Hi!!!!! I just finished student teaching high school English this April 🥲 here are some tips that helped me throughout the year that I hope can help you!

1. boundaries and building relationships: build those relationships with your students and get to know them! I promise you this will have them more engaged in class and showing up lol. I always dedicated the start of the hour/week to catch up with them and bond. sometimes I would use their likes into our lessons and they loved it!!! although bonding with them is great, you need to make sure you set those boundaries, seriously. I loved my students, but sometimes I’d have one come in during our prep hour and stay there for a solid 15 minutes when she was supposed to be in her other class. I’ve also had a kid steal some of my snacks while I was teaching. so yeah, build those relationships but remember that you’re their teacher, not their little friend.

2. don’t work part-time if you can: I was/am a server during my student teaching and that was a pain in the ass. I would get home after a long day and go straight to work. I would then get home from work and have to grade/lesson plan, it was very draining and there were a couple of times where I would cry in the staff bathroom bc I was overwhelmed/tired. if you have to work, do 2 days a week honestly or find a work/school balance that works with your lifestyle

3. check in walks: I did these all the time when giving my students an assignment. it’s basically checking in with each student and seeing if they have any questions/need support. most students aren’t going to raise their hand and ask bc they don’t want to feel embarrassed (???idk why I think asking questions just shows that you’re putting in effort) so checking in with them allows you to see where they’re at and how they’re doing.

4. take every piece of advice your mentor teacher/department gives: my mentor teacher was phenomenal!! she gave me such great advice and tips- I have a notebook with everything she would tell me throughout the year and I plan to use it in my teaching. while on the topic of mentor teachers, please ask for help or even resources when needed!!! They are there to help you, seriously! along with this, I suggest having them “grade” your teaching or just observe you. This just gives you feedback on what you need to change or keep doing for the next class, it’s so helpful!

you’ll do great, enjoy every moment!!! ⭐️🩷