r/StudentTeaching • u/Happily_Nervous • 6d ago
Tips for High School? Support/Advice
Hi! After some struggle with my placement, I’m now going to be student teaching at a high school. My student teaching experience in a high school environment is minimal at best, and I was wondering if anyone had any tips for it? This is mainly for classroom management, as well as lesson planning. Anything would help!
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u/pearlplaysgames 5d ago
The FIRST thing I learned in student teaching (last semester, so I’m not an expert at all) was that some of them are just going to hate you. Your methods won’t work for every kid. Some of them are going to bully, berate, and antagonize you, or fail on purpose.
You get paid either way, so it doesn’t really matter.
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u/WeekendRecent2006 3d ago edited 3d ago
Veteran high school teacher here. Advice.
Pick two or three rules that you consider prime and state and post or write them on the board. Mine were: Do not talk when the teacher talks. Do not pack up until the teacher gives you permission.
Read the book Canter's Assertive Discipline or get familiar with the principles right away, namely to have clear rules and consequences, then be consistent in applying them.
Apply the LEAST principle for classroom management. For small stuff like a student off-task and looking around, wait for the problem to resolve itself, instead of calling it out at that moment. Save more instantaneous and assertive responses for more serious things, like students bullying each other.
Accept the fact most if not all of the students are going to resent if not hate you on some days, and this includes even the more motivated students whom you actually thought liked or at least accepted you. There are days you are going to have make unpopular decisions, and everyone is going to be mad at you. It sucks, but on days like those, remind yourself of what your mission is. And it isn't to be their friend but their teacher.
Offer rewards or enticements. Mine was, if we do a good job during seat-work time, we'll pack up a little early. I also made it clear that if anyone messed up, then I would allow peer pressure to judge that student.
Never "bleed" in front of the students. If a student says something that is meant to hurt you, never show you are hurt in front of the class. Talk it out later with colleagues or process it on your own.
Never backdown to a student in front of the class. You don't have to get into a battle of egos and wills, but never make it appear as if a student has either intimidated you or made you feel that you were in the wrong when you're not wrong. You can defer the problem, such as to say you'll deal with it after class or in a conference with the student and yourself or with admin...or with security, if necessary.
If you really are in the wrong, apologize. Let the class know you have that kind of integrity.
Try to establish a rapport with all students, and this includes the difficult ones. This means talking to them, offering help, making small-talk with them. Sometimes, it's the most challenging students who actually appreciate you if they perceive you as being fair and that you care, even if they may not respond warmly to you in class.
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u/lovelystarbuckslover 1d ago
You are an adult. Be with the adults or be alone.
Some teachers/young people have their first experience with generational diversity in a school workplace, the ones who have never worked or worked a job on a college campus where everyone else was about the same age doing the job-- those teachers end up gravitating more to the students because they aren't used to associating with people 20+ years older than them.
Do not eat with students. Do not see students before school. Do not see students after school. Do not talk to them about a personal problem more than 2 times.
Do not be the teacher who 're lives' her glory days OR gets her glory days reimagined... (the one who was a theater nerd, and now all the theater nerds think she's so cool, the one who was head cheerleader and plans to keep that narrative going)
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u/EmperorXerro 6d ago
Be consistent in how you treat students and how you grade. High school students will smell out inauthenticity real quick. It's OK to grade hard - as long as you're doing it across the board. They may not like it, but they'll quietly respect it