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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-
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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)
