2008 Woodie Awards
Student Teachers booked this spring
Beth Finan '07
Issue date: 2/22/07 Section: News
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During an activity celebrating the 100th day of school, Marisa Waddell '07 noticed a young boy was making a crunching sound while chewing on a piece of Starburst candy.
"When I told him to open his mouth, I noticed he had lost a tooth while chewing!" Waddell said.
Such experiences are not typical of most college seniors, who often attempt to avoid responsibility during their last semester. For Waddell and other student teachers, however, the last semester of senior year is not a time to slack off. Instead, these education majors are in the position of being thrown headfirst into the "real world," while still desperately trying to hold on to the college lifestyle.
Spencer Girard '07 said the difference between this semester and previous semesters has been "like night and day."
"It's a lot different because it's like I have a real job," said Girard, who is student teaching second grade at Wakefield Hills Elementary School in West Warwick, R.I.
Most student teachers said the toughest adjustment to student teaching has been balancing their social lives with their new responsibilities.
"It's been tough adjusting to the schedule of a student teacher because basically, I am not on campus from 8:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. every day," said Waddell, who was assigned to Orchard Farms Elementary School in Cranston, R.I. "I feel like I'm out of the loop of what's happening with my friends and at PC."
Sarah Eschen '07, a student teacher at Roosevelt Avenue School in North Attleboro, Mass., said, "The biggest challenge for me has been trying to balance being a second semester senior in college with having a real job," said Eschen said the schedule of a student teacher is especially demanding: waking up between 5:30 a.m. and 6:30 a.m. and not having a break until the drive home around 3:00 p.m. or 4:00 p.m.
"This really has been a feeling of exhaustion I have never experienced before," said Eschen. "Typical college students have a break here and there between classes, activities, and jobs. Students with internships work a few days a week, but student teachers must replace current classroom teachers every day of the week for the entire day."
"When I told him to open his mouth, I noticed he had lost a tooth while chewing!" Waddell said.
Such experiences are not typical of most college seniors, who often attempt to avoid responsibility during their last semester. For Waddell and other student teachers, however, the last semester of senior year is not a time to slack off. Instead, these education majors are in the position of being thrown headfirst into the "real world," while still desperately trying to hold on to the college lifestyle.
Spencer Girard '07 said the difference between this semester and previous semesters has been "like night and day."
"It's a lot different because it's like I have a real job," said Girard, who is student teaching second grade at Wakefield Hills Elementary School in West Warwick, R.I.
Most student teachers said the toughest adjustment to student teaching has been balancing their social lives with their new responsibilities.
"It's been tough adjusting to the schedule of a student teacher because basically, I am not on campus from 8:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. every day," said Waddell, who was assigned to Orchard Farms Elementary School in Cranston, R.I. "I feel like I'm out of the loop of what's happening with my friends and at PC."
Sarah Eschen '07, a student teacher at Roosevelt Avenue School in North Attleboro, Mass., said, "The biggest challenge for me has been trying to balance being a second semester senior in college with having a real job," said Eschen said the schedule of a student teacher is especially demanding: waking up between 5:30 a.m. and 6:30 a.m. and not having a break until the drive home around 3:00 p.m. or 4:00 p.m.
"This really has been a feeling of exhaustion I have never experienced before," said Eschen. "Typical college students have a break here and there between classes, activities, and jobs. Students with internships work a few days a week, but student teachers must replace current classroom teachers every day of the week for the entire day."