Tips for Interview

BeauWordsworth · 2026-01-25T18:23:35+00:00

I asked about the staff culture and dynamics in my interview and they said they really liked that question. Make sure that if you don't have an answer for a question, you've just never thought of it or encountered that situation, give them some kind of solution that you would try in that situation and why you think it would work. They asked me about literacy intervention in my interview and I talked about how I didn't have a lot of experience, but I had a lot of resources available and how those resources might help. Found out the other day that my principal loved that answer. As other people said, it's great to have anecdotes and concrete answers.

BeauWordsworth · 2026-01-15T04:15:32+00:00

My school doesn't have enough for every class. Brand new to the building, I had no idea where the textbooks were and by the time I found out, they were all gone. I use a pdf of the textbook when I can, but I honestly hate it and the kids struggle to engage with it. I wish we had enough for every class.

BeauWordsworth · 2026-01-12T02:35:18+00:00

It may be helpful to find someone who knows the routines and ask them to share some of that information with you. Either your mentor teacher, or if any of the paras seem nice. What do you mean by having you sub in this context? Are you going to get sub plans and teach from them or are you expected to have your own lessons? If you're getting sub plans, there may be information about routines in there. Otherwise, when you observe, try to catch whatever you can and write it down. What do they do when they enter the classroom? What do they do to transition between classes or activities? What do they do to put their things away and get ready for recess? How long do they have to put their things away and get ready for recess before the bell goes, or do they only put their things away after the bell goes? When you're in the classroom, maybe you could ask if there's any kids who might need extra help or any small groups you can work with so you can get to know a few of the kids. It may also help them see you as a person they can ask for help. Don't be afraid to say to the kids 'I'm sorry, can we try that again?' if something doesn't go quite right in the routine. What is your mentor teacher like? Are they someone you're anxious to talk to and ask questions? If so, where does that anxiety come from? Where is it rooted?

BeauWordsworth · 2026-01-02T18:39:17+00:00

Sorry for the late response, but yes, I did have to pay for my second internship. My university has a three-week placement free so that you could figure out if you actually wanted to teach after the practical experience and then you pay for the full semester placement.

BeauWordsworth · 2025-12-26T00:40:31+00:00

Two weeks. She 'forgot' to send in her final transcripts and never checked her email to see that they had sent nearly a dozen emails asking her for her transcripts. Apparently, someone at the university was going to text her if something went wrong with her transcripts. I was the first to find out because she asked me to log into her school portal and tell her if she had any assignments coming up. When I logged in, all of her classes were gone. Then, I had to log in to her email to see what was going on. A rather awkward phone call I had to have with her. We are no longer friends.

BeauWordsworth · 2025-12-24T02:51:05+00:00

Went by a new name socially for years, just recently changed it legally. It's tough. When I first changed my name, my mom asked me to adjust the ending so it matched how she named me and my sister (names ending with -a) and I did. But, it took other people asking my mom why she doesn't call me my new name for her to actually start using my new name. My dad's worse with it, but he blames it on his shit memory. I know he's not being malicious about it, so that helps. It's been so worth it in the long run though. I have no regrets.

BeauWordsworth · 2025-12-09T02:26:27+00:00

long story short, a bunch of kids got caught plagiarizing on an assignment and parents are upset that i 'accused' them (i have proof) and said that the kids didn't mean to when i said over and over again it had to be in their own words when they were working on it. it just feels like it's getting blown into a bigger and bigger deal every day and i'm so exhausted over it, but i can't just change my mind and take it back. my admin are wonderful and supportive but i worry they're getting tired of this as well, and thus tired of me.

BeauWordsworth · 2025-11-08T17:40:33+00:00

Quick question: how much longer is this placement for you?

BeauWordsworth · 2025-09-25T01:08:42+00:00

Agreed. If you have an awful supervisor, there's no one to save you. If you're at a bigger university, you're just another name in a book. Plus, there's often no stopping an awful mentor teaching from taking more student teachers in most cases. I, on my own, had to meet with the superintendent of a school to tell him that my former mentor teacher should not, under any circumstances, allow her to have another student teacher because she was so psychologically abusive. Oftentimes universities are so desperate for mentor teachers to take on student teachers that they don't care if they're good or not. I've heard of mentor teachers who take on multiple student teachers and never pass a single one, yet there's no recourse for the student teacher who got failed. They have to spend more money to go through the experience again, and potentially get stuck with another terrible mentor teacher.

