1995 Indiana University - The Center for Adolescent Studies

Dear fellow student teachers,

I begin my student teaching in just a few short weeks and I feel like I'm ready in a lot of ways, and not so ready in others. I feel I know the content I will be teaching and I have already met with my cooperating teacher several times.

What I am worried about is how I will get along with the students. I want them to like me, but I worry that they won't. I am also concerned with discipline. I want the students to learn, but I don't want to create a rigid atmosphere in the class where no one feels comfortable. It's hard to balance these things.

Also, I want to make my lessons interesting, but I still feel like I have a lot to learn about this simple idea. What kinds of materials can I use to get students' attention? How do other teachers present their lessons? Well, I guess this is what student teaching is all about - finding out what it's like to lead a class.

Shannon Lee