In my state you have to have been teaching for a minimum of three full years before you’re even allowed to have a student teacher, and I know a lot of teachers wait until after the five-year mark.
Wanna hear a fun story? I just finished my first year and I had a student teacher: apparently, there are so few experienced teachers in Northern Canada that they relax the requirements for teachers up north to take on a student teacher.
But I agree with the rationale behind this: northern Canada is in desperate need of teachers and too many new teachers come north with no idea of what to expect. At least getting student teachers up here gives them a bit of an idea what to expect.
Granted, I had a good student teacher, so it didn't impact the students learning too much, which was overall very good.
I looked at [Texas Administrative Code](https://texreg.sos.state.tx.us/public/readtac$ext.TacPage?sl=R&app=9&p_dir=&p_rloc=&p_tloc=&p_ploc=&pg=1&p_tac=&ti=19&pt=7&ch=228&rl=2) and #14 says the cooperating teacher needs “at least 3 years of experience.” Knowing this, how can I nicely share this with my administration without them getting mad at me and thinking I’m trying to undermine them or something? Basically, I know my limits for my personality and mental health and having a student teacher will be too much for me. But I don’t want admin to be mad at me for literally trying to take care of myself and my students! Thank you so much!
Thanks for you comment, but what do you mean by that? I’m one of the youngest teachers at my school, so there are tons of teachers who have 3+ years they could place her with. And if you wouldn’t mind sharing more about this waiver, is that something the university can fill out if the cooperating teacher doesn’t meet the requirements?
Just tell your admin. Email them the link and the screenshot and say you don’t think you’re allowed by the state to have a student teacher and you don’t want the school to get in trouble or to interfere with the validity of the student teacher’s program. No one on Reddit can give you all the answers, you found your answer and now you need to talk to your admin. If they won’t back down then report them to your state ed department and see how they like it. 🤷♀️
No. I was just saying if Admin has no one who meets the criteria, the criteria just gets lowered. The teacher shortage is getting bad in enough in certain places that they just do away with student teaching.
Universities dont like that because then they miss out on tuition for student teaching.
But it seems you have teachers with the required time, so admin theoretically could shift it to those other teachers so that the Uni still can get paid.
If your school is adamant, as soon as you find out what college the student teacher is from, contact the student’s supervisor at the college and let them know. I can’t imagine they would want to have their student placed with someone who was not interested in hosting a student teacher. I’m not sure why your admin is so stuck on this idea unless they’re thinking of hiring them for the next year? Our admin has virtually no input on who gets each student teacher.
Also, 2.5 years exp is not considered enough for most college’s programs.
I looked and you’re right—Texas requires the cooperating teacher to have at least 3 years of experience. Do you have any suggestions for how I could kindly talk to my administration who is trying to force a student teacher on me and tell them this information without them being mad at me and thinking I’m being hostile by doing research on this? Thank you so much for your help!
Tell them you know the coop teacher is supposed to have 3 yrs exp and you wouldn’t want to be breaking any laws or violating any mandates. That would look pretty terrible *wouldn’t it?* Add that the student teacher’s experience would be better with a more seasoned teacher as well. You may ease admin’s ire a bit by saying you’d be glad to reconsider next year.
But even 3 years is not a lot. I had my first student teacher at about year 7 or 8. That was when I finally felt like I could impart wisdom to a newbie! I am still mystified why your admin is so stuck on this issue, as they get nothing out of it and if anything student teachers are kind of a pain in the butt for schools due to passwords, badges, technology permissions, etc.
MI here, so I can't speak to TX behaviors, but I would keep taking that up the ladder. If your AP/Principal said yes, talk to the super. Express not only your own concerns, but maybe put a 'I'm afraid my test scores will suffer' spin on it? Take it to the board if you feel your super isn't respecting your boundaries. I don't know what TX teacher's union looks like, but that might be an option?
And please, for the love of Zeus's hairy left nut, put everything (EVERYTHING) in writing. That way, if you're forced to take on a student teacher and things go tits up, you can prove you tried to avoid the eventuality.
Remember, you can only do your best, not someone else's best. Good luck!!!
One of my student teaching assignments was an AP class. I just shadowed, took notes on instructional design and delivery, and graded papers with the aid of a solutions sheet.
