Final Posting
Hello Teachers!!!
Congratulations on a strong finish and completing your semester of student teaching. Next semester we will have three student teachers in Heidelberg and two in Bamberg. Write a letter to prepare them for their experience and share information that you wish you had known beforehand. Also, a highlight during your time there would be great. Finish strong, and travel safely!
Warmest wishes,
Chris
posted by Chris @ 7:14 AM
6 comments
6 Comments:
Dear Future Interns,
Being able to do our student teaching overseas has been an amazing experience, and we hope that it will be one that you enjoy and cherish as you partake in it! We have a few points that we want to give you before you leave. The first is learn to recycle. If you already recycle, then you have a good foot in the door, but you will still need to step up your game. The Germans take recycling very seriously, and if you are one of the three interns in Heidelberg, then your stairwell master does and will check the garbage after you have taken it out to make sure that you have done it correctly. He gets pretty upset when we mess it up, so we hope that you all can prove to him that you know what you are doing! On that note, do try to be friendly to the stairwell master in Heidelberg. He will probably get on your nerves at times, but we have found that being friendly and hospital toward him goes a long way.
Our next piece of advice is to take advantage of the travel opportunities. There are so many great places to see all over Europe, and anywhere will promise a good time. As much as we loved the traveling, we do recommend traveling every weekend. It does get tiring, especially with the Monday-Friday cycle of school and traveling every weekend, but totally worth it! You can take a couple weekends off to rest and recuperate or work on the TPA... but even on those weekends we took a day trip on Sat. and relaxed on Sunday. Take time to explore the town that you are placed in. These towns are just as cool as any other European town you might visit. On base, you can book day trips to places such as Switzerland, Paris, Austria, etc. These day trips are long and tiring, but they are entirely worth it because the transportation is included in the cost, so it is very hassle free. And the prices for them are really great. This is how some of us saw Switzerland, France, Austria and even went to Oktoberfest. Taking the train to those places would not be feasible in just a day trip but the bus gets you back late at night on Sat. night, leaving Sunday free to work on the TPA or just relax.
Continued...
Make friends with the other interns. During our time here, there were 4 interns from WSU, 1 from Ohio, 7 from Western Michigan, 1 from Kansas, 1 from Concordia, and 3 from Arizona. We were separated into three different apartments. We definitely suggest that if there are interns from other schools, make friends with them, too. It has been cool to get to know student teachers from across the states and form friendships with them. Some of the interns stuck to their apartments, but that shouldn’t be the case for you!
Make friends with your own roommates as well. We feel really lucky to have the roommates that we did. We all got along really great most of the time, and we had a lot of fun together! There were other apartments here that did not have good roommate relationships, and the stress from that did not seem like fun at all. We had roommate dinners almost weekly, and we went into town a lot together, too. Definitely do things with your roommates, regardless of which university they are from. Some of our favorite trips were our “roommate” trips!
Next, always keep a stock of toilet paper and paper towels handy. We always seemed to run out without knowing that our supply was depleting!! (Also, apartment D in the stairwell may still have the “lifetime” supply of paper towels that we didn’t use before we left…they are in the cupboard above the fridge). Definitely check your apartment before going to the store. When we first got here we went and bought a bunch of stuff and then found out that the apartment was already stocked with the things we bought. For example, we ended up with four salt and pepper shakers because the apartment had them already and we all bought a pair. That goes for fans, blankets, towels, foil, sandwich bags and garbage bags. A lot of that stuff may already be in the apartment.
Also, put aside time each week specifically for the TPA. Do not put this off until the last minute!! And communicate with your teacher about when it needs to be done so that you and her/him are on the same page. Putting aside specific time for the TPA each week will help you to better plan it out and be continually prepared for it. Also, keep on top of your lesson planning. You do not want to get behind in this, especially if you will be traveling a lot!!!
Get to know people at your school. There will be many great benefits from getting to know people at your school such as the janitor, secretary, principal, other teachers, etc.
Always have money for a taxi and have the taxi number handy too. You never know when you might need one, so always have it ready. Have that spare change ready for the toilets and the strassbahn, too. You will need it! It is hard to find a free bathroom in Europe!!
