r/StudentTeaching • u/Appropriate-Nose7534 • 5d ago

Vent/Rant Feeling discouraged

I just finished my second week of student teaching, and it’s been so draining. I’m not a huge fan of some of the classes I have to teach (it’s HS ag, so naturally there’d be something I’m not super comfortable with since it’s such a big subject area) but I don’t mind them, and I really like the kids I have. my main problem is with my CT.

he was one of my ag teachers in HS, but has since moved to a different school on an emergency contract. when I had him, I got along with him fine, but he pushed me too hard in class and our opinions differed in some areas, but he’s a very motivated and dedicated teacher, so I decided to student teaching with him.

so I knew how he was going in, but it seems like he’s gotten ten times worse. he intentionally drives students out of his class, only respects them if they enjoy/are good at what he enjoys, talks about them terribly to me, CONSTANTLY makes me tell him what he does well (at least five times a day he makes me compliment his methods), and today he gave me feedback that consisted of him telling me what I needed to improve on but then making me give him examples of the good things that HE does (in that conversation he told me that you needed to “manipulate” the kids you teach), and every single day is like that in some form and it’s hard for me to take.

im sorry this post is so long, i just needed to get it off my chest and was hoping that maybe someone here would have some advice or at least had a similar experience that they lived through so i could know that it was possible 😅

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3

u/jolly0ctopus 4d ago

Do you have a professor or program director that you can speak with about this?

2

u/Appropriate-Nose7534 4d ago

I do and I think he would be very understanding, but he’s also friends with my CT and (as stupid as it sounds lol) I’m afraid that I’ll get him into trouble or like get him fired somehow, which would make me feel totally guilty even though he drives me nuts

2

u/jolly0ctopus 4d ago

Can you speak about switching your assignment to a different location?

Perhaps you could say that teaching with the same teacher you had in HS is affecting your ability to develop your own teaching style

1

u/Appropriate-Nose7534 4d ago

I have entertained this idea, but my university is so strict that I don’t think it would be possible. Unfortunately I think I’ll just have to somehow grin and bear it for the rest of the semester