Hey!
So one thing that many, if not all, education majors have to do is observe a classroom for so many hours for different courses that they are taking. This semester alone I have about 55 hours that I have to be in a classroom, broken up between 3 different types of classrooms.
I mentioned in my last post that I moved to Arizona from California to go to school, so it is safe to say I don't have any personal connections to the schools out here, so, how did I go about placing myself at different schools for my practicum hours?
Your first bet is your adviser, it is basically their job to place you at a specific school and ensure that you complete your required number of hours. At my school, they're called TEDs, and they're pretty much useless. They take weeks on end to place you at a school, they ignore your phone calls and your emails, or they "don't receive them" (Sorry but, I heard your voice on the voicemail greeting every time that I left a message, so I know I was calling the right person). If you get a good adviser who places you quickly and doesn't give you a hassle about things that don't matter to your major, great, use them and hope for the best. However, I have heard more bad stories than good.
Another option would be for you to look for your placement yourself. This is actually what I did, mixed with the next suggestion I will provide you with. To find placement yourself, you first need to figure out what school district that you want to be in, and if they will deal with students directly, because if they will only go through an adviser, then you know you have to wait for your adviser. If they do deal with students directly, then just call a school that fits your criteria and talk to a principal or assistant principal and let them know that you are a student at your university, and you have to complete (for example) 30 hours of practicum in an English course. Make sure that you are professional and respectful during this phone call, even if you are just leaving a message, because this is the first impression that you give a school, and in some cases this could be the school that you do your student teaching at, or potentially get a job at. If the school is willing to have you, then the principal may have you contact the teachers, or they may contact them for you to see who would be willing to have you observe their class. If you find someone, then you set up your start date and you are good to go.
Option number three is the one that you will probably see/use the most often, especially if you are from out of state. This would be to ask friends (*gasp*). Really though, you will make friends with people who are of your same major in the first few years of schooling you have, before you start practicum. These are the people you need to hold onto for dear life. They can give you names and even allow for you to use theirs in your email or phone call. This way you already have a reference of sorts, because the name of the teacher that they give you will most likely be one that knows them. Once you have the name, and possibly the contact info, you will contact the teacher directly. (If you are not given the contact info by your friend, most school's have teachers emails on the school website). The next step would be to email or call the teacher directly, but again, make sure that you are professional and respectful, you may even want someone else to read over it for you so that you know that it isn't too casual, this should be taken as seriously as a job application. This teacher could be your future mentor teacher during student teaching.
What option did I choose?
I went the friend route, I needed 30 hours of practicum for an English course (anyone feeling a little de ja vu?) and I knew which Arizona school district that I wanted to be at so I kept track of the people that I knew who mentioned going to that school district. Then, when the time for me to do practicum came, I went to them and asked them about possible suggestions. Most education majors are more than willing to help other education majors out, so don't be afraid to ask. I was actually suggested an amazing teacher for my first practicum course.
Another option may be that the professor of a specific course might set up your practicum for you. This happened to me in one of my classes. If the criteria is extremely specific, and they know of a school that will take an entire class, then they may just set up the hours for you. This is great because then it's one less thing for you to have to worry about.
I hope you enjoyed this post and found it helpful, if so make sure to look back next week for more. \
Marisa
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