9. Be Professional with Fellow Teachers

Do not interrupt other teachers' classes without an absolutely good reason. When you are speaking with your coordinating teacher or other teachers on campus, treat them with respect. You can learn a lot from these teachers, and they will be much more likely to share with you if they feel that you are genuinely interested in them and their experiences.

10. Don't Wait to the Last Minute to Call in Sick

You will probably get sick at some point during your student teaching and will need to stay home for the day. You must remember that the regular teacher will have to take over the class during your absence. If you wait until the last minute to call in, this could leave them in an awkward bind making them look bad to the students. Call as soon as you believe you will not be able to make it to class.

(http://712educators.about.com/od/teachingstrategies/tp/studentteaching.htm)

2. What other tips can you add to the list above?

Jigsaw reading

1. What are some of the advantages and disadvantages of the teaching profession? Consider the following points:

• Status in the society

• Opportunities for advancement

• Self-education

• Payment

2. In pairs, decide which of these words or word-combinations are from the article about the negative sides of teaching and which are from the article that discusses the positive aspects of this job.

A special calling / long serving staff / lack of social life / to facilitate the adoption of e-learning / grinding admin / to moan about workloads / to drive teachers to continue / to be offered a golden goodbye / a burnout / to beat the most enthusiastic down / exhilarating / unteachable / to dig deeper and learn more / to put students through the testing hoops / to mold the future / to be creative and autonomous / beyond their sell-by date / simplistic measurement of achievement / conducive to family life

3. Work in two groups.

Group A read TEXT A

Group B read TEXT B

Read your article, then answer the following questions and do the given tasks.

1. Were your answers to the previous exercise correct?

2. Which points from your text do you agree with? Which points do you disagree with?

3. Were you surprised by any of the ideas from the text?

4. Find a partner from the other group and compare and swap information.

Text a. Top 10 reasons to become a teacher

Teaching is a special calling. It is not a job well-suited to everyone. In fact, many new teachers leave within the first 3-5 years of teaching. However, there are many rewards that come with this oft maligned career. Here are my top ten reasons why teaching can be a great profession.

1. Student Potential

Unfortunately, not every student will succeed in your class. However, this fact should not keep you from believing that every student has the potential for success. This potential is so exciting - each new year presents new challenges and new potential successes.

2. Student Successes

Closely related to the previous pick, student success is what drives teachers to continue. Each student who didn't understand a concept and then learned it through your help can be exhilarating. And when you actually reach that student that others have written off as being unteachable, this can truly be worth all the headaches that do come with the job.