Over six weeks have gone by since my first day as a student teacher, and boy have I learned a lot in a short amount of time. I must say that I am truly enjoying my time. I completed my first unit on Monday which was over compare and contrast essays. We started off by learning the different ways to structure a compare and contrast essay. We read several stories and used graphic organizers to expand on ideas. This was for my Senior College Prep Class and overall it was rather successful. Grading essays is definitely a process but so far it appears that the students understand how to structure a compare and contrast essay as well as create a thesis and develop ideas. However, I was a little disturbed with the students’ inability to put sentences correctly together. Sentence fragments and run-ons appear to be a problem across the board. Yet, I was pleased with their ability to follow instructions and structure the essay in a trait by trait format.
However, I am wondering whether anyone else has difficulty getting their students to turn assignments in on time. Out of 34 students I only had 10 students turn their papers in on time. 10 STUDENTS!! This seems extremely crazy to me. They had plenty of time to write the paper and were even given class time to complete their rough draft. This just does not make sense to me. My CT does enforce the late policy which is an automatic 20% loss if not turned in on time, but this does not seem to faze my kids whatsoever. Does anyone else have problems getting their students to turn their work in on time?
My biggest issue with student teaching deals with the fact that the students do not see me as “the teacher”. Heck I do not even feel like these are my classes and my rules. I am always extremely anxious to step on my CT’s toes, and it is hard to enforce rules that my CT does not make the students follow. Now don’t get me wrong, my students have never been disrespectful in any way but I feel like trust is lacking. For the most part, when I give a suggestion or an answer the students take it and move along; however, there are a few who will look to my CT for confirmation. I understand why they do this but it still can be bothersome. For me, I think it is hard to adapt into an environment that does not truly belong to me. This makes me extremely excited to get my own classroom in the near future. The trust continues to grow as the days go by; yet, I wish it would grow faster!
