M.A.T Internship: Before Student Teaching
In the past two months interning at the high school I have already learned more than I had ever imagined. I am interacting with students and enhancing my classroom management skills, as well as refreshing my memory with subject matter I may not have looked at since I was in high school. I must admit that at times it is frustrating being a permanent substitute in the building because students will take advantage of the fact that their teacher is absent (which I am sure many of us can relate to from our own high school experiences). I have tried not to let the little things bother me and instead try my best to keep students focused while still allowing them to chat with a neighbor at a controlled volume. I find that students are beginning to recognize me more and more around the building, and I must say I am flattered when a student walks into a classroom and shouts, “Yes! We have Ms. Fischer today!”
I will be interning until the end of January and then I will start my student teaching. I am really looking forward to student teaching because I will have my own classroom and will be carrying out my own lesson plans. During my coursework within the MAT program I have had extensive training working with lesson plan development and I am very confident in my ability to construct lesson plans that will offer a range of activities for students and set clear goals and objectives for students. Being an intern and substitute in the building prior to student teaching has provided me with hands on experience dealing with classroom management. I also love that both teachers and students know me around the building.
The way my schedule currently works is that I intern at the high school seven until two, Monday through Friday. I also take graduate classes at Quinnipiac’s North Haven campus from four to six thirty on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. I must admit that these days are long, but I have adjusted to the busy routine and no longer see the hours as too strenuous. It is almost comforting and exciting to get to class in the late afternoons because I get to catch up with friends/classmates about “what happened at school today.” We always compare stories and I think that this alone is a huge part of the learning process. We will share what happened in the classes we were covering and also how we handled particular situations. We often ask each other “what would you have done” so that we can improve our actions if ever faced with the situation. Also, the professors are great and very understanding to the fact that we have had a long day before getting to class. Many professors will go out of their way to bring some type of snack to get our energy up. I am really enjoying the MAT program and I am so glad that I decided to make this commitment! Stay tuned for a future update!
-Arielle Fischer, MAT 2012
