Known for its education programs, Rowan University student teacher shares his perspective
In this first-person perspective piece, graduate student in Education, Lucas Taylor of Gloucester County, NJ, discusses the arduous trials of being a part of something bigger than higher education – being a part of a teaching internship. Throughout his experience as a student teacher, Lucas describes the rigors of becoming as consistent as possible in a professional scene as well as understanding the developmental period that comes along with internships.
When someone brings up “internships” in a conversation, people always talk about a mix of different themes. Whether sharing personal experiences, the existential dread of preparing for the professional field or feeling lost and acting like everything is fine while trying to enjoy the shakes from morning coffee on an empty stomach, people bond over their internships in several different ways. In my own experience, I participated in a year long clinical internship (aka, “student teacher”) in the M.A program for Education teaching English at Paulsboro Junior and Senior High School in New Jersey.
As I am nearing the end of my time with my own experience at the school, I can now reflect and gain some semblance of how this student teaching experience prepared me for ultimately moving onto my next part of life.
Understanding that the biggest takeaway from teaching internships is the general experience of being a part of something bigger is one of the most difficult parts of settling in. I still remember that general feeling of excitement, as well as nervousness, began to creep in when I received notice of my student teacher placement for the first time. Especially within the Education program, many of my classmates and friends started to frantically message and start to compare the different placements to try to get as much information as possible to create an expectation before starting.
The first week was something of an acclimation period; I felt like I was pretending to be a teacher but knew that I wasn’t just yet for the longest time. Even though I was coming into the student teacher internship with ideas and theories to use in a classroom setting, I knew that something like that was still way off and I had to build upon the foundations.
With my teaching internship in particular, I knew that it was going to be a learning experience for myself, just as much as my students. I’m extremely grateful for being able to experience the ins and outs of teaching with my cooperating teacher (CT), Ms. Bria, as she individually broke down every single idea that she had in mind for the class. In her daily feedback, she provided reasoning for her actions and methods and helped me to understand why certain things were done in a certain way. Whether creating lesson plans or getting ready for the warmups at the beginning of the day, she gave examples of her own experience as well as advice as to how to move forward.
In my own opinion, people don’t normally mention a healthy and supportive cast; mentorship in particular being one of the most crucial parts of a successful teaching internship. I never spent days doing XYZ just for the sake of getting through the day. My CT reiterated the importance of being articulate with my actions, as well as being accountable with what was going on in the classroom. Although plenty of days I knew my own social battery was becoming depleted and all I wanted to do was drink my coffee in a nice secluded spot, I learned to grit my teeth and put forth my best effort irregardless of whatever I was feeling at the time.
It’s an interesting period in life; I would often reflect and think of the limbo situation that I was in. Even though I was throughout the year becoming more adjusted and taking more responsibilities in regards to teaching four different 11th grade classes, I still had felt as if those same feelings from the first week could creep back at any time and set me back.
Halfway through my student teaching, I did become aware of how difficult it was balancing all the different facets of my own life as I was still juggling two part time jobs, my time spent with friends and family, as well as being a full-time student teacher. Looking back now, it’s easy to understand and feel sorry for myself for having to go through all that, but that would be an easier route. I willingly understood what was expected of me with an internship experience, breaking down halfway through was never something that has been a part of my life; I would rather be able to get through difficult times and understand that I’m better for it.
With all that being said, my internship experience was something that I never anticipated enjoying as much as I am now. In comparison to my teaching methods in the first semester, I had felt as if I was being too safe and unable to really relish in being a future educator. Once I broke out of that mindset, I really started to build rapport with my students as well as become more invested with the intricate details of teaching.
This is not just saying that all teaching internships will be the same. I’ve heard some less-than-wonderful stories already from my peers in regards to their placements. But, it creates a unique bonding moment; being able to share different stories of what goes on in the day-to-day life and really relish those moments of reflection.
In terms of preparation for a future career as an English teacher, I’ve never felt more confident in my own outlook mainly due to my experience this past year with learning to guide students through units on Edgar Allan Poe, Walt Whitman or different literary figures that they have heard of, but never really took the time to really learn about. Throughout the entire experience so far, nothing has been more satisfying than being able to drink that hour-aged coffee after my first class of the day and realize that I’m in the best position for success.
Story by:
Lucas Taylor, English education graduate student