PAEA Preservice Representatives, Keri Marini & Emily Hahn

The purpose of this blog is to help guide future student teachers as they begin on their journeys of educating full time in the classroom setting. Student teaching is one of the most exciting, yet stressful times in a preservice educator’s student career and there always are a large amount of nerves present when going into the experience. I have sent out eight questions to art educators who are fresh off of their student teaching experiences and their anonymous responses have been edited together here. These responses are aimed to offer “real-life” information and advice for future student teachers in the field of art education. 

1- What is your biggest take away(s) from your student teaching experience?

Do not let fear control you! No one is perfect at teaching and you will make mistakes, but that’s ok! Worry about your reactions to your mistakes rather than the mistakes themselves. Your students won’t be upset, it will show them that you are human just like them. Never be afraid to switch things up! If you start a lesson and it isn’t working out, it is ok to completely change it to make it better. Any work that you had your students do before making a change is still good practice. Be flexible with your projects and pay close attention to how your students are responding to it. If they are not responding well, then make a change to fix that. Only go into each day with one main expectation: to try your best! There are always many things that you have no control over, but what you do have control over is how you react to them.

2- What surprised you about your student teaching experience?

Any school you teach in, regardless of area, age of students, or anything else, is bound to give you a number of surprises. You might have extremely well-behaved students or ones who give you a daily challenge. No matter how your students behave towards you, you need to remember your role in the classroom and do your best. You are a student-teacher and someone new in the class, so many students will test you to see what they can get away with. Remember that you are their teacher and you need to stand your ground. If you are not sure how to reach certain students do some research. Talk to your mentor teacher and search online for resources. Aside from the student aspect, you should try to be involved with the community as much as possible. The more that you do will only help you. Be prepared to put a large amount of thought into everything you do for your lessons. You need to reach all of your students the best that you can and have everything prepared before students enter the room.

3- What do you wish you would have known before going into student teaching?

Much of your student teaching you are not teaching your own lessons how you would want to teach them. This varies from placement to placement, but with any placement, you are the guest in your mentor teacher’s space. Many mentor teachers will start by having you observe them teaching, then having you teach their lesson the way they would, and towards the end of your time there you will be able to teach your lessons the way that you would like them to be taught. Remember that any lessons you teach will need to coincide with the curriculum that is already in place at your school.

4- What do you wish your mentor teacher knew about you?

I care strongly for my students and the profession of art education. I often worry and stress about everything being the best that it can be. I have high standards of myself and take it hard if I feel that I have failed. I have worked extremely hard to get to the point that I am at and often feel that I am under-appreciated, I always try my best and I want to be successful and serve my students and school community well.

5- What was the best thing(s) your mentor teacher taught you?

Be confident! You know a lot more than you think and you have a great deal of knowledge to share with your students. If you have no control over a situation, don’t worry about it! Stand up for yourself and be confident. Students will walk all over you if they sense they can. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be human with them! Your mentor teachers have so much knowledge, make sure to take advantage of that! You will learn a lot from them. This includes classroom management, skills, how to teach certain things, and much more.

6- What did your students teach you?

They know so much! My students knew much more than I anticipated and they also reminded me of art’s internal purpose. They have so much potential and they taught me not to underestimate somebody again! Challenges are great for them. While they know much more than anticipated, many were unable to see their own potential. I was shocked to see how hard they were on themselves. Always reinsure and support them. Your students are absolutely incredible and inspiring, but sometimes need help to see that. They also need you to be more than just their teacher. Your students need somebody to talk to about art, life, and more. Teachers are listeners more than anything. Also, remember that sometimes your students have a lot going on in their lives and some things are more important than their projects. You will be surprised how much a few minutes to themselves will help them to calm down. Show compassion and let them know that you are human too. This will help your relationship with them as well.

7- What is something that was challenging for you but ended up being rewarding in the end?

Instruction can be extremely hard and stressful in the beginning, but that gets easier with practice. You may be working with materials that you are not completely comfortable with and it might be extremely frustrating, but in the end, you will be happy you gained that knowledge. The biggest thing about student teaching is that you can only get better. Most things will be tough in the beginning but the more you do it the better you will get and the more confident you will be. Practice will only help you.

8- What advice would you give to future student teachers?

Always be early and be sure to communicate with your mentor teacher. I learned a lot just from talking to my mentor teacher and communicating how I was feeling. Respect both students and professionals within the school and take all advice (good or bad) as learning moments. If you can, walk in with experience and knowledge. If your school has a student chapter of NAEA, join it! I learned so much from NAEA events and got great teaching experience from it. Also, do your best to attend professional development opportunities. I have learned so much from conferences and they are great networking events as well. Remember that above all, you are a student while in this experience. Nobody is expecting you to be perfect and you will make mistakes. You will learn much more from your mistakes than your successes. Remember that you are learning even more than you are teaching. Yes, this is an exciting and overwhelming time, but you are ready and you can do this. Good luck and welcome to the profession.