Most of all enjoy the experience! Have fun and leave with no regrets! You are about to embark on the adventure of a lifetime, and it will be AWESOME!
Katrina Bech, Samantha Buttke, Cheryl Fredericks, and Kara McMurray, plus Lindsey Robenault, our honorary Coug from Ohio who contributed to this post
PS: Bring a Coug flag to take awesome pictures with! (And it's true...you do hear "Go Cougs" all over the world!)
First off I would like to say congrats on being able to have the opportunity to teach abroad. You will be embarking on one of the most amazing experiences of your life! For those of you going to Bamberg I can’t even begin to explain how amazing the city is. It really is the cliché German town that you would imagine in Bavaria. It is a University town so there are many students our age that live here, which also means there a great cafes and places to go out that are both fun and not too expensive.
Student teaching at Bamberg Elementary School is an amazing experience. I have really grown close with a few staff members and have created lifelong friendships. It’s really important that you make sure to introduce yourself to as many staff members as possible and as early as possible. The staff is really eager to help student teachers and help you get settled in. If there is anything you need or a ride somewhere, do not be afraid to ask. We have left many things in the apartment such as sheets, laundry detergent, basics in the kitchen and blankets. It is important that you get your privilege cards early so you can go to the commissary and stock up on food.
One of the best pieces of advice I can give is get familiar with the buses asap. There are bus schedules in the apartment and also easy to find online. There are a 3 different buses you can take downtown right outside of the base gates. It is possible to get off post every single day and you should. It is nice to live in family housing and a short walk from the school, however, getting off base really makes you feel like you are in Germany. We graded papers and worked on our TPA off post at cafes. If you manage your time wisely, it is possible to get off post after school for dinner, a café or a beer and still have time to workout at the fitness center or even skype friends/family. It can be exhausting, but it is well worth it! Also, make sure you plan all your trips early!!! Germany is a fantastic location in Europe and it is possible to travel to any country for a weekend trip.
As far as teaching goes it is an extremely exhausting, yet rewarding experience. The bonds I created with my students are impossible to describe. I really have come to love each student more than I could have ever imagined. DoDDS schools always have smaller class sizes (I only have 16 students), however these students can be very high risk. Get to know your students early on and ask about their family life. Deployments and home life greatly impact their behavior at school. Also, make sure early on you have discussed with your mentor teacher a rough outline of the schedule for your teaching. When you will take over the class, filming of TPA lessons, lesson planning, etc. If you both are on the same page it will make teaching a lot easier! Finally, get involved as much as you can. I was involved with PTA, I attended all staff trainings and meetings, I went to my students’ soccer games and I volunteered at after school events. This helps you meet parents, get to know other staff members and students love seeing you outside of the classroom.
This is a once in a lifetime experience that you will never forget. However, you are really the deciding factor in how much you will take out of it. Take risks in the classroom, try new things, get to know your students, travel as much as possible and just enjoy your time here ☺ If you have any questions or concerns please don’t hesitate to ask. Email me or find me on facebook. Over the past 4 months I have come to know a lot about Warner Barracks, BES and Bamberg so I’d love to help. Enjoy your time home and safe travels!!!
-Devon O’Neill
devoneill@hotmail.com
Dear future student teachers of Germany,
First and foremost congratulations on your acceptance of teaching overseas. This has truly been a life changing experience and one that you will never, ever forget! It may seem like an incredibly overwhleming decision at first, but just take it one day at a time! This will change your life forever, and all for the better!
My first peice of advice would be to make sure you are extrememly organized with paper work and any personal information you will need to get situated on the military base. Its a bit of whirlwind the first week or so, with the time adjustment, getting base I.D's, shopping for basic necessities and figuring out how to get off base. Having easy access to important informaiton right away will make things run a lot smoother and help you focus on getting familiar with your school and teacher. The Bamberg Elementary staff is always eager to help student teachers!
This leads me into my next peice of advice: don't be scared to make friends out here! (On post as well as off post!). At our apartment we had neighbors that worked at the school and if we needed anything (towels, a ride, etc.) they were always more then willing to help! Through introducing yourself to as much of the staff as possible you will have many more opportunities to explore the base as well as explore the town you live in!
