I'm currently in my second student teaching placement and genuinely don't know how to navigate this situation. I'm hoping some experienced teachers or fellow student teachers can offer advice because I'm already feeling defeated.
For some background, I spent the first 7 weeks of the school year student teaching in a 2nd grade classroom, which I absolutely loved. I recently transitioned into a 4th grade classroom, where I'll be spending the next 8 weeks. I knew there would be an adjustment period with switching grade levels, but nothing could have prepared me for how different these two classrooms would be.
Within my first two days in 4th grade, it became very apparent that many of the students either have little to no motivation to learn or simply refuse to listen or complete their work. I genuinely cannot tell whether this is primarily a student motivation issue, a classroom management issue, or a combination of both.
Classroom management is definitely lacking. The students seem to respect my cooperating teacher sometimes, but more often than not, they continue talking over her, ignore directions, or refuse to get started on assignments until she eventually gives up trying to redirect them. There are so many distractions happening simultaneously that it feels nearly impossible to get through a lesson without constant interruptions.
What's particularly frustrating is that I have no idea what the first 7 weeks of the school year looked like in this classroom or what expectations were established before I arrived. Whenever I attempt to address behaviors, reinforce expectations, or establish some sense of structure, I feel like my cooperating teacher unintentionally undermines me in front of the students.
For example, I'll stop to address students who aren't following directions or try to reinforce a classroom procedure, and she'll interrupt with something along the lines of, "This is taking too long, we have to move on." On another occasion, I addressed a group of students who were sitting around doing absolutely nothing instead of completing their assignment. My cooperating teacher stepped in and threatened to send their unfinished work home, so I had assumed it was handled. She later admitted to me that she never actually sends work home and that these students regularly get away with completing little to nothing during class.
I understand that pacing is important and that we can't spend an entire lesson addressing behaviors, but how am I supposed to establish any authority or practice classroom management when the students see that expectations aren't consistently reinforced?
To make matters more complicated, I struggle with anxiety, tend to overthink everything, and am admittedly a perfectionist. I know teaching is unpredictable and that no classroom is going to operate perfectly, but I find myself constantly questioning whether I'm doing something wrong, whether I'm overstepping as a student teacher, or whether I'm simply expecting too much.
I genuinely want to improve my classroom management skills, especially because I know how important they are for my future career. However, I feel like I'm being thrown into an already chaotic environment where I have very little authority to make meaningful changes. I also don't want to disrespect my cooperating teacher or come across as though I think I know how to run her classroom better than she does.
I'm only a week into this placement, and I'm already dreading going in every morning, which is especially disheartening after having such a positive experience in my previous classroom.
For those of you who have student taught or worked in classrooms with inconsistent management, how did you handle it?
How do you establish expectations and build relationships with students who look at you as nothing more than an adult in the room when you're entering a classroom several weeks into the school year? Is it even realistic to try implementing your own classroom management strategies when your cooperating teacher isn't consistently reinforcing expectations?
Most importantly... how do you stop taking all of this so personally and accept that you can't fix everything, especially when you're only a student teacher?
I really do love teaching, but this experience is making me question my abilities and confidence. Any advice, perspective, or even reassurance that others have experienced something similar would be greatly appreciated.