Arenz, Emily

Thornton, Alexa

English

North Georgia College & State University: Digital Commons

Journal of Community Engagement and Scholarship
Volume 12 | Issue 1 Article 12
October 2019
Frustration, Excitement, Commitment: Preservice
Teachers Reflect on their Fieldwork Experