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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 16, 1973)
; 1 f 1 . f . -"V J. ' 1 - . i,-'- ! . gf Aw Jl "v 4 I t f, . dJ pacje 3b by Nancy Stohs Every day, senior Peycjy Sintek attends a class from 7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. th at has 22 instructors. They aren't the usual college instructors. They don't have Ph.D.'s or M.A.'s because they've never attend college. They are addressed as Dan or Cindy or Andrew, never "Mr." or "Miss," because they're 10 and 11 years old. And what's more, if you told them they were teaching the smiling, dark haired lady in front of the room anything, they'd think you were crazy. But for student teacher, "instructors" like the fifth grade class at Clare McPhee Elementary School in Lincoln are invaluable. This is where Peggy Sintek of Scotia, an elementary education major, practice teaches. It is 7:15 a.m. when she walks into room 209. Children won't arrive for an hour and a half, but there are lessons to prepare for, dittoes to run off. Children start arriving about 8:45 a.m. Another day of student teaching for Sintek is about to begin. Reading is first on the agenda. Today she asks small groups of students, each to describe to her a book they recently read. Sintek is attentive; the students are enthusiastic. "Okay, do we have some listeneis now?" begins Maiy Gilliland, the class' regular teacher. Despite the open classroom atmospheie of McPhee, they settle down and listen. The last class for Sintek to teach is mathematics. "Today we're going to play fraction solitaire. Let's all take out our cards." She explains the- game to the students and walks fioin table to table, helping those who don't undeistaiul. Staying lor lunch isn't leiiuiied, but Sintek said she likes to get to know her students, so she stas. 'I he students seem to enjoy the chance to talk about "not mal " things. T une to leave the make believe wot Id of a te.icbei lot auothei day and letuin to the tole of a college student. For Sintek, it's a busy one. She is a second semester senior carrying 17 hours. That means some afternoons in class from 1:30 to 5:30 p.m. She also manages the Abel Sando swimming pool and spends three to four hours daily out of class preparing her lessons. For her half days of student teaching she receives eight hours credit. Sintek is only one of 522 UNI. student t cachets this semester 1 ! in elemental y education and 3!M in secondary education. Sin1 is pai t ol one ol IJNL's oldest foims of appi'Micticeslnp learning, which began with the lounding of leacheis College in 1 )();!. According to James May, de in of elementary student teaching, ptaehci- is li ) k 1 f.1 5 , tJMMmirMIIIIMMiilr.i' UU teaching is a state requirement for a teacher's certificate. Senior standing and a 2.25 cumulative grade point aveiage an; ieuned lot student teaching, in addition to completing ieiinred teaching clas.es. fiMuii emerits in secondary education are the same, except lh.it the student's major is one of 13 specialized aieas. He also takes fewer classes in Teachers College. Typically, students in both levels student teach half days for a semester for eight hours credit. Bert Alfrey, dean of secondary student teaching, said this presents problems: "He (the student teacher) is not re. illy a student and not really a teacher." Secondary education is experimenting with .i progiam in which students Icmi.Ii full days lor 1 5 hour s of ci edit . Assigning a student teachei to a school and conpei.iting teachei is rather complex. A decision must be made from rc'iuests by leacheis and students and recommendations of piofessors. lime, location of the school, grade1 level, type of teaching and hiogiaphy of the1 '.Indent aie then matched with an open position DespOe con llict mg inleiests, "the well. ne of the individual student comes Inst," May said. Most ,!ud. iits in elemental1 education aie then sent to one ol 30 Lincoln public schools, but some go to Omaha 01 neigh hoi mg small d iwi is to pi act ice (Continued on page 3)