Tips for a mentor with a student teacher disinterested in content?
Veteran teacher w/a new student teacher. I set up a desk and introduced this young pupil to curriculum, Admin, Canvas, grading, IEP’s, et al. She is VERY young and committed to stapling, printing, copying, rebuking the kids. Smirks when I get technology wrong, which is hurtful.
I teach in the GT program (7th grade). I have talked to her about using polite language and urged her to get to know the students. I think there’s potential…
My problem? She is not only wanting the classroom to be a police state, but is completely disinterested in ELA content and honestly? How I teach. Her assignments are generic and unrealistic (asking 7th graders to answer 25 writing Q in 10 minutes. Not content-related, incidentally). She is not willing to grade after hours, and in facts believes that grading student writing equals a check mark. I kinda think she might have to learn the hard way. I don’t want her to have a negative experience but she does actually throw shade; again, hurtful, because isn’t this year an opportunity to learn, say, a bit of figurative language? (During my lessons, her back is turned. ) I’ve heard loads about student teachers having bad experiences. Anyone have advice for a struggling mentor? Thank you.
UPDATE: I’m so grateful for this community. Student Teacher was huffy this morning (I had vetoed a crappy assignment, despite, ‘I need it for my class’ and ‘I don’t plan to READ them, but I have to do this for my CLASS!’) and rude to the kids. During our Prep I explained that her performance was not up to par, that I didn’t think I could necessarily trust that she knew/was learning the content, and that she needed to model kind behavior. She cried and got defensive but this afternoon I saw her actually speaking to students and observing my lesson. Turns out she has less than 2 yrs of college and loads of pointless online modules. I TOOK THE ADVICE HERE. I will have direct, firm convos from here on out. I’m also asking basic questions:’What do you want the kids to learn? And, ‘What did you learn from my teaching today?’ ‘Do you feel confident that you can write an academic paragraph?’ ‘Do you consider ‘grading’ actually reading student responses, or just checking them off?’ (A: ‘A check mark.’) Many more convos to be had…..Gratitude, y’all! Thank you!!!