Having a student teacher wasn’t really my choice, this year, not after my experience last year with a guy not eager for but in great need of constructive feedback.
It didn’t help, last year, that a week after signing out a teacher laptop for him to use, I noticed on the screen a folder named “pics of girls.” That day after school was out and he had left, I took the laptop to my assistant principal.
“I don’t know what this is,” I said, “but I thought I’d better bring it to you before checking it out.”
“Yes. It sure doesn’t look good,” he said as he clicked on the icon–and found photos of two young girls in their Easter dresses, the daughters of the teacher who had previously used the computer.
But that clearing up of my suspicions didn’t mean he instantly convinced me or anyone else of his teacherly potentials. A couple weeks later, my principal said to me, “How’s your student teacher doing? We always laugh at him because he leaves right after school, and he doesn’t take anything home with him. When I did my student teaching–and that was just keyboarding–I had boatloads of work to do every day.”
When I later received a job application reference form to complete about him, I sorrowfully but with few qualms stated that I would not hire him, if deciding were up to me. I did it for the children.
All things considered, at the end of last year I deliberately declined supervising for this year; there’s something special about having my own classroom and students be, well, my own.
However, one summer day my other assistant principal called to ask if I would please take on a student teacher this semester; they were very much in need. I put aside my put out feelings and agreed–and now have an enthusiastic student teacher whose greatest strength is learning. She wants constructive criticism, and she implements changes even as the day progresses. She’s a hard worker, too, who has wanted more and more responsibility; I’ve been busy shopping online and working on other ideas.
I’ve been playing body guard, too, since the supervisor of her previous placement, who is currently supervising a couple other student teachers in the school, has not adhered to appropriate professor-student boundaries in past weeks even after being told that she would rather he not contact her.
One day last week he struck me as a fawning adolescent just waiting patiently for excuses to talk to his crush, hopeful beyond reason that the girl who scorns him would swoop to his open arms, knowing that if they crossed paths just one more time, she would fall for him. He appeared to be hanging around for much of the day, in whichever part of the building my student teacher was.
Did I mention that he’s retired, and his kids are out of college?
At any rate, she has but two weeks left, my student teacher, after which I’ll have Christmas break. Then, after the turn of the year, I’ll actually have to do work again.
Bring it on, I say–after I finish her letter of recommendation.