u/Sad-Memory8012

Okay, I just need somewhere to debrief about my last few experiences with pre service teachers because I genuinely think I might be done taking them on after this.
I WANT to keep doing it. I remember being a prac student myself and I’m incredibly grateful for the teachers who gave up their time to mentor me. I’ve always felt like taking prac students was a bit of paying that forward.
But lately I’m starting to think… wtf is going on?
I had one pre service teacher leave after only a few days because he realised teaching actually involved work. He basically thought doing a Grad Dip would be a nice career option with good holidays and that you came to school, taught for the day and went home. He genuinely did not seem to realise how much planning, preparation and work happens outside of actually standing in front of a class.
Then I had another who refused to teach some of the lessons I had scheduled for him because he said he “didn’t have to” according to his course handbook. Except I had also read the handbook and knew what the placement expectations were. There were similar issues with attending duty, staff meetings and generally getting involved in what teachers actually do. He also ended up not completing the prac.
And it’s not just me. A number of colleagues have had similar experiences recently with pre service teachers showing very little initiative, needing to be repeatedly prompted to do basic things, being resistant to feedback or just seeming surprised by the workload involved in teaching.
Obviously this isn’t every pre service teacher and there must be some fantastic ones coming through. I also completely understand that prac is stressful and nobody expects someone who is still learning to walk into a classroom knowing everything.
But surely being willing to learn, showing initiative, acting on feedback and actually wanting to experience the realities of the job are pretty basic expectations?
Interestingly, most of the difficult experiences around me recently seem to have been with Grad Dip students rather than the traditional four year education pathway. I’m curious whether that’s just coincidence in our little bubble or whether other mentor teachers are noticing something similar.
Mentor teachers, how are your prac students going lately? Have expectations or attitudes changed, or have we just had a particularly unlucky run?

I’m currently supervising a pre service teacher and it has raised something I’ve been wondering about more broadly, particularly with some Graduate Diploma and Master of Teaching students entering schools.
My current prac student has quite limited English and very little understanding of how a school/classroom operates. At the moment they are mainly observing and starting to work with small groups, but even very simple tasks and routines require a lot of explanation and support.
I absolutely understand that prac is where people learn and I want to support them. My concern is that I’m finding myself having to explain very basic instructions, routines and expectations during lessons, which is taking my attention away from actually teaching and supporting my own students.
Even moving into a simple small group activity has been difficult because I need to explain the task in considerable detail (which they are meant to prepare, but overly rely on ChatGPT to create) , then often step in again when it isn’t understood. It’s starting to feel less like mentoring someone to develop their teaching practice and more like teaching the basic language and school knowledge needed to participate in the classroom in the first place.
I’ve also started wondering whether this is becoming more common with some of the shorter Graduate Diploma and Master of Teaching pathways.
For those who mentor pre service teachers, what level of English proficiency and basic understanding of Australian schools would you expect someone to have before beginning a placement? At what point would you raise concerns with the university?
I want to support this student properly, but I’m also conscious that my first responsibility is to the students in my class.