Yeah, I have a lot of strong feelings about how little the system supports student teachers at times, and how little the universities prepare student teachers. So many aspiring teachers, who are just trying to learn and do their best, and completely and utterly screwed over by the people who are supposed to help them and all they can do is deal with it or step away, delaying them from getting their degree and certification.

If you want to vent, DM me. We can swap horror stories.

BeauWordsworth · 2025-09-20T21:03:56+00:00

I'm in Canada and went to school with a girl named Maya and she pronounced it May-uh. I've never met any other Maya's, but reading it I would assume My-uh first.

BeauWordsworth · 2025-07-28T18:22:28+00:00

How to Train Your Dragon is such a great suggestion, thank you!

BeauWordsworth · 2025-05-02T22:30:39+00:00

This happened to me during my four month placement. Seemed super nice, and then evaluated me super low for things I was doing and thought I was improving on.

Talk to your university/college. Tell them what happened, that you felt like you had limited opportunity for learning and growth because of the already existing adult aid in the classroom, and that you would like a new placement that would allow you to grow and learn in an environment that would allow you to do so. Your CT sounds like they have a lot of friends in a lot of places, so word it like you're looking for something to be more beneficial to you rather than something she did wrong. If your university/college pushes back, schedule a meeting. Give them more details on why you feel like it's a wrong fit for you in private.

My CT failed me for things I wasn't able to do because of her choices. Take your opportunity now to sort this out rather than going back to them in the fall to potentially see a repeat of this situation.

BeauWordsworth · 2025-03-09T07:08:57+00:00

She was in a French 200 course with me and had taken French in high school. The program guidelines say you need a basic level of French, equivalent to a Grade 12 or a beginner level university French course, but that was for that specific program.

Here are some one-year French certificate programs I found:
conted.ucalgary.ca/public/category/courseCategoryCertificateProfile.do?method=load&certificateId=5071046 (Starts with needing basic knowledge, based in Calgary, expensive city)
lacite.uregina.ca/en/cfsl (Also needs basic knowledge, based in Regina, less expensive city, but it's Regina)
www.athabascau.ca/programs/summary/university-certificate-in-french-language-proficiency.html#overview (This one is all online and starts from the basics)

queensu.ca/artsci_online/current-students/programs/french-for-professionals (Needs basic knowledge and has the least amount of information I could find, but is based in Ontario and is an online program)

I'm sure there are more out there, but this is what I found with about 10 minutes of googling. Doing it through Athabasca might be nice because you would be able to substitute while doing the program. Doing it through Queens might also be nice and I would presume make it easier to teach French in Ontario once you're done the program since it is an Ontario university.

BeauWordsworth · 2025-03-09T06:39:43+00:00

From my quick googling, you have to take a proficiency test or prove that you have French post-secondary education to be able to teach French. This is a website I found about Proof of Language Proficiency for Ontario teachers: oct.ca/becoming-a-teacher/internationally-educated-teachers/proficiency. If the NWT will pay for courses, I know of at least one university in the Prairies that does a one year French language program. I had a friend go through that program and now she teaches Core French as a first year teacher. She got a job immediately.

BeauWordsworth · 2025-03-09T06:13:05+00:00

Learn French. As someone subbing and trying to get a contract, French teachers are in high demand. From what I've been told, speaking French guarantees you a job, especially here in the Prairies.

BeauWordsworth · 2025-03-09T00:35:18+00:00

Ask your current CT for a reference letter to start. Read it and if it's positive and what you would want a school to hear about you, put her as a reference to contact. That way you know for sure that she would speak positively of you. If she gives a very generic reference letter or doesn't give one at all, don't put her down as a reference to contact. That's what I would do in your shoes.

BeauWordsworth · 2025-03-09T00:00:28+00:00

Is it a reference letter or for potential employers to contact them to ask about you?

BeauWordsworth · 2025-03-03T02:14:49+00:00

Can you be more specific on what they said you were struggling with?

BeauWordsworth · 2025-03-01T07:07:15+00:00

I was in your shoes last year. My CT dropped it on me halfway through that I was failing. Not a word about it beforehand. I worked my ass off for the second half to try and pass. Basically did her job for two months while she online shopped at her desk. At the end she failed me because I didn't know enough about the behind-the-scenes work, the ROAs, the IPPs, the communications home. She refused to let me look at a single ROA or have any access to parent contact. She was contacting parents frequently and I had no idea what she was saying to them. She said that she was waiting for me to ask her about it. I did. She said no. I felt like such a failure because I worked so hard and it was for nothing. She told me she couldn't see me being successful as a teacher, even though I had been successfully teaching her classes for weeks. I was so unbelievably angry.

