What would you have done if you were in Sandra's shoes?
From being in a place where a host teacher was cruel to me and was unable to help me through things (to the point I almost quit), I am so torn with this situation. Part of me thinks the student teacher should have been given the opportunity to figure it out, after all, this would be her job someday. On the other hand, if it was truly out of control to the point that the student teacher had no hopes of regaining control, I do think it is okay for the host teacher to intervene. I think the part that bothers me the most is the way the host teacher handled everything. In the role of host teacher, you are there to mentor the student teacher. There has to be a certain level of compassion that goes along with mentoring. If I were in her shoes, I probably would have given her some advice for regaining control. I also may have told her that she may get better results if she tries the activity again. I don't necessarily think Sandra was in the wrong, I just don't think she handled the situation as compassionately as she could have.
Who do you think was at fault?
Again, I do not necessarily think either was at fault. The student teacher is learning, and the host teacher did her job as the teacher. I just think there was a certain level of compassion and understanding missing on the host teacher's part. With that being said, I also feel as if the student teacher probably could have handled the situation differently. As frustrating as it can be when you are trying your best and someone tells you it is not good enough, you must handle the criticism with some integrity. Yes, she was upset at the host teacher telling her she was not doing well, but she should have taken note of what the host teacher was saying, took the advice, and tried to move past it to improve the lesson next time.
What do you think teachers can learn from Sandra's story?
I think that teachers can learn that there needs to be an understanding between student teachers and host teachers that there is respect, but that criticism will also be part of the journey. I also think that teachers could learn that the situation should be very much like co-teaching until it is definite that the student teacher is ready to handle all aspects of teaching: planning, behavior management, instructing.
Jessie, Very well said! Sorry, you had such a bad experience, but it has given you insight that others may not have and in that you have a perspective worth sharing. Your idea about co-teaching is exactly how I think it should go as well... this helps in more than just helping the student teacher... in today's classroom many of the classes are co-taught and by having student teachers work as co-teachers gives them experience with this concept. I do however think that both the student teacher and the host teacher were at fault in this situation, which could have avoided with better communication.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what you're saying and definitely think that Sandra was sort of neglectful towards the student teachers feelings in this situation. She showed no empathy and basically just shut her down. Where I think our impressions differ the most is that I didn't think about how the student teacher could have handled it better. She could have tried more to understand why the host teacher would be doing these things instead of lashing out at her like she is some cruel monster.
ReplyDeleteSo funny! I basically wrote the same thing in different words. This type of situation proves there is so much gray area in life and in teaching.
ReplyDeleteI had an excellent supervising teacher that really inspired me. She could do the same thing my grandfather did. They both told you how great you were and you did not want to disappoint them (now I'm going to cry- I recently lost my grandfather).
I am sorry you not only did not have a quality supervising teacher, you had a cruel one- that sounds like it would be very difficult.