Chapter 22 is a guest chapter from Leah Krippner, a cooperating teacher, and it reads like the talk you would want from your mentor before day one. It is short and practical, for teacher candidates about to start student teaching who want to be the person the school would like to hire. If your placement is not an easy fit, Chapter 21 covers what to do about it.
This is Chapter 22 of 51 from Road to Teaching (2025 edition). Read the whole book free, in order, at Read the Book.
By Leah Krippner, a Cooperating Teacher. Introduced by Dr. Eric Hougan.
Consider the entire student teaching experience as an extended job interview: dress professionally, camouflage piercings and tattoos, and avoid sharing anecdotes of having been fired from a job or of substance-involved antics. Similarly, remember that it is acceptable to be friendly with students but not to be their friends. Resist the urge to share personal stories not related to curriculum, particularly if you teach at the secondary level. Come to work on time and don’t cut out early. Be the ideal employee the school is looking to hire.
Listen more than you speak. It is typically the hallmark of the new teacher to go on and on about how they have been anointed as classroom deities and that they can hardly believe classrooms functioned before they set foot in one. It is great to think this; just keep it to yourself. If you listen to the experienced voices around you, you may pick up great tips.
Find amiable colleagues and eat lunch with them every day no matter how busy you are. It is healthy to be chummy with teachers other than just the one to which you are officially assigned.
Keep the main office (administration) happy. Turn in attendance and grades in a timely manner. Answer parent phone calls promptly.
Grade in the same manner as your cooperating teacher does. You can develop your own style later. Remember that your cooperating teacher will have to seamlessly take over again.
Visit other classrooms. Observe for alternate teaching and disciplinary styles as well as variances in the organization (do they have bins, mailboxes, file folders, binders, etc.?). Mentally file these observations for when you need to try something new.
It is O.K. to use the preservice experience to decide that teaching is not for you. Very few education candidates have any real insight into the actual day-to-day rigors of classroom teaching. For most of us, our only previous exposure is watching our own teachers, which fails to shed light on issues like strife between colleagues, tedium, administrative hassles, workload, hostile parents, and evaluation. Of course, it is also O.K. to discover what you love about teaching.
Treat every aspect of student teaching as an extended job interview by maintaining professional behavior, building relationships across the school community, and staying open to discovering whether teaching truly fits your aspirations. Your reputation during this experience often influences your future opportunities.
Want the whole road in your bag?
All 51 chapters plus 100+ interview questions, from your first education course to your first contract. Paperback $12.99, Kindle $7.99 on Amazon.