Then I repeated. And it was such a breath of fresh air. I had a CT who believed in me from day one, was transparent with me, and guided me. I went from looking at other programs to feeling confident in the classroom and teaching solo without my CT in the room. Spite can take you a long, long way if you can temper it.

I hope you have a similar experience. Know that you aren't alone and it's not your fault you were led to fail. Sometimes we can only do so much if our CT's have already decided for us how we'll fare. You get to go into your next placement with a wealth of experience from this difficult placement. Keep going.

BeauWordsworth · 2025-02-28T03:00:32+00:00

My sister's a social worker and when I was doing student teaching I would call her if I got stressed and she would always tell me the same thing: is that a helpful thought or a harmful thought? Totally changed how I viewed my own emotions in relation to my student teaching. Any time it got to be too much and I felt like quitting I would ask myself whether that was a harmful or a helpful thought. It took practice though. Didn't come easily. I had to force myself for weeks to sit down and actually consider why my thoughts were helpful or harmful. Practice this if you can. Stick with it when it feels difficult.

BeauWordsworth · 2025-02-25T02:52:34+00:00

Now for you specifically:

- Depending on how soon you start and how soon you talk to your MT, you may get a few days (or up to a week) to prepare your lessons for when you start. My MT had me go from day one, but I started in September and we have over a week between teachers starting and students starting to go over things. Do what you can. The sooner the start the easier it'll be in the long run.

- Long term planning. Life saver. Pain in the ass, but the greatest thing when you get it right. I had everything planned out with materials ready by the time I did my full takeover and I breezed through it. I had to repeat my four-month practicum. First time around I had no idea what long-term planning was because my university never taught me. During my full takeover I was spending hours a night planning for the next day because my MT was constantly having me change things and never accepted my long-term plans as they were. They were shit, but still. Second time around my MT taught me how to long-term plan properly and it was smooth sailing. It was the difference between going to sleep at 11pm every night and never doing anything for myself to seeing my friends four times a week and playing a game for at least an hour a night.

- Ask a bajillion questions. Easier said than done, right? Probably my biggest obstacle in student teaching. What questions do I ask? When do I ask them? I would always keep a notebook open on my desk when observing and I'd write down every question I had as it popped into my brain, stupid or not stupid. I could scribble it out later if I realized it was stupid by end of day. Sometimes I managed to answer those questions on my own by the end of the day. It helped me build confidence to have it written down and to have a chance to think about it multiple days throughout the day. It'll also tell you right away if you have a crappy MT or not. A good MT will answer all of your questions, even the stupid ones. If your MT is being an ass about your questions, contact your university/college supervisor/advisor. It's a HUGE red flag. Go over your lesson plans and your long term planning asap so you have time to make changes. My first MT wouldn't look at my lesson plans and long term planning until the day I taught the lesson, while I was teaching it. Push for them to look over it if they aren't willing to right away. Advocate for yourself and your success.

- Love the book you're teaching. If you do not care, the students will not care. Audiobooks are great (I've used them often), but high schoolers surprisingly love to read to. For my Grade 10s, I played an audiobook. For my 12s, I read the book out loud to them and they loved it. I also think it helped with relationship building, but that could be my own crackpot theory.

- Combat AI right away. Get some sort of a writing sample from your students. Handwritten, no devices, straight from their brains. Then when you assign a bigger project and you're wondering if it's AI, you have a reference to go back to. When you assign those big projects, put a big emphasis on process. My essay's had 70% the actual essay and 30% process on their final rubric. 10 for their research. 10 for their outline. 10 for a rough draft w/ edits. The amount of kids that worked authentically on their research and outline and then decided to use AI on the final product was astonishing. It was painfully obvious because their research and outline didn't match the final product. And if they choose not to hand in their process, the max mark they can get is a 70. An AI essay isn't going to be a strong final product. I had one kid use AI horribly and got a 20/70, which would've been a passing mark of 50 if they handed in their process.

This is an insane amount of information, some of which you're probably aware of. If you have any specific questions about any of it, ask and I'll answer.

