Professional Readings

Professional Readings

Building A Good Relationship With Your Cooperating Teachers

(Student-Teacher Narrative)

Rosalind Suzman- Principal 1

Minanga Elementary School

Aparri South District, Cagayan

The author addresses a significant reminder for pre-service teachers or practice teachers. She resorts that teaching is about building relationships with your cooperating teacher and the students in the class. She suggests that in order for a student-teacher to have a relationship with his/her CT, he/she should than take an extra-effort on taking a time talking to him/her, and informing them on how well you and your students are doing in the class. And because through this manner you will be able to gain his/her trust and respect. And it would let him/her know that you are taking your job, as a practice teacher, seriously.

The author then narrated how she gained the trust of her CT and of her students as well. And so, she had the help of the teacher. She had a help from her CT on how to gain courage to stand right in front of the class, which was her biggest fear.

Also, the author suggests that in order to build good relationship with your CT, you must spend time talking about your lesson plans, how the students are performing, what the things students have to work on are and who among the students should receive more help than the others.  This act would let you CT see that you have a great deal of interest.

Moreover, the author resorts that, if you want to build a relationship among your student, learning their first names would contribute much on that. However, she is reminding us not to get too friendly with the students since to avoid too much familiarity. And she reminds us that it is better to build social relationships with the students and cooperating teacher before considering how and what t to teach. She added that it is important to keep in-touched with your CT especially when things are not doing so well.

Moreover, the author says that reading  pre-teaching manuals is a good help because it has answers to all ”frequently-asked-questions” of practice teachers. She also emphasized that student-teachers must always accept constructive criticisms, and not to become upset or hostile the critic teachers.

Source: The Teachers’ Magazine

            The Philippine Journal of Education VOL. LXXXV, No. 5,

Oct. 2006, SIBS Publishing

Reference: Darlene Anderson and Michelle Marchant,  “Behaviorism Works in Special Education”, 2010, Instruction section of Issues and Trends in Special Education: Identification, Assessment, and Instruction.