Teacher Preparedness

Last week we had a presentation on the correlation of post-secondary grades to teacher success. One of the interesting parts of the presentation was the questionnaire of preparedness felt by student teachers. I thought that for the most part I felt quite prepared to teach but there were definitely a few areas that I felt could use a little more focus in our school. I found it interesting that many of my classmates did not feel that they were prepared with technology. I did not find this to be of too big of concern for me. Before starting my Ed degree last fall I had never heard of a smartboard but both my PSI and PSII had smartboards and I simply played with the program and figured out how to use it. My PSI TA had been to a seminar on using it so she showed me how to do a variety of different things. I suppose if I had not had the opportunity to work with the smartboard, I would probably feel fairly under-prepared to use one. But I think the biggest thing with technology is not to be scared of it. Simply try different things and see what happens. In one of my classes this semester we had a brief introduction to Imovie or Windows movie maker and we were allowed to play around and create a small movie. One of my classmates mentioned that she would have liked the instructor to have provided a little more instruction about some of the features that may have been a little more obscure because what he had us doing, we probably could have figured out on our own. So I guess for technology, it all depends on how comfortable you are with playing and trying new things.

One of the areas that I thought possibly could receive more attention would be working with parents. I know it would be hard to teach such a thing but it would be nice to receive some tips or suggestions for how to approach or talk to parents. I sat in on parent-teacher interviews in my PSI and saw how my TA interacted with the parents, and how she addressed the parents with concerns she had with certain students. It was very helpful but I think until we are in that situation, it’s hard to know how we will react. So having some suggestions for terms to use could increase our confidence in this area.

Related to the topic of parents is the changing nature of families. I think it is important for us to remember that not every student will have a mother and a father at home. Some of the students will come from single parent homes or some might live with their grandparents. I think it is important to get to know your students and their backgrounds and know if certain subjects are touchy subjects.

I know the Ed program can’t teach us everything we need to know because some things have to be learned on the job. I think the U of L programs gives us a pretty good opportunity to experience the real world of teaching with all the practicums and internship. I think I will be much better prepared once I set foot in the school…..but I know I will learn more and more every day of my career.