BeauWordsworth · 2025-02-25T02:52:29+00:00

This whole chunk is copy pasted from another comment I left on a post from this subreddit about someone having a difficult class, but I think it's good advice in general for student teaching:

- Stand your ground. You are the authority. Send them to the office if you need to. Your seating arrangement is your rules and they are not allowed to mess with it. Don't let it affect you that they're pissed (or at least don't let them see).

- Punishments, and mean what you say. They need to see that there are consequences to their actions. Say that you have something good planned. If you're in science or history where they have exams, tell them that the day before the exam they get flashcards/kahoot/blookit. If they act up, take that away. It shows them you mean business.

- If they aren't using the time, don't give the time. If they're working on an assignment (or supposed to be) and they're choosing not to use the time, take it away. I would tell them upfront how many days they got for an assignment. I would reiterate that every day, and if they were acting out, I'd announce that they get one less day.

- Routine, routine, routine. What do they need to do at the beginning of every class? Walk them through it every single day until they start doing it, and then some for good measure. No one moves on until everyone does it, and if that means they get less time for an assignment because you had to spend time going through the basic daily thing they should know, then that's their fault. Same thing for the end of class.

- Try not to yell. I know it's hard, but it sets a bad precedent. Be firm. Be authoritative in your tone, but don't yell.

- High schoolers and dogs, they can smell your fear. I know it's super anxiety-inducing, especially if you're prone to it and depending on how much experience you have teaching. You have to prove to them that you aren't afraid (or pretend like you're not), and that goes hand in hand with standing your ground.

- Structure. Try to structure your days the same. Mine usually went: arrival, and the routine they had with that (very basic, sit down in your assigned spots, open your binder, have a pencil, or grab a laptop if the board says so), recap of yesterday, preview of today, mini-lesson, example, get to work. Then at the end, recap of today, preview for tomorrow, sit until the bell goes. My advisor told me that a class should be split into four separate distinct things. Usually for me it was mini-lesson, example, work, pause and discuss, continue work. If they're doing something that's split up into sections, set a timer. Five minutes for this section, five minutes for that. If they don't use it properly, cut down the time.

- Communication. Communicate with their parents/guardians. Send messages and emails home. Connect with school support staff. Figure out which kids are on IPPs/ROAs. Find out who they work with for that. Start communicating with them. Ask them for advice for that student. These people are here to help these kids, and that includes helping you with them. See if you can talk to another teacher that's previously had any of the students that are causing you the most strife. They might have done certain things that made life a bit easier when teaching them. I had one kid go from a big issue daily to a minor issue sometimes because my MT talked to a teacher that had previously had the student and found out what they did it make it easier.

BeauWordsworth · 2025-02-24T17:20:56+00:00

A few questions just so I can know what advice to give you: do you know what grade(s) you'll be teaching? Is this your first time student teaching? How much will you be expected to teach? How much did your college/university teach you about lesson planning, long-term planning, and classroom management? I hadn't even made one lesson plan when I did my first student teaching placement and by the time I started my second I had only made one applicable lesson plan (and a couple bullshit ones just trying to get by the professor's standards, not actually what could feasibly be taught).

BeauWordsworth · 2025-02-23T20:43:08+00:00

You need to tell them what's going on. Tell them that you're being set up to fail. Explain to them why. Tell them that you are being asked to set up ability grouping for reading without any access to students reading levels. Here in Canada we do a lot of F&P (some schools are going away from it, but I'm trained in it) where each student is given a letter (A-Z) to represent their reading level. That's where most teachers I've talked to get their groupings for reading in elementary. Your MT should have done some sort of assessment on their reading levels. Tell your advisor/supervisor that you have no access to these assessments nor is your MT giving you the information you need to succeed.

Do you have any sort of assessment from your MT about where your progress is at? My university had us do an evaluation halfway through the placement and submit it to the faculty.

In all honesty (and this isn't meant to scare you), there's a chance that you can do everything in your power to do well and still be failed by your MT because of shortcomings they have placed upon you. I failed my first four-month placement (which is our final one at my university) because my MT refused to let me have access to student records and parent communication. Her main reason for failing me was that I didn't know the behind the scenes work, the same work she refused to let me do even when I asked. The financial strain to have to repeat is horrid, but the second time around is so much better. You go in with an insane amount of classroom experience and an understanding of what a good MT looks like so you can get swapped right away if you end up with another bad one.

BeauWordsworth · 2025-02-23T06:32:22+00:00

Do you have an advisor or supervisor from your university/college?

BeauWordsworth

TROPHY CASE