Baker University student teachers have worked for years to get the opportunity to teach and are now starting to earn their apples.
For many seniors, the final year of college is about finishing and finding a job, but education majors jump head-first into their career with student teaching.
“We are getting trained for one of the most important careers a person can have; it’s a big deal,” senior Matt Ellis said.
Before the training can begin, the student teachers go through a process that involves many different steps.
“Ideally, an education major would start working toward student teaching as soon as they walk through the door,” Merrie Skaggs, undergraduate school of education department chair, said. “If a student comes into the program later, that student might be here longer than four years.”
Student teachers must have already taken, or be currently enrolled in, a teaching methods class. The methods class is the only class a student teacher can take during his or her semester of teaching and is equal to a senior seminar class in other major departments.
“An education major has to have all the (general education) classes completed, as well as any other classes, especially if you are a secondary education major,” senior Clayton Alexander said.
Secondary education majors specialize in one subject, like English or math, whereas elementary education majors focus on general education in the classroom.
Regardless of whether an education major has a heart for elementary or secondary education, the amount of paperwork and requirements to student teach and complete the program are the same.
Skaggs said prior to student teaching, seniors fill out an application and select their top three school districts and the grade they wish to teach. The students must also be in good academic standing, with at least a 2.5 completion of the KPTP, and have electronic portfolios and qualifying scores on surveys given out by the education department.
The KPTP portfolio is required by the state to get a teaching license in Kansas.
The KPTP portfolio consists of a 35-page paper that is centered on each student’s individual experience while teaching for a semester.
The electronic portfolio is a reflection of the experience and also, in many cases, serves as a teaching résumé.
“The reward of being in the classroom was definitely worth the hard work and stress it took to get to the classroom,” senior Sara Schwarz said.
After education majors have completed the student teaching requirement, many give advice to students preparing to student teach in the future.
“Every student teacher should get lessons done in advance, space project assignments out, be prepared to work on the weekends and start the KPTP early,” Alexander said. “It’s a taste of what it’s like to be a teacher in the real world.”
