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Students prepare for teaching jobs
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Also by Kristy Lou Haskett:
- King, Webber retain city seats (April 6, 2005)
- City may enact keg registration in near future (April 1, 2005)
- Lunchtime stroll to motivate midday fitness (March 17, 2005)
- Students prepare for teaching jobs (March 4, 2005)
- Students raise money for Camp Heartland (March 7, 2005)
Related Stories:
- UW proffers English speaking program (February 17, 2005)
- Teaching group looks to inspire (September 20, 2007)
- Students work to balance jobs, studies (November 6, 2002)
- Student internship instills life experience (January 28, 2005)
- Students seek internships (March 16, 2007)
by Kristy Lou Haskett
Friday, March 4, 2005
This is the third in a series examining the university of Wisconsin student internships.
While many University of Wisconsin students roll out of bed just in time to make it to their 9:55 a.m. class, student teachers in UW’s School of Education wake up at 6:30 a.m. five days a week.
Their day not only begins when it is still dark outside but also continues until at least 4 p.m., after teaching, planning assignments and grading tests. Following an eight-hour day, student teachers are also required to take six credits of class at night.
Jody Fassett, a UW senior majoring in secondary education mathematics, is currently teaching seventh grade students at Winnequah Middle School in Monona. Adjusting to the different time schedule is difficult, according to Fassett.
“Most college students sleep between the hours of one a.m. and 10 a.m, or something slightly nocturnal,” Fassett said. “It makes it hard to have a schedule so different from your friends and roommates.”
Student teachers are required to teach half of their cooperating teacher’s classes for a minimum of four weeks during the semester. However, depending on the cooperating teacher, student teachers often take on a larger workload.
Christina Janz, a UW senior also majoring in secondary education mathematics, teaches eighth grade at Savanna Oaks Middle School in Fitchburg. Janz currently teaches one class on her own and will soon teach two. In addition, Janz spends part of her day planning with fellow team members, supervising a study hall and prepping for the next day.
Because Janz is expected to partake in the same activities as her cooperating teacher, she believes she is gaining valuable skills for use after college.
“It gives me a more realistic view of [the] teaching life,” Janz said. “I feel like it is equivalent to an internship because of the time commitment and first hand experiences gained.”
Eric Knuth, an assistant professor in the School of Education, teaches Curriculum and Instruction 395, a required course Fassett and Janz are currently enrolled in. The course is designed to help future mathematics teachers incorporate technology into the classroom.
Knuth recognized the time commitment and workload student teachers undertake.
“I think it is often times a lot for students to handle,” Knuth said. “I don’t think most people realize in general how difficult is to be a teacher.”
Fassett said she recognizes the benefits and enjoyment found in student teaching.
“It is rewarding when a student who struggled in the beginning makes great improvements because of my influence,” Fassett said.
Student teachers pay full tuition even though they are working a 40-hour job and relieving the workload of a professional teacher. In addition, the cooperating teacher receives a monetary bonus for allowing a student teacher in their classroom.
Student teachers receive 12 credits for teaching at middle schools or high schools and do not receive a grade. Student teachers are also required to teach until June 10th, one month past the end of UW’s semester.
However, changes will soon be implemented in the School of Education’s student teaching program. Instead of teaching full time for two semesters, students will spend one semester teaching part time and attending class part time. The next semester students will teach full time and will not be required to take additional classes.
With the stress that comes along with teaching, Fassett and Janz said they feel the workload is taking over their lives.
“I do not have much of a social life these days,” Janz said. “What keeps me going is knowing I’m almost done.”
