Teaching in the Real World: Strategies to Survive and Thrive

This book presents a dialogue of reflective journal entries sent via email between a student teacher and her college supervisor.  Miss B is a white, female, graduate student doing her student teaching in an urban high school.  Written in a very honest, compassionate, inspiring, thoughtful, and humorous way, her journal illustrates her transformation from a passionate but struggling student teacher to a teacher who has found her voice and the confidence to be an effective teacher in her own classroom.  Most student teachers are required to keep a daily reflection/journal.  The journal entries in the book are written chronologically and provide an excellent example of what a reflective teacher should look for in trying to improve their teaching.

 

Student teaching is considered to be one of the most important components of pre-service training.  It is during these practicums that aspiring teachers apply what they have learned in their courses to the real world in a real classroom.  However, many student teachers are unprepared to face the situations they will encounter in urban school settings.  Not only will they have to deal with lesson planning, classroom management, working with parents, etc, but also such issues as homelessness, hunger, motivation, and difficult family environments.   Miss B makes a lot of mistakes that set her back as well as many decisions that move her forward.  Readers of the book will continually be thinking about how they would have dealt with that particular situation as they experience the joys, frustrations, fears, and compromises they may have to confront in their own student teaching.

 

Professors will find this book to be an excellent tool to promote discussions on contemporary critical issues of which pre-service teachers should be aware. To help promote discussion, each chapter ends with Discussion Starters:  questions that ask readers to react to key topics discussed in the chapter.  Other features include Professor Z’s Tips, Strategies, and Relevant Data and Professor Z’s Student Teaching Checklist.  It will be a valuable resource for all student teachers.