Student Teaching versus Internship

[Parker]

I could really use some guidance from all of you. I am trying to decide whether I will choose student teaching or the two semester internship to complete my education.

As I have stated previously, this will be my second career and have a year to go in school. I live in a rural part of Texas and hope to teach in the 3-4th grade range. Basically I have three concerns:

1. Do you believe not having a student teaching to my credit but a two semester internship will hinder me in my trying to find employment?

2. As you can guess, I have a full time job now and by time this starts, my youngest will be a senior in high school preparing to graduate. I do not have the funds to simply not work. It would mean taking out separate student loans to pay the bills for the months prior to my graduation - would that be in my best interest?

3. Instead of the student teaching, I would have to complete a minumm of 40 hours 'classroom observations with a master teacher'. Would that level of experience be frowned upon by all concerned?

I have until the end of this semester to make my decision and to be honest, it is the largest one I've come up against. I have already gone up to the local elementary school and observed a few 1/2 days but can not really get the teachers there to answer any of these type questions for me. So, I turn to you. Help!

[Chef Dave]

Before offering my opinion, could you tell us how a two semester internship would differ from a traditional student teaching assignment? I am familiar with student teaching but am not familiar with internships.

I am by the way, a former elementary teacher who spent 9 years teaching in Austin, Houston, and Weslaco.

[busbus]

Hi,

Question - Have you investigated your state's requirements for teacher certification?

Once you get this answer, then you can make a decision. I do not really know the difference.

However, I do know that in my school district, we have teacher interns who work with master teachers for (I think) two years. Usually these interns work at the primary level - grades one to three. When they complete this program, they become a "stand alone" teacher. Unfortunately, they are usually assigned to teach an upper grade. Whether being an intern for these teachers is a substitute for student teaching, I do not know.

My district also has people with degrees other than education who are "stand alone" teachers. However, they must be enrolled in a teacher certification program and obtain their teaching credentials in a certain amount of time. In compliance with their graduate program, they do student teaching.

So, all I can suggest is that you find out your state's requirements for teacher certification.

Good luck to you. :)

[muinteoir]

I'm not sure I undertand the difference between the student teaching and the internship. Is the internship part of an ACP program?
If so, sometimes districts prefer hiring teachers that have gone the traditional route.
ACP elementary teachers have a hard time finding jobs in many districts.

I taught in central Texas for a while; both a very small, rural school, and a larger town. The rural school had openings rarely, and they tended to hire from the community. Being "one of them" mattered more than the schooling.

I suggest you talk to administrators in the districts you are considering; they will be able to give you the best information.

[dmspiel]

I cant give any advice as I am trying to decide the same thing. Here the difference is as a student teacher you are in a classroom with another teacher so you get more training as you can see exactly how they are doing things and be able to ask questions, ect. But it is unpaid and you have to be able to have no income for an entire semester.

As an intern teacher, you get a job as the teacher on an intern license. So you are expected to be the sole teacher and to be able to handle that. Here you are given a mentor at your school to help you but it is much more on your own than student teaching. But you get paid a regular teacher salary while doing it so if you need money it is much more doable.

[Parker]

Yes, dmspiel is correct in how they broke out the differences.

In Texas, both will get you the teachers certificate, one just takes longer.

Student teaching - time frame is 12 weeks but unpaid (traditional)

Internship - time frame fall and spring semesters, will be assigned a mentor teacher but basically I would be responsible for teaching and entire class myself for that first year. The college I'm in will come monitor four times a semester. Paid same wage as first year teacher in the district.

[ginger11]

If money in an issue I would do the intership. It was hard supporting myself while student teaching... i had to cut back on the hours of my regular job and only worked weekends. Not having a steady paycheck sucked.

[Chef Dave]

Internship - time frame fall and spring semesters, will be assigned a mentor teacher but basically I would be responsible for teaching and entire class myself for that first year. The college I'm in will come monitor four times a semester. Paid same wage as first year teacher in the district.

Okay ... so here are your choices.

Student teaching is a bit like taking a hot bath. You stick your toe in the water to test the temperature and if it feels good, you stick more and more of yourself into the bath until you're fully immersed.

In student teaching, student teachers generally start with minor responsibilities i.e. one on one tutoring, small group instruction, and so forth. As student teachers acclimatize to the classroom environment, they are given more and more responsibility.

The neat thing about being a student teacher is that although student teachers teach lessons and entire units, they're really not ultimately responsible for whatever happens in the classroom. Who is responsible? The classroom teacher.

Student teachers may grade papers, but they generally don't fill out progress reports or report cards. Student teachers may put up a bulletin board or create a learning center, but they're not responsible for having established the overall classroom environment. Student teachers may be responsible for the enforcement of classroom rules, but the rules they enforce were created and introduced by the classroom teacher. Student teachers are also responsible for classroom management but if things fall apart, it is the classroom teacher who will pick up the pieces.

In contrast, from what you have told me about the internship, you'll be tossed into the fray without the gentle introduction that student teachers have. From day one, you will be responsible for everything in the classroom ... setting up desks, bulletin boards, and learning centers, establishing and implementing classroom rules, writing and implementing lesson plans, grading papers, recording grades, and doing all of the other things that classroom teachers do.

If you have a problem, you may discuss it with your mentor ... but the mentor won't be in the classroom to bail you out if something happens.

So ... you have a choice between student teaching and a teaching intern. Which should you do? It depends on you. How confident are you of your abilities to instruct a class? If you think you could handle the responsibility of being an intern, the go for it.

If you have doubts about your ability to instruct a class without the prior experience of having been a student teacher, then by all means - go the traditional route. Become a student teacher and enjoy the experience knowing that your classroom teacher will basically be a safety net for any mishaps which may occur.

Best wishes,

David

[upnorthteacher]

I don't think that an internship will hinder you in getting a job, in fact some administrators may see it quite positively. It really depends on how confident you are in your teaching and ability to handle all of the responsibilities of the job. One thing I would check into, though: can you be a union member while an intern? In my state some people got hurt by school administrators who would use an intern until "someone better came along". And then the interns had no recourse in having their internship cut short. Which, of course, made it more difficult, and for some impossible, to graduate and earn their teaching licenses on schedule. Good luck.

[Parker]

:)Thank you so much for the heads up Chef Dave. I will continue to visit and sit in on classes for the rest of this semester and see how I feel about it when the time comes to decide. I at least now have some parameters on how to guage my interpretation of what I see and feel on my classroom visits.

Thanks again to you all!

[kingrichie]

I'll tell you, it sure would have been nice to get paid for those 22 weeks of student teaching.