Anonymous (March 4, 2005 @ 9:08am):
Right on! We should get paid for this "internship." I've barely been able to work at my job lately I've been so busy with teaching. *Nice pic Jody*
*Lisa
Anonymous (March 4, 2005 @ 9:08am):
Right on! We should get paid for this "internship." I've barely been able to work at my job lately I've been so busy with teaching. *Nice pic Jody*
*Lisa
Anonymous (March 4, 2005 @ 11:26am):
Whine whine, another feel so sorry for me because I'm a teacher story. Oh my, "workload is taking over their lives", "do not have much of a social life these days", "I don't think most people realize in general how difficult is to be a teacher", and holy crap, they have to get up early too?! and a 3 month vacation for the whole summer?! Oh no, the humanity!
But we should all be so grateful that these heroes endure these terrible hardships to educate our youth!
Sorry, maybe I'd be less cynical if for the last 30 years school funding wasn't growing dramatically while our students consistently drop in world-wide rankings. And there's no signs that this is going to be changing anytime soon. In other words, yea teachers, you've been doing worse and worse while we give you more and more.
Anonymous (March 4, 2005 @ 11:30am):
Who's the babe in the pic? Sexy outfit!
Anonymous (March 4, 2005 @ 11:47am):
Oh complain complain, because no one else has it rough on this campus. As a pharmacy student, I am going to have to work full time+ for a whole year (may to may) while paying full professional school tuition (almost 5K for each summer, fall and winter) and not get paid for it. And yea, it leaves me with tons of free time too. And im sure there are people who have it worse than me too. Its all part of the game, get over it.
Anonymous (March 4, 2005 @ 12:14pm):
"Whine whine, another feel so sorry for me because I'm a teacher story."
You're an idiot. Did you even read the story at all?
"In other words, yea teachers, you've been doing worse and worse while we give you more and more."
Again, you show yourself to be a complete moron. It's not the teachers who have been getting more and more, it's the administration, and the fact that a lot of schools are obsessed with buying the latest computers and science equipment. In a family where both the mother and the father were teachers with less than six years of experiennce, their kids would qualify for reduced lunches at the school they teach at.
Anonymous (March 4, 2005 @ 1:03pm):
"In a family where both the mother and the father were teachers with less than six years of experiennce, their kids would qualify for reduced lunches at the school they teach at."
That's real cute. I'm sure you like to keep that in your back pocket to pull out in situations like this where you have no logical argument.
They only work 9 months of the year, not to mention all the time they get off for holidays! And they get absolutely free health insurance. My employer and I combined pay over $4,800 a year for mediocere health insurance. Teachers get better insurance for free. So right there you can add at least $6000 to their REAL salary they make, then divide it by 9 months to get their monthly salary. Wow, starts to look like a pretty good deal, I wonder why we have so many people lining up to be teachers?
http://www.e-z.net/wtv/edu-0311.htm
Sorry if this insults the good teachers, I know there's a few, very few. But you ought to start working to break up your union (unless you've already left for a private school, good for you) which is hurting you and rewarding all the bad teachers in your school and cares nothing about the childrens' education. Then you can start getting paid fairly based on your skills and results and negotiate your own contracts. Then hopefully people will start regaining some trust in our public schools.
http://www.opinionjournal.com/extra/?id=110006192
Anonymous (March 4, 2005 @ 5:03pm):
"Sorry, maybe I'd be less cynical if for the last 30 years school funding wasn't growing dramatically while our students consistently drop in world-wide rankings."
Maybe if you got your head out of your ass and actually paid attention to the news you would know that state and local school budgets have been cut substancially and funding is continuing to decline dramatically. You have your facts mixed up. Students are low in ranking because our government isn't properly supporting public education.
Don't even bring up the No Child Left Behind Act because that's the biggest crock to ever be put into legislation. It sets standards that are too high and doesn't provide the funding needed to attain these specified goals.
Public education is in danger and it's ingnorance from people like you that's causing it to continue to go down-hill.
Anonymous (March 4, 2005 @ 6:12pm):
I would like to applaud the poster who indicated that the increase in funding for schools is being spent on the wrong areas- more administrators, new computers that students do not need because they already have ones that work fine...
