Student teaching is quite known in the United States but it is not talked about enough of what it consists of or the experience it brings to those teaching. I interviewed Mr.Fernandez, a student teacher from Miami that works at Wyoming High School as a student teacher.

When asked why he chose Wyoming to teach, he said, “I chose Wyoming because I believed it would provide a very similar experience and culture to the one I was so familiar with back home in the 305! ”
When you’re a student teacher you never know how the students are gonna be or act. I asked Mr.Fernandez how he feels about Wyoming. “I love it. I think the student body is amazingly very diverse, it represents a bunch of different cultures and for that reason I really enjoy it.”

Student teaching is very good for people who want to be teachers. They get to learn how the real world feels and the many struggles of teaching children/teens. I asked Mr.Fernandez what this experience has taught him and how he’s changed since he first started. “I’ve learned the purpose, I thought the purpose of teaching was to get really good at history but I’ve learned that the purpose is actually to really care about the student and wanting them to succeed.”

Connecting with students is a really big priority when it comes to teaching because you want students to feel safe and comfortable around you. As Mr. Fernandez said, “…have fun, you can’t just be strict all the time, you gotta be chill while maintaining boundaries!”

Student teachers must learn about teaching and about the subject they will teach. I asked Mr.Fernandez where he goes for university. ”Calvin University, it’s a good school. I’m happy with it and I met some great people.”

Student teaching is a very important experience for University students who are hoping to be a teacher, it provides a valuable semester for University students to get a feel for what teaching is. Not only is student teaching impactful for the student teachers, but it can also be very impactful for the students, giving them a chance to experience a new style of teaching, and a chance to make valuable memories with the student teacher.