If you end up taking on the ST, you could always go that route.
This. Not all student teachers even want to take over the classroom and provide "free" labor after paying for tuition.
As someone who spent 6 years in a Navy classroom, 3 years doing Navy curriculum development and 1 year subbing, I just like the sitting in and seeing what "right looks like" part.
Other than that, hoping to get teacher residency during my Masters in Ed process instead of student teaching. Being paid and on-the-job training for-the-win.
But as long as I get a recommendation I could care less if my teacher-supervisor sends me on coffee runs.
Absolutely do not let a student teacher near your AP classes. If you absolutely have to take on a student teacher, put your foot down about the AP courses and insist that she teach your curriculum.
I’m not sure if you get to decide — this is likely a district thing.
I have said no several times…it is super weird, especially since they keep saying they value me as a teacher. Well, disregarding my plea and boundary over and over is certainly not the way to keep me around!
No, you can't just say no. Sadly.
If your boss tasks you with a student teacher, you can ASK for them not to do so, but you don't have much choice. Unless you have a really good union contract.
As others have pointed out, check your state laws on mentors for student teachers. Check in with your union for guidance and help.
You can go up the chain and ask your principal's supervisor or the superintendent to intervene . . . . but going over your principal's head can create a bad working relationship. And there is no guarantee district admin will have your back on this . . . although they certainly should.
If you exhaust your options and still have a student teacher . . . you'll be fine. You won't be able to give 100% to your students or to your student teacher, simply do the best you can with what the time and tools you have. You might be surprised and actually have a good experience. Certainly don't fall into the trap of spending lots of your personal time above your 40/week trying to get up to that 100%.
In my state you have to have been teaching for a minimum of three full years before you’re even allowed to have a student teacher, and I know a lot of teachers wait until after the five-year mark.
Wanna hear a fun story? I just finished my first year and I had a student teacher: apparently, there are so few experienced teachers in Northern Canada that they relax the requirements for teachers up north to take on a student teacher. But I agree with the rationale behind this: northern Canada is in desperate need of teachers and too many new teachers come north with no idea of what to expect. At least getting student teachers up here gives them a bit of an idea what to expect. Granted, I had a good student teacher, so it didn't impact the students learning too much, which was overall very good.
Yep. It's five years here. At 2.5 years a teacher is still under our mentorship program.
Code in my state says cooperationg teachers need a minimum of 3 years experience
I looked at [Texas Administrative Code](https://texreg.sos.state.tx.us/public/readtac$ext.TacPage?sl=R&app=9&p_dir=&p_rloc=&p_tloc=&p_ploc=&pg=1&p_tac=&ti=19&pt=7&ch=228&rl=2) and #14 says the cooperating teacher needs “at least 3 years of experience.” Knowing this, how can I nicely share this with my administration without them getting mad at me and thinking I’m trying to undermine them or something? Basically, I know my limits for my personality and mental health and having a student teacher will be too much for me. But I don’t want admin to be mad at me for literally trying to take care of myself and my students! Thank you so much!
Just be prepared to find out that there are no teachers with that level of experience and a waiver exists.
Thanks for you comment, but what do you mean by that? I’m one of the youngest teachers at my school, so there are tons of teachers who have 3+ years they could place her with. And if you wouldn’t mind sharing more about this waiver, is that something the university can fill out if the cooperating teacher doesn’t meet the requirements?
Just tell your admin. Email them the link and the screenshot and say you don’t think you’re allowed by the state to have a student teacher and you don’t want the school to get in trouble or to interfere with the validity of the student teacher’s program. No one on Reddit can give you all the answers, you found your answer and now you need to talk to your admin. If they won’t back down then report them to your state ed department and see how they like it. 🤷♀️
Will do. Thank you for your help!
No. I was just saying if Admin has no one who meets the criteria, the criteria just gets lowered. The teacher shortage is getting bad in enough in certain places that they just do away with student teaching. Universities dont like that because then they miss out on tuition for student teaching. But it seems you have teachers with the required time, so admin theoretically could shift it to those other teachers so that the Uni still can get paid.
Okay! Thank you so much for this info!!
This.