When are we going to cut out the fat in the education system. We don't need 2 different principals for each school making 120k a year and sitting in meetings all day. Teachers should really start focusing on the waste there and in the obsession with buying new equipment every year. then they could make more money, provide at least the same level of education, and make the taxpayers closer to happy.
Anonymous (March 4, 2005 @ 11:45pm):
Absolutley free health insurance? What teachers and what schools are you talking about?
Anonymous (March 4, 2005 @ 11:51pm):
What the hell is wrong with the assholes on this board. I am pretty sure, as the article states "This is the third in a series examining the university of Wisconsin student internships." that the point is that there are a lot of people getting free work from students who probably should be paying for it. I don't really care what it is, teaching, engineering, business, nobody likes internships and making no money. The article didn't really bitch about anything, it just pointed out facts.
As for the people pointing out how teachers are not really receiving raises because of a lot of administration costs. Look too at special education. It is rediculous. All I hear about is increased spending and "Every Child Left Behind". Yes, the federal government is dumping huge amounts of money into education. But it is going to special programs, not for the "normal" or "gifted" students.
An yeah, right, private schools have such better teachers, that is why they have more discipline and drug problems at the private schools here such as Edgewood. I'm sure they have such GREAT teachers there considering you don't even need a teaching license to teach in a private school. But, I'm sure they have money, so who would be able to tell them anything different.
Anonymous (March 5, 2005 @ 4:37pm):
let's leave edgewood alone. it has nothing to do with this argument and you obviously know nothing of the teachers there to even make such a statement.
Anonymous (March 5, 2005 @ 10:56pm):
No Child Left Behind has too high of standards? Maybe that is because we have lowered the bar so much over past years that now what should be reasonable seems unatainable. Give me a break.
Anonymous (March 6, 2005 @ 11:17pm):
I'm a secondary ed student who is student teaching right now. Just wanted to add what I know to the mix. First of all, the article was wrong is saying we get 12 credits for student teaching, it's only 9. What this means, of course, is that in order to keep grants and loans, we need to take more classes in addition to the student teaching.
Also, in response to the Pharmacy student who wrote about how hard they have life as a student too: that's great. I don't think anyone here is saying that we have it worse than everyone else. I had a 90+ hour week during my last student teaching placement considering that I was working close to full time, teaching and taking two classes. These are just facts, and take it as that. I'm not asking you to feel bad. The point of this article and subsequent discussion is just to increase understanding.
Furthermore, in response to the "you only work 9 months per year" idea, actually it's closer to 10 and 1/2. When students aren't in school, it doesn't mean teachers aren't. They stay for weeks after the end of the school year, and come in weeks (in some cases a month or more) early to plan for the year. Additionally, they teach for 40 hours per week, but they must also take work home to grade and plan units at home. Teachers must also stay in school (college) for their entire career. They are REQUIRED to take a certain amount of college credits every 5 years. That means that many teachers leave school only to go to their college classes or work on homework. The result of all of these demands is usually at least a 50 hour work week.
One last point, because I think it needs to be said. It's extremely disrespectful and wrong to blame all the educational problems of our children on teachers. Society is changing. Less people read to their children, stay at home with them, or take the time to help them with their homework. How about considering the influence of parents in this equation. Kids also have more non-academic distractions, such as video games and TV. Do you expect teachers to be able to counterbalance all of this? How? Why don't you try, since you seem so pationate. Become a teacher, and maybe you'll understand that there are limits on what a teacher can do to help struggling students.
Anonymous (March 6, 2005 @ 11:36pm):
I can't believe the professional teacher who "allows" a student teacher to come into their room, actually gets MORE pay to allow it!
Anonymous (March 6, 2005 @ 11:38pm):
That is a hot pic--bent over the desk like that..
Anonymous (March 7, 2005 @ 10:15am):
Before you talk about No Child Left Behind, look at it. It is probably one of the dumbest pieces of educational legislation ever written and it is impossible to successfully reach the goals it sets......
