an artist with the information, students do not effectively construct meaning and build their knowledge.  A teacher must also be a secretary in that they must be completely organized and take care of routine record keeping business as part of their job.  They need to record student absences, issue lockers, distribute general school information, make copies, etc.  These are all essential tasks that need to be completed in order to maintain a well working learning community.  Teachers more and more have to be the technology expert in order to keep up with the students and teach them in a way that connects with their world.  They need to know technology in order to effectively use all of the resources available to them, but also to stay connected to the information they need to effectively create a learning environment.  A teacher sometimes needs to be a babysitter.  This is unfortunate, but true.  They are given tasks like lunch duty, bathroom duty, hall duty or bus duty, to ensure students behave even when they are not in the classroom.  In class teachers need to regulate student behavior as well.  This means they need to keep them from misbehaving and issue the punishment for not behaving whether it is sending a referral or verbally correcting their actions.  A teacher needs to be a mother as well.  Students may need band-aids or told to sanitize their desks, but more importantly, teachers need to be the listening ear or shoulder to cry on when students come to them with their problems.  Teachers need to be social workers because they are responsible for reporting child abuse or other issues that need professional attention.  Teachers need to be guidance counselors when it comes to giving advice for small problems with friends or other problems.  They also write letters of recommendation for college and scholarship applications as well as talk to students about their future plans.  The role of coach or club leader is also expected of teachers.  Without teachers playing these roles, students would not have the multitude of diverse extracurricular activities that the students get to participate in for little to no additional cost to them.  Also teachers are sometimes found to be politicians.  They have a responsibility to have their voice heard when it comes to the political decisions involving the school, its students, and teachers.   I am sure the list goes on and on.

The balls teachers are expected to juggle include more than just the responsibilities required by all the roles of a teacher, but also their own lives.  Teachers need to take care of their own families and children as well as reserve some time for themselves to enjoy life and relax.  These things are more important than grading worksheets or getting too caught up in the politics of teaching.   If a teacher fails to reserve time for these things in their lives outside of their work, it is likely teachers will burn out quickly and that only hurts the very students they devote so much time to helping learn.

I believe the one role that was not apparent at all to me at the beginning of my field experience was the teacher as a politician.  My field experience was at a school recently affected by poor building structure that displaced the entire school body as well as the students and staff of a neighboring school to facilitate my school’s learning.  The political battle that has ensued between the county school board and the town council is astonishing.  I never imagined how much politics goes into making decision regarding schools.  Students, parents, administrators, and teachers were all involved in the debate over funding and plans for rebuilding.  Teachers signed petitions, spoke as meetings, wrote letters, expressed concerns to elected officials, and attended meetings.  While this is an extenuating circumstance due to the nature of the crisis and the ensuing debate, teachers are still very much involved in other decisions that affect their jobs and schools.  The role of babysitter was more pronounced that I thought it would by.  My collaborating teacher is on lunch duty for one period of the day.  It is our responsibility to sign students in and out of the bathroom during lunch.  Some of these students are old enough to vote, yet they need to be signed in and out of the bathroom according to school wide policy.  It is unfortunate, but a necessary requirement so that order and cleanliness of the school facilities is maintained.  The other role I did not believe would be as prominent as it really was in my field experience was that of guidance counselor.  Even though my collaborating teacher teaches 9th and 10th grade, she still wrote about fifteen letters of recommendation this semester for college and scholarship applications.  I also witnessed about three former students come to talk to her about difficulties in other teachers’ classes or problems with friends.

I have countless ideas from my field experience that I will take into my student teaching.  First and foremost is my collaborating teacher’s style of lecture.  Her lectures are like story time for the students because she so eloquently recreates history for them.  Very little information goes on her slides with lots of visuals to help the students.  This ensures students are listening to her lecture and not just copying the information from the presentation.  Second, I will take her classroom management style. The students know from the first day of class that she is a no nonsense teacher who is also able to have fun.  The students know when she is serious and when she is trying to get their attention in a comedic way and have them enjoy history.  Finally, I like the style of  projects that she has the students do.  The students enjoy a lot of creative freedom and have their choice of what visual or presentation they want to create.  This is an excellent way to have differentiated instruction, but also have students showcase their talents or interests through their presentation.

My most fruitful experience that I will take away from is my teacher-student relationships I have developed with the students.  The students certainly are the reason why teachers continue to love teaching because everyday has its own reward.  Whether it is the light bulb moment in the students’ minds as you teach a concept, or the knowledge that a student trusts you enough to confide in me, or the smile from a student passing in the hallway showing they enjoy seeing you, or the quick conversation before class with a student about their weekend.  All of these small interactions reinforce the impact a teacher has in so many students’ lives.  I will also say my relationship with my collaborating teacher both as a mentor and a friend has been so exciting.  She is always willing to answer my questions and talk to me about my life outside of grad school.  Her excitement about teaching and love of the students practically shines in her classroom and is infectious to all of those around her.  I have learned so much in this experience as well; everything from the tricks to working the copier to how to effectively manage a class.  The lessons I have learned are endless and invaluable.  The negative aspects of my field experience probably has to be frustration working the copy machine, getting sick from being around so many students all day long, and probably having to write a student a referral for inappropriate behavior.  While these things were probably my least favorite parts of this experience, they are all necessary learning experiences.

There are several things I will need to do to be successful in my student teaching.  First, I will have to be organized and prepared.  To do this I have to be diligent to prepare all of my lessons ahead of time, not procrastinate, and have several back up plans.  Second, I need to ask questions and ask for help when I need it.  I need to establish a good relationship with my collaborating teacher and other teaching mentors in order to be successful and be comfortable asking questions and asking for help.  Finally, I need to establish a classroom environment where students feel comfortable to ask questions and participate but also listen to directions and actively participate.  To do this I need to be enthusiastic about my teaching, be open to student comments and assist them when they need help.  Overall, This has been an amazing experience and I hope my student teaching is just as exciting and rewarding.