The Other Side of the Classroom: Nardin Student Teaching Winter Experience

Helena Roaldi '26   ~   January 2023

When I first learned that I would be student teaching kindergarten, I believed it would be easy. However, despite the material being simple, I quickly learned that teaching a group of children between the ages of five and six is actually quite difficult, and it is not as easy as it can seem from an outside perspective. My recent student experience was very fun, interesting, and also humbling. For example, when I wanted the kindergarteners to sit and trace the number nine, all they wanted to do was run around and scream. The only thing that could keep them under control was the prospect of getting moved up on “rainbow road,” which involves a star going up or down a rainbow to display each student’s progress. Even though some moments of this experience were difficult, I enjoyed and learned a lot.

On the first day when Siena, the other kindergarten student teacher, and I walked into the room, I was beyond excited. I have always wanted to teach and I enjoy being around young children. Us student teachers spent the first day mainly observing how the classroom operated and what the schedule looked like; we helped the kids sound out words and count. Later on, the children brought in presents they received from the holidays and had a show and tell for the class–it was adorable; they sat on a little stool at “morning meeting” and talked about what their toy was, what it could do, and most importantly who gave it to them. This was a great way for them to express their excitement about the holiday season in one short presentation so they would not talk about it later during class. 

The teachers in kindergarten were so welcoming and it was amazing to have this opportunity and see what teaching is really like. I now recognize more than ever how much work and dedication it takes to teach, especially kindergarten. The teachers taught me so much about how it works and how to successfully run a classroom. It was new and exciting to see ways that the teachers could create fun activities that the children could also learn from.