Cheesecakes and Cupcakes: Difficulties in the Student Teaching Experience

            The student teaching program is one of the few last steps to becoming a real teacher. Although a student in the pre-service training must think and acts like a real teacher to his/her utmost advantage, it cannot be denied that circumstances will make him/her novice in the teaching profession. One involved in the student teaching program has just come out of the theoretical world and that world of simulating actual teaching. Teaching is an amalgam of theory and practice. A student teacher has nonetheless garnered ample knowledge of teaching and learning, yet a rookie in this crucial world of channeling learning.

            Yet, the pre-service training is advantageous by all means. It is the real repository of pedagogical content and experiential knowledge. Nothing can surpass the semester in the purpose of molding a prospective teaching. It is a cruel world for us, so we must be subjected to pressures and constraints. This experience is a multi-purpose oven that gives heat and pressure to produce sweet cakes and pre-heat food for good consumption. Like these things, a teacher must be ready to fulfill his/her duties and responsibilities. We are like cheesecakes and cupcakes. As much that these cannot be made without their ingredients and the oven, a teacher cannot be such without the theories from undergraduate courses and the experience from pre-service training—the oven. In any way, the heat and pressure when subject to the oven are not desirable. They induce pain and damage, as much that the student teaching will inflict pain, constraints and a myriad of difficulties that pose as challenges.

            I myself am not resistant to pain, constraints and difficulties. There are minor problems that can just pass by and be endured without serious damage. There are those who post serious consideration.

            I have long lamented those things that have been minor problems. Constraints when it comes to expenses were lasting from the very start yet I managed to create materials by recycling things and being thrifty every day. I am even prouder that I have circumvented this problem and endured their consequent issues. However, I cannot help but be threatened by this constraint. Could I have been able to supply the expenses, I could have delivered my tasks even more efficient. Sometimes, envy to my colleagues come but again, I do not consider this problem monumental. I am fond of this constraint. J This I have smoothly carried along with others.

            The thing that has been challenging me goes with the people I and closely working with. This would include my mentor and co-student teacher with him. My cooperating teacher has not been consistent during observations. We are handling all his classes so he is left with no class to manage. Thus, he goes to school in the middle of those periods. This would mean that he cannot observe the beginning of the class. Also, he goes out amidst the class so he has been interpreting the coherence of my methodologies as lacking. Suppose he was right on, I cannot consult with him since he also goes home early. There are three Science 6 classes, yet he was observing my class only due to this habit. Thus, I was the only one noticed. Most of the time, I do not agree with his criticisms. At this point, the other Science 6 student teacher is another problem. Most of the time, he was not observed by our cooperating teacher. But as his peers, we in the department notice his lack of plan or at least structure to actual class. There are a lot of instances that affect me directly and my colleagues indirectly. There were times that he will borrow my visual aids to implement to his class. I handle the second class, so he would not implement this in the first class and do so in the third one. I tried at first to be more collaborative that his personality keeps me away. We clash sometimes for valid reasons. He was too dependent on answer keys, imitating my methods and constructing assessment tools. During the days when he grades were worked on, he has crammed checking too may papers and blame that he has two sections while I have only one. When in fact, he does nothing in the department other things but check papers.

            Sometimes, these problems cause me to doubt myself or mar my will and determination. In the end, it taught me that teaching is not only challenging inside the classroom but on all corners of the school. Dealing with extreme professionals might be one flavor to molding teachers.