Student teaching acts as a necessary part of every prospective teacher’s career, and three new student teachers arrived at JCP this year to begin their teaching journey.
Sean Lifka, coming from Loyola University Chicago, aspires to be a history teacher. This fall, he began student teaching for Ryan Maggid’s Honors U.S. History, Honors Journalism, and AP Seminar classes.
“I was definitely nervous. You’re pretty much on the spot, especially since you go from doing mostly observations,” said Lifka.
Even so, the anxiety from the daunting task paves the way for success. All education majors seeking a teaching job must complete the student teacher process to earn their certification.
“It’s almost like being in a pressure cooker,” said Lifka. “You’re just forced through, forced to do what you need to.”
Their close age range to their students also creates an interesting dynamic compared to some of the older teachers. Natalie Tejeda experienced this as she began student teaching for Honors Statistics and Probability class.
“I am a younger teacher, I also have siblings in high school,” said Tejeda. “But [we] have to keep those boundaries and have a level of respect towards each other while still having fun.”
In comparison to the teachers surrounding them, student teachers expressed struggle with their lack of power but increased responsibility.
“I’m kind of in a gray area where I’m not an official faculty member,” said Lifka. “But I’m also an authority figure. It’s taken some time to be seen, not just as a college student, but someone with actual authority.”
Since they are so close to age with their students, the student teachers hold a unique perspective on how to keep students’ attention. Jay Chen often tries to incorporate his own method into the Honors Pre Calculus classes he student teaches for.
“I’m trying to keep things entertaining since I’m relatively around their age,” said Chen. “I can still keep it somewhat relatable where I’m not using some really old analogy, I can kind of relate it to something recent in pop culture.”
Although they have progressed into positions of power, the student teachers have still attended high school relatively recently themselves.
“I recently graduated from high school, so I was able to recognize that students are very over school,” said Chen. “Especially precalculus.”
Many student teachers note how their past teachers assisted in forming their career goals. For Mr. Lifka, the influence seems apparent.
“I was just floating through my last three semesters of high school,” Lifka. “But when I saw what my teachers were doing, I could see myself in their place.”
Multiple teachers shared the struggles their students face academically today.
“Math was really hard for me,” said Chen, who originally found difficulty picking a class to teach. “I didn’t know what subject, but I was really good at math by the time I finished high school.”
Conversely, Tejeda started with a passion for math and spent time in college trying to find an avenue to funnel it into.
“In high school, I really enjoyed math class,” said Tejeda. “I went into college thinking that I was going to do something in finance, but the classes just didn’t stick out to me.”
However, student teachers were recently high schoolers themselves, and some expressed past grievances with the subject they now teach.
“Even though I did enjoy math, I didn’t particularly like my teachers,” said Tejeda. Still, one of her favorite math classes acted as a means of connectivity.
“It was like a community, not just a class with someone speaking at us.”
The small gap in age between students and their student teachers may also spark more compassion towards students, with their own high school experience fresh on their minds.
“Math is not easy, and I recognize that. Now, I’ve built relationships with them and it’s fun to see that in class,” said Tejeda. “It’s fun to see them actually speaking to each other, with more collaboration happening.”
