Things That Give Me Hope

Article

Judy A. Kmak

Things That Give Me Hope

These things give me hope for the future of education:

There are still people who want to be teachers

As a supervisor for student teachers, I have watched young adults who want to be teachers. They have a passion for their chosen field of study and feel they can make a difference. The university I work with places students with the same teacher for the full year. During the fall semester, they work in the classroom for two days per week and in the spring semester, they begin full-time student teaching. This school year I have had the pleasure of working with four students and cooperating teachers.

Teachers will take on new challenges— even in a pandemic

I would like to tell you that this was a smooth process— but it wasn’t. I would like to tell you that all of my students had placements in the fall semester—but they didn’t. What I would like to tell you is that the university found four teachers who were willing to take on the responsibility of a student-teacher when they were asked to help.

Online learning is not so bad

This year I haven’t been in the classroom with the student-teachers. I watched their lessons online or viewed recordings of their lesson. In the past, I would meet with the student-teacher after their lesson to talk

This district’s rate of attendance for conferences went up drastically. Parents who didn’t have transportation or had to work in the evening could still meet with the teacher on their time. Whether they were at home with a baby on their lap or taking a break at work, they now have more flexibility to be online for their conference time. Why didn’t we do this sooner?

about their progress. It is important to have the cooperating teacher present, but this was not always possible. In order for the three of us to meet, I found myself hanging around in the building or heading back to the school after students were dismissed. Online platforms have allowed us to meet when it’s convenient for all of us. I may not be able to see a studentteacher’s mouth moving because of the mask, but I can see the eyes light up when they talk about their students. I don’t think I’ll ever NOT meet with the cooperating teacher and student-teacher for these post-observation discussions, but if necessary, an online platform may be the way to do this in the future.

A new way of doing business

We are not “doing business” the same way we used to, which isn’t bad. In some of my first interactions with the cooperating teachers, I asked them what it was they hoped would never change as we transition back to the classroom. I laughed when a teacher said, “I’ll NEVER make another copy!” It is amazing that students may not miss a day of school in the future, even when it snows due to remote learning. The comment that really made me think the most was when a teacher in a school with 100% low-income students said,

we should always have online parent conferences. This district’s rate of attendance for conferences went up drastically. Parents who didn’t have transportation or had to work in the evening could still meet with the teacher on their time. Whether they were at home with a baby on their lap or taking a break at work, they now have more flexibility to be online for their conference time. Why didn’t we do this sooner?

Moving forward

Take time to look back on the things we did in the 2020-2021 school year. Get rid of the ones that didn’t work, and question the things that did. We have a responsibility to make this profession even stronger. Our children are counting on you.

Judy A. Kmak, Ed.D. is a sort-of retired educator.

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