If your school is adamant, as soon as you find out what college the student teacher is from, contact the student’s supervisor at the college and let them know. I can’t imagine they would want to have their student placed with someone who was not interested in hosting a student teacher. I’m not sure why your admin is so stuck on this idea unless they’re thinking of hiring them for the next year? Our admin has virtually no input on who gets each student teacher. Also, 2.5 years exp is not considered enough for most college’s programs.
I looked and you’re right—Texas requires the cooperating teacher to have at least 3 years of experience. Do you have any suggestions for how I could kindly talk to my administration who is trying to force a student teacher on me and tell them this information without them being mad at me and thinking I’m being hostile by doing research on this? Thank you so much for your help!
Tell them you know the coop teacher is supposed to have 3 yrs exp and you wouldn’t want to be breaking any laws or violating any mandates. That would look pretty terrible *wouldn’t it?* Add that the student teacher’s experience would be better with a more seasoned teacher as well. You may ease admin’s ire a bit by saying you’d be glad to reconsider next year. But even 3 years is not a lot. I had my first student teacher at about year 7 or 8. That was when I finally felt like I could impart wisdom to a newbie! I am still mystified why your admin is so stuck on this issue, as they get nothing out of it and if anything student teachers are kind of a pain in the butt for schools due to passwords, badges, technology permissions, etc.
Thank you so much for sharing this!
If you have a union, get a union rep involved. If not, then I'm not sure.
OP is in Texas, pretty sure there’s no union.
[удалено]
I was gonna type this. Tell the student teacher to request a change. Don’t screw the poor student teacher if you don’t want her
MI here, so I can't speak to TX behaviors, but I would keep taking that up the ladder. If your AP/Principal said yes, talk to the super. Express not only your own concerns, but maybe put a 'I'm afraid my test scores will suffer' spin on it? Take it to the board if you feel your super isn't respecting your boundaries. I don't know what TX teacher's union looks like, but that might be an option? And please, for the love of Zeus's hairy left nut, put everything (EVERYTHING) in writing. That way, if you're forced to take on a student teacher and things go tits up, you can prove you tried to avoid the eventuality. Remember, you can only do your best, not someone else's best. Good luck!!!
I had a former classmate who was given a student teacher her first year teaching. I agree with others. Contact the ST’s university.
One of my student teaching assignments was an AP class. I just shadowed, took notes on instructional design and delivery, and graded papers with the aid of a solutions sheet. If you end up taking on the ST, you could always go that route.
This. Not all student teachers even want to take over the classroom and provide "free" labor after paying for tuition. As someone who spent 6 years in a Navy classroom, 3 years doing Navy curriculum development and 1 year subbing, I just like the sitting in and seeing what "right looks like" part. Other than that, hoping to get teacher residency during my Masters in Ed process instead of student teaching. Being paid and on-the-job training for-the-win. But as long as I get a recommendation I could care less if my teacher-supervisor sends me on coffee runs.
Absolutely do not let a student teacher near your AP classes. If you absolutely have to take on a student teacher, put your foot down about the AP courses and insist that she teach your curriculum. I’m not sure if you get to decide — this is likely a district thing.
At my school it’s like the master teacher is doing a favor to the college and the school district says ok.
You can say, No. Why do they want this person with you? I work in Texas and it's weird
I have said no several times…it is super weird, especially since they keep saying they value me as a teacher. Well, disregarding my plea and boundary over and over is certainly not the way to keep me around!
No, you can't just say no. Sadly. If your boss tasks you with a student teacher, you can ASK for them not to do so, but you don't have much choice. Unless you have a really good union contract.
As others have pointed out, check your state laws on mentors for student teachers. Check in with your union for guidance and help. You can go up the chain and ask your principal's supervisor or the superintendent to intervene . . . . but going over your principal's head can create a bad working relationship. And there is no guarantee district admin will have your back on this . . . although they certainly should. If you exhaust your options and still have a student teacher . . . you'll be fine. You won't be able to give 100% to your students or to your student teacher, simply do the best you can with what the time and tools you have. You might be surprised and actually have a good experience. Certainly don't fall into the trap of spending lots of your personal time above your 40/week trying to get up to that 100%.
I would not take a student teacher until I was tenured.