Navigating Student Teaching
Student teaching is one of the most rewarding but mostly exhausting experiences you will ever go through on the path to becoming an educator. Looking back, the system is honestly a bit ridiculous. You work full-time hours plus overtime for zero pay, and pay full tuition for the privilege. During my semester, I had to stretch every dollar, survive brutal hours, protect my sanity, and land a job at the end. Here is everything I learned about navigating the financial grind, keeping the whimsy alive, and setting yourself up for success when it is all over.
Let us address the elephant in the room right away because the financial burden of student teaching is heavy. You are expected to pay for a full semester of classes. TO make matters trickier, if you do not take at least twelve credits, you will not qualify for enough financial aid (even if you only need six credits to actually graduate!!). So, you take the twelve credits to secure your aid, and apply for every single scholarship available. If you are not reaching out to your college general scholarship portal, you are missing out on free money. GO APPLY! Once tuition is covered, you still have to worry about paying for basic things. That means rent, car payments, insurance, gas, groceries, and phone bills. Did I miss anything? New clothes are completely out of the question. Working during student teaching is nearly impossible because you have to be at school during contract hours, which are typically 7:30-3:30. Beyond that, you follow your cooperating teacher’s schedule. If they ask you to get there at 6:30 in the morning, you get there at 6:30 in the morning. If they ask you to stay until 8:00 at night to prep, you stay until 8:00 pm. You do these things because these are the people who determine if you receive your teaching license or not.
Because schedule restraints make traditional employment impossible during the semester, you need to save as much money as you possibly can beforehand. While going to college,e I worked as a nanny. Many days before student teaching started early by getting my nanny kids ready and taking them to school. Then I would attend college classes all day, and afterward I picked the kids up, helped with homework, tidied the house, and made them dinner. To determine how much money I needed for student teaching, I added up my essential bills for a month, multiplied that by how many months I would be student teaching, and then doubled it for an emergency buffer. You never know when you will need backup funds. Because I was working so hard to save before the semester, I had zero fun money. It was all work and no play, but it paid off. To save money, I shopped at Aldi (if it’s not at Aldi, it’s not on the menu). I would only buy things on sale, made meal plans, and prepped food to avoid waste. I use gas station rewards to save on fuel (I LOVE KWIKTRIP). I would also thrift clothes if I ever needed them. These tips helped me avoid working during student teaching. I genuinely would have worked while I was trying to gain my footing. Towards the end of the semester, my bank account was dwindling, and I missed seeing regular deposits enter my account, so I picked up a very part-time job at a brewery on Friday nights and weekends. Missing my weekend rest and recovery time was tough, but sometimes you have to pick your battles.
Amid the chaos, keeping the whimsy alive became my favorite part. I took a lot of pride and fun in my outfits. I would plan my outfits for the week every Sunday. When you look good, you feel good, and it gave me something I could control throughout the week since so much of teaching is unpredictable. I also made a curated playlist for my drive to school. You need a playlist to get your mind right in the mornings! Some of my favorites are “You Get What You Give”- New Radicals, “The Underdog”- Spoon, and “All These Things That I’ve Done”-The Killers. I would make a fun coffee and breakfast every day to enjoy on the drive. I don’t care what they say; breakfast is the most important meal of the day. I would make my coffee by pulling Café Bustelo espresso shots with an AeroPress, add brown sugar, mix, add ice, shake, and top off with almond milk (you’re welcome). I would meal prep my lunches and always include a sweet treat to give myself small moments of joy in the middle of the day. You can’t have that bad of a time when you’re having a twin snake. I kept a dedicated notebook to write down my plans each morning, which is a great way to visualize the day! Make sure to get a fun pen and notebook, so you actually want to use them.
Setting yourself up for success post-student teaching is all about taking proactive steps before graduation. Create a teaching portfolio and take photos of yourself teaching students so you can include those visual elements. Having a portfolio is wonderful to bring into interviews. Even if principals don’t even look at them, the simple fact that you arrived prepared sets you apart. After student teaching wrapped up, I found a summer job where I made fun my main priority. I became an office coordinator for a summer camp. It was wonderful because I worked with kids and spent plenty of time outdoors. It did not earn a fortune, but I was happy to finally earn money again! I wanted to soak up wholesome memories before stepping into a career with levels of responsibilities. Finally, apply for every single job that catches your interest. Stay tuned for my next post, where I share everything you need to know about having a successful teacher interview.
