Why Should I Have a Student Teacher

The decision to host a student teacher is not something any in-service teacher should make lightly. You will have the opportunity to shape the direction of an inexperienced music teacher’s career development and by extension the educational experiences of countless future students that will sit in their classrooms. It is truly a monumental undertaking and it can be incredibly rewarding. 

Before making your decision, you might want to weigh the benefits and costs of hosting a student teacher. It is important to realize that while hosting a student teacher can provide many positives for your own growth as a music teacher, but it may also require you to step out of your comfort zone a little bit. Your decision should rest on whether you believe the benefits outweigh the costs. Below is a list of potential benefits and costs; following the table there is a more in-depth explanation of each.

Benefits Costs
Re-evaluate teaching philosophy Give up instructional/podium time
Observe new pedagogical techniques Loss of control of aspects of curriculum
Challenge long-held beliefs Sharing teaching space
New perspective on your classroom Additional planning time
Another person to bounce ideas off

Benefits

  • Re-evaluate teaching philosophy

    In the early conversations with a student teacher, you will likely have a discussion about your and the student teacher’s teaching philosophy.  This will require you to be able to articulate what you believe and maybe even why you believe it. Furthermore, hearing your student teacher’s thoughts may encourage you to reformulate your own beliefs. Either way, you will be better able to articulate your philosophy and how it impacts your teaching practice.

  • Observe new pedagogical techniques

    Let’s face it, most of us are always looking for new techniques to reach our students and there is never enough professional development available due to time or financial constraints.  Integrating a student teacher into your environment will allow, and even require you to observe new techniques for teaching music to kids. You will have the opportunity to observe, question, critique, and discuss with your student teacher about teaching techniques they are bringing to the table. Giving the student teacher space to apply their knowledge in your classroom provides you the opportunity to see the technique in action with real students (your students!).  Additionally, you can develop a more realistic picture of the effectiveness of new approaches and ideas (something you definitely cannot see in a conference demo!).

  • Challenge long-held beliefs

    The reality of teaching is that the longer we are in the classroom, the more likely it is that we will become entrenched in some, if not all, of our beliefs regarding the music education of children.  If you establish a healthy relationship with your student teacher and create a safe space for dialogue, then your student teacher will likely ask questions that encourage you to re-think those beliefs. This may seem scary at first, but being challenged to reconsider our beliefs can help us to grow as an educator. 


    There are many things we do in our classrooms that we do because we have “always done them that way.” That doesn’t mean they are good or bad practices; they have just become routine for us.  Over time, we may forget why we started doing that thing that we always do.  The moment a student teacher comes into our classroom, they hopefully start asking why we do the things we do.  It is amazing how much you can grow when you have to answer the question, “Why did you do __________?” If you know the answer then you find out exactly how well you can articulate the answer.  If you don’t know, you have to go back and figure out why.  Either way, you spend some time reconsidering the things that you “always” do in your classroom.

  • New perspective on your classroom

    Hosting a student teacher will give you a new perspective of your classroom.  As you transfer teaching duties from you to your student teacher, you will be able to sit and watch how your students react to the things that are asked of them from the student teacher.  This can be very eye opening.  You will see your students in a whole new way.  Additionally, as you work with your student teacher to craft teaching experiences, you will have the opportunity to see how the students react to those opportunities. This may not be the way you might have introduced the same concept. You can also watch different students and see how they are behaving, which allows you to see your room from a whole new perspective.

  • Another person to bounce ideas off

    Sometimes our work as music educators can get very lonely.  Sometimes we are the only music teacher in our building or district.  Other times, we are one of two or three, but we are all so busy that we never have time to talk.  The presence of a student teacher gives you someone to talk through ideas with.  Maybe there is a curricular innovation you want to try, but you are not quite sure how to go about it.  Having a student teacher there gives you the opportunity to engage in conversation that might move you to the next level in your thinking. 

Costs

  • Give up instructional/podium time

    This is a very important challenge to consider when you entertain the idea of having a student teacher.  The student teacher will be with you for several weeks depending on how the university structures the student teacher experience.  You will be expected to transfer teaching responsibilities to your student teacher. Ideally, in the final few weeks the student teacher should be assuming 100% of the teaching responsibilities. Sure, they are going to be doing all of the work and you might get a break, but you also have to be willing to let them have all that podium time (might even be near a concert or other event). You will want to establish a clear communication that you want them to have podium time, but you will need to balance that with your instructional needs after they have completed their placement.

  • Loss of control of aspects of curriculum

    No two teachers teach exactly the same way (and in the opinion of the authors, they shouldn’t). Having said that, as the student teacher begins to interact with your students, you will have to let them teach parts of your curriculum.  They may not teach it the same way you do. They might focus on different aspects of the concept.  If you are going to host a student teacher, you have to be willing to give up this control for a little while.  However, this can be mitigated with conversations with your student teacher at the beginning of their placement.

  • Sharing teaching space

    From a functional perspective, you are going to have a second adult in your room for several weeks.  You will need to carve out some space for them and you will likely be sharing supplies and other things throughout the placement.   Teachers tend to thrive on routine, as do students.  The addition of a student teacher is likely to throw your space and your routine into disarray for a little while (both when they arrive and when they leave). You will have to make some adjustments in how you move in your space, use your space, and engage with the students as a teacher team and not an individual. This can be very challenging, but also very rewarding.

  • Additional planning time

    Music teachers are busy people. Between lesson planning, teaching, ensembles, afterschool commitment, and everything else, we do a lot in a day.  Having a student teacher requires planning. You have to plan what parts of the curriculum the student teacher is going to teach.  You have to plan how and when they will transition into greater teaching responsibility. You have to plan how often to meet to discuss their lesson plans. All these responsibilities will be in addition to everything you already do. 

Summary

The decision to host a student teacher requires that you carefully weigh the costs of having a student teacher with the potential benefits (to you, your students, the student teacher, and the music education profession).  Carefully way the benefits and costs we have laid out and brainstorm others. Talk to other people who have hosted student teachers.  Below, we have included link to a worksheet that might help you to organize your thoughts as you consider your decision to host a student.



Time to make a decision!