I just recently finished student teaching in the Fall and was required to write some advice for my fellow music education student teachers. I thought I'd share.

Hi music ed. friends,

This letter is for you. The ones who are about to go out into the world and student teach. It's a big, huge, scary step, and having completed student teaching, I have some advice for you.

First of all, make sure you have a good sense of time management and a good handle on rehearsal techniques. I was a little nervous going into student teaching because I was not sure of how well I would run rehearsals. Reviewing rehearsal strategies from other teachers and previous classes definitely helped me, and having time management skills made rehearsal easy.

Second, don't be afraid to just jump right in. This will be your best experience - it'll definitely help you to prepare for the "real world". Where I was student teaching, my cooperating teacher let me take over the 5th grade band. I was able to just jump right in and start working with them. Take over a group and make it yours! Don't be afraid to make mistakes - your cooperating teacher will still be there to help and give pointers.

Third, take a look at how you conduct. Before you get up on the podium with the students, take a few minutes and conduct in the mirror at home. You might be a little rusty, or there might be something in your pattern that is a little bit off.

Fourth, play your secondaries!!! Modeling on those instruments for your students will be the greatest help when teaching lessons. If you're uncomfortable with a secondary, grab a method book and take it home with you. Face your fear of instruments you don't like and just go for it.

Fifth, look over edTPA documents before you even get there for the first day. Read through the handbook and don't be intimidated by it! It's huge, but extremely helpful and thorough. Start to scope out a lesson group or class you want to use immediately. It took me a long time to find a group due to the restrictions in edTPA and lesson attendance at my school, so I feel that if I had looked them over earlier, I would have been more prepared.

Sixth, be prepared for anything. Literally anything. If there's a fire drill and there's only five minutes left in your lesson period, have a back up plan. If there's a lockdown drill and you get nothing done, oh well, move on. If someone comes into the room you're in and tells you they have it signed out so you have to leave, find somewhere else and just keep going. Be prepared for whatever may pop up!

Seventh, really get to know your cooperating teacher. My cooperating teachers are two of the kindest, funniest, and most knowledgeable people I have ever met. They like to make up songs, tease each other, and crack jokes in the office. Get to know things about their home life and their families and hobbies and things about them the students won't know. And don't be afraid to laugh with them! Laughter is the best kind of stress relief.

Eighth, get to know the students and the school district. I started to do this right away and I am so thankful I did. I got to have a little more fun with the students because of it. Also, getting to know the district as a whole was fantastic. I learned that the district I was placed in was the reason why schools have many laws about fire safety. I also met more teachers than I thought I would and having a friendly face to see in the hallway is always nice.

Ninth, ask questions. There is no stupid question. If there's a situation, ask your cooperating teacher how they've handled those kinds of situations. If there's a mad parent on the phone, ask your cooperating teacher how they handle mad parents. Ask about the hiring process at the school and how to be a sub. Ask all of the questions you can.

Tenth, if you're like me and some of my friends, you might enjoy sleeping until the last possible second. Or you might even just wake up way later than normal. Instead of panicking and not making a lunch and not having good clothes, lay out your clothes the night before and pack your lunch the night before. This makes for an easy morning. I had plenty of days where I got up late and didn't have a lunch. Don't be that guy.

And finally, just have fun. Stressing about lesson plans and observations and edTPA will make your semester not so fun. So relax and enjoy your student teaching experience. Good luck!!!