Student Teaching

This semester is a whole new ball game for me! It’s already been one week and I’m still adjusting to going to bed early, waking up early every day, not getting naps in during the day, and having to make daily lesson plans. However, my experience so far is going great. Right now I am placed at a local middle school. I say right now, because for Family and Consumer Sciences Education you student teach at two different placements. For the first 8 weeks you teach in a middle school setting, and for the second 8 weeks of the semester you teach in a high school setting. After I am done with this placement I will move to a high school in nearby Crawfordsville, Indiana. During your student teaching placement you work with a mentor teacher on a daily basis and a University Supervisor comes to observe you every other week. It’s a an exciting and nerve-racking experience because you get to take over someone’s classroom, and treat it like your own but you still have people observing and evaluating you. My suggestion to manage your stress level is to stay ahead of things by planning in advance, and establish good communication between you and your mentor teacher.

Until next time,

-- Bridget Gehlhausen
-- Senior, Family and Consumer Sciences Education