What Were They Thinking?

Well today was the first Wednesday where I had el joven's students in my class because he had to go to a class at Worcester State University which started at 2:00PM.  By the way, this class was for students who are in the midst of their teaching practicum.   DUH . . . What were these people thinking?  Why would you want a student teacher who should spend as much time as possible in the classroom and in the school leaving early every Wednesday to go to a class?  A student teacher should be there working with his/her classes.  I strongly feel that it is not appropriate for Worcester State to pull these students out of their classrooms.  These students have become the de facto teachers of those classes and should be there directing and instructing those students.  I also feel strongly that student teachers should become a part of the entire school culture. They should become involved in after school activities to learn about that aspect of school life.  They should attend faculty meetings which are held after school so that they know what is coming up and they can hear valuable messages that are often related at teacher meetings.  They also should be there for students after school for extra help and support.  That is all part of what they should be learning at their schools during their practicum.  Wednesday is the extra help day for our foreign language department.  I guess someone else will have to work with those students who can only stay on Wednesday.  It seems that if a class is needed, it should meet at a later time - perhaps 4:00PM - so that those students in their practicum can get the entire experience of teaching.  It is not just what happens in the classroom.  I am so thankful that during my practicum my classes were at 4:00PM and they were once a month!!  It allowed me to become involved with the student clubs.  I actually worked with my supervising teacher and helped plan a French club trip to Quebec and I later chaperoned that trip along with her What a valuable learning experience that was!  Having later meetings also allowed me to help students and to attend faculty meetings.  Thanks Westfield State for your sane program!!  I know that if I had had to leave my classroom  in the midst of teaching a class it would have stressed me out a great deal.  It definitely would have impacted the continuity of my lessons and my formation as a teacher.

La Vieja (who seems very crabby tonight)