C ASE S TUDY 62 LOOKING FOR A TEACHING JOB

Here’s the Scenario…. Aidan lives in an adjacent community and has strong ties to the area. He comes to you as a student teacher at a time when two teachers in his area of certification will be retiring. Both you and he know that there will be vacancies. Aidan indicates during the first few days of student teaching that he would be interested in being employed here and asks your advice about how he should make his wishes known. He has been told at the college that student teachers who had a good teaching evaluation accompanied by participation in various aspects of the extracurricular programs were often asked to remain as teachers. He said he wants to get involved in “everything” so that he can enhance his chances of being viewed favorably, and consequently, employed. What is your response?

There are several options cooperating teachers have in this situation: Sit down and make a plan of action Help him narrow his extracurricular program choices Suggest a “wait and see” approach Give him job hunting tips and suggestions

One thing the cooperating teacher could do is to sit down with the candidate and make a plan. The cooperating teacher needs to let the candidate know that he/she is on their side and you want them to be noticed. It’s important that the student teacher doesn’t “overdo it”. As a cooperating teacher, you want your student teacher to take their task in the classroom seriously and devote time and effort into planning.

The cooperating teacher could suggest that the student teacher narrow down his/her extracurricular choices. The cooperating teacher may want to suggest to the student teacher to choose the organizations that highlight his talents. It’s important to join for the right reasons. Students teaching will be more time consuming than he thinks. It’s important not to let the students in the classroom down just to trying to “win” a job!

The cooperating teacher could suggest a “Wait and See” approach. Tell the student teacher to learn more about the school before he signs up for all these programs. The principal or personnel officer may come forward and discuss the position with him. The cooperating teacher is only privy to so much information. The principals could choose to go in an entirely different direction.

It’s important for the student teacher to know that the cooperating teacher is always behind them. Until student counts are in, job positions are not set in stone. It’s important for the student teacher to know other means of finding jobs. Give the student teacher job tips. These could be things like dressing for an interview, practice answering interview type questions, etc. Make suggestions of ways to find different teaching positions. You Tube on Listing Resumes School Spring

Be Proactive College Bulletin Boards and Posts Teaching Job Fairs by Public Notice Polish up your resume Practice job interview answers Classified Ads in the local newspaper “ It’s Not You, It’s The Economy”

Cooperating teachers have to be able to take any situation and turn it into the best scenario for the student teachers. Whether your personal beliefs are the same or different, it is the cooperating teacher's duty, as a peer and mentor, to strive to give their student teacher all the knowledge they need to become successful. If a student teacher wants to participate in “everything’ so he/she can be noticed, cooperating teachers could: Sit down and make a plan Narrow down extracurricular choices Wait and See Give job hunting tips and suggestions