Exploring Germany, planning trips, being a student teacher as well as completing the TPA is all possible with good time managment! In some aspects I was able to do this, but speaking from experience, make sure you make time to work on your TPA and use each other as motivators to get work done together! After figuring out the bus schedule to get to downtwon Bamberg, (which is VERY easy) we were able to go off post and work at a cafe downtown and go out for dinner or something afterwards. We both got our TPA done in time and were able to really emerse ourselves in the German culture! My biggest peice of advice for this would be to use each other and teachers as suport to time manage yourself with getting outside work done and making time to explore the city you live in!
Speaking of time management, make sure that you plan your trips EARLY! We booked our travels 3 weeks into our trip. This makes life a lot easier with budgeting and making sure you can plan around your trips accordingly and get work done before you leave. Look into purchasing a Bahn Card as well as weekend passes that are only 30 euro and can cover up to 5 people on the train!
Also, don't be scared to ask questions or for help! People at Bamberg Elementary are extrememly supportive of student teachers and all have advice from information about living on an army post, traveling around Europe, or exploring the city of Bamberg. On some weekends I was also able to stay at a teacher's house and have a home away from home night, which was a nice change of pace after adventures downtown and traveling every weekend.
Completing my student teaching at Bamberg Elementary was absolutely incredible and it was extremly hard to say goodbye to all my 18 second graders. I truly fell in love wiht these kids and it was amazing hearing all their stories about parents being deployed and traveling around the world. I learned so much about teaching through my mentor teacher as well as so much about who I am as a person. The DoDDS system has endless funding with curriculum as well as supplies and naything you need! (Practically everyone has a Smartboard). So take advantage of the small classrooms and incredible funding! There many more opportunities to enrich your lessons and be creative out here then in the states, so take in now!
If anything, don't forget to breath and really appreciate the moments out here. Don't forget to lean on each other and use the support system at school. Be open to take risks in and outside the classroom! I don't regret a single moment out here and know the experience will be amazing for you both.
I am available for anyone if you have any further questions!! Especially for Bamberg Elementary (second grade :) My email is sierra.schaller@email.wsu.edu or find me on facebook.
Enjoy this time and take it all in, it will go by SO much faster then you think.
Well my experience student teaching was a little different than everyone else. First of all I was the only student teacher placed at my sight and it was the first time Ansbach had had a student teacher that stayed the entire semester and wasn't a part of the military community already. This created a few bumps in road getting settled in and getting all of my paper work in line. With that said student teaching in Europe has been a fantastic experience! One of the biggest pieces of advice I would give is to make sure you come in prepared to flexible. From my experiences I have learned that not everything goes smoothly and you just need to be willing to roll with the punches and move alongl
Don't be afraid to ask your cooperating teacher and other teachers for help. One of my best resources was the middle school PE teacher that I shared an office with. I felt really lucky because it was almost like I had to cooperating teachers. She has been teaching for a long time and had no problem helping me out when my cooperating teacher was gone for the day or busy with a meeting or his other duties.
I would agree with what the Heidelberg group said about making time each week for the TPA and staying on top of your Lesson plans. Although at some point you probably wont even realize you will probably be so use to creating the lesson plans that you find that you have the lessons already planed out in your head without really trying.
I would also agree with the recycling comment they made. I know that my base has soldiers digging through the trash to make sure people are recycling correctly and they do get upset when they find out you have thrown something that should be recycled away!
As I mentioned I didn't have any other student teachers as roommates but I did live with a group called camp adventure. I do know that they have interns in Bamberg currently and they are a fun group to get in contact with. They do a lot of traveling and they are college age students doing an internship in the CDC on base.
Most importantly enjoy yourself. I loved traveling and pretty much everything about my experience here in Europe. Just remember to plan ahead so you know what work you need to get done when in combination with your traveling plans. Make sure you get lots of sleep and you take care of yourself because getting sick while student teaching is NOT fun at all! Good luck with your student teaching I am sure you will really enjoy Germany!
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