Tag Archives: student

Newsletter Articles, Resources

Student Teaching

Mariah Miller wrote an article about her experiences student teaching. Read more below to learn what to expect!

Mariah Miller with her team during Halloween

I never thought I’d be someone who would get excited to be awake at 5:30am. Student teaching has done that for me. Every morning I get up, get ready, and head off to teach 7th grade English Language Arts at Conestoga Valley Middle School. As an English education major, this is the capstone of my entire college career. Everything that I’ve done has led up to this experience. It’s almost surreal to think about, in a sense.

I didn’t always want to be a teacher. I went back and forth between multiple majors for some time. For a semester, I majored in Biology, then switched to undecided, and then went back to English Education. Why did I choose to become a teacher? Mainly, I just want to teach students how to be good people. If I can teach one student how to be a genuinely good person, I’ll know I’ve succeeded. The thing about being an educator is that you are teaching the students so much more than just your subject area entails. You’re there to help them grow not just as as learners, but as productive people in society. Teaching is not an easy job to have, despite what some people think. Here are some of the things I’ve learned so far during my Student Teaching semester:

  1. There is so much more to teaching than you think. You’re constantly thinking, changing plans, and adapting. You have to manage the classroom while simultaneously thinking on your feet. Kids will ask you questions that you did not even think would be on their radar. In order to counteract the everyday spontaneity of being a teacher, over prepare and organize. You can never prepare too many activities, or think of too many ways that students could misunderstand. Put yourself in your students’ shoes. What questions would you have about this activity/assignment if you were this student? Outside of the classroom, keep an agenda and calendar with all of the important assignments/lessons you will have to do. You’ll thank yourself later.
  2. Learning in college classes what teaching is and actually teaching are two entirely different ball games. Of course, the theories and methods are important, but remembering that these are actual individuals with their own unique backgrounds is more important. I can’t stress it enough – get to know your students first and foremost. If you don’t establish rapport with students, it’s almost impossible to get them to want to learn. Your classroom environment is so much stronger when learners know that you care about them and want them to succeed. They’re not afraid to fail when they know you are there to catch them when they do.
  3. You can’t predict what is going to happen on a daily basis. You may have a plan, but that plan may fall flat and you will have to improvise on the spot. Don’t be afraid to try new things, because your mentor will be there to help you! It’s ok for things to not work out because it’s a learning experience. Failure = growth!
  4. Don’t be afraid to reach out for support. If you find yourself struggling, ask for help. You have so many people around who want you to succeed.
  5. It’s not as scary as you probably think it is. Throughout your professional bloc, you will pick up on the ins and outs of your school/classroom (using the printer, taking attendance, organizing student work, grading, disciplining, managing the classroom, etc.). When you start your student teaching semester, your first main focus is integrating yourself back into the classroom. Your mentor won’t just throw you to the sharks without any support. You gradually ease into taking over the classroom.

Lastly, I’ve learned to just have fun and enjoy this valuable time of my developing professional career. It may seem like a semester is a long time, but it flies by when you’re the one teaching. Student teaching has made me more excited than ever to have a classroom of my own one day. I’ve never been so sure of a career in my life. As you take the next step into student teaching, remember these words. I promise they will help to guide you and make student teaching one of the best experiences of your life.

-Mariah Miller

Do you have any advice for student teachers or any experiences other students could benefit from about student teaching? If so, contact Rachel Hicks with your story.

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Interning with University Communications and Marketing

Matthew Reichard, recent graduate from Millersville University, completed an internship during his last semester in Millersville University’s Communication and Marketing Department. Read more about his experiences below! 

Matthew Reichard

Fall of 2018 was my final semester at Millersville, and it provided me with the best experience I could have imagined. This experience came by way of an internship through the University’s Communications and Marketing department. Initially, I was very hesitant when looking into the internship requirement for my degree. The classroom allowed for a safer environment. I had been doing journalistic writing with the classroom from my start here at MU. The work allowed me to learn, but in a more controlled environment. I was allowed to pick the topics of my paper while in most classes, allowing me to be an expert on what I was writing by choice. The writings went directly from me to the professor, and that was it. I got a grade in the gradebook and moved on.

With my internship. I got to step out of what was comfortable and learn from it. The writing wasn’t always what I was passionate about, so I had to do more research. I had to focus on who would be reading the articles I wrote, so I had to focus on the language or formalities behind the writing. The writings I did would go out the world, for more than just the professor to see. It meant I was more vigilant of things. I read more. I researched more. I edited more. This was a blessing. The hard work I put in at my internship allowed me to see I stepped into the right career path. I loved writing about the things I was passionate about, and I got to do that some at my internship, but I also loved writing about everything else. Doing the research was a blast. I learned about folks in the university I would have never known about prior. I covered topics I would have never touched if I was left to pick my writings. It was wonderful to experience a work-like environment before I graduated.

Stepping out of what you already know can be scary. It was for me, and I’m sure it will be for you.  You won’t truly know if you love what you’re doing until you do it out of your comfort zone. My dream is to cover the video game industry, but I know that’s a hard job to find. I learned through my internship that I will be happy no matter what I am covering because I love the process of it all. I was always a little worried. This internship took that worry away. If you have an opportunity to do an internship, take it. You won’t regret it. Stepping outside the classroom was one of the best decisions I made here at MU. I had great professors that taught me and prepared me for the situation, but actually getting to the situation taught me even more.

By: Matthew Reichard