How Teachers Become Teachers

We at IHPCH welcome our three student teachers: Ms. Ashley (Lower House), Ms. Zimmerman (Lower House), and Mr. Pavone (Upper House).  Student teaching is a hands-on learning experience, where these individuals will work under the guidance of an experienced teacher, gaining experience and learning new teaching techniques.

When asked why she wants to be a teacher, Ms. Ashley stated that she has teachers who have inspired her.  Then she said, “I just want to, overall, make a difference because education is really important, and I want to make a change.  I want to help students to be successful because I’ve had a lot of people do that for me.”

While discussing what his responsibilities are, Mr. Pavone stated, “I am currently in the middle of planning a unit with Ms.Snyder, my cooperating teacher, which I will then teach starting in March. So my responsibility is planning a unit, or a lesson, and then actually teaching those lessons and learning how to manage a classroom and teaching the material.  Mr. Pavone went on to say that he will not only grade students’ work, but give students feedback about their work.

When talking about learning and discovery as a student-teacher, Ms. Zimmerman stated, “Something I learned while being a student teacher is that, a lot of planning comes down to trial and error.”  She went on to say that it’s okay to make mistakes because teaching is about being reflective and making improvements with what you are doing.

Celebrating others and shedding light on those who are not recognized is what we prioritize at IHPCH.  And, like these three student-teachers, we, as students, strive to be hardworking, goal-driven individuals who give back to the community and make a difference in the world around us.