Honestly, my student teaching fears have almost nothing to do with the students. I worry that my host teacher and I will not get along (or, more likely, that we will both pretend to be able to stand each other). I have already had experiences with teachers around town in which I have felt like more of a nuisance than someone who is welcome to observe and participate, a feeling which could be very uncomfortable on a daily basis.
That isn't to say that I don't worry about my relationship with the students. Especially in the high school level, students like to play around with pre-service and student teachers. They know that we don't have much authority, and they can probably sense our hesitance and, sometimes, discomfort in interacting with them. I sincerely hope that my host teacher has already laid down a general feeling of respect towards all teachers-new and old-in the students before I even enter the picture.
Finally, I hope that most of all I really enjoy the job and don't feel like it's a giant headache. When you spend so much time training for a career, it can be really tough to face those emotions in yourself that say: "oh man, do I really want to do this?" or "can I even handle this?" I know those emotions will arise; I just hope that I can ride the wave and be ok at the end of the experience.
5 Questions:
1. Is it in bad taste to ask to spend some time with the other art teachers, just to get a different point of view?
2. Will I be involved with supply and budget management?
3. Can I attend parent-teacher conferences?
4. How do I handle students who feel that as a student teacher I should not be respected or obeyed?
5. How do I get to know the principal and secretaries when it seems clear they are extremely busy and probably don't have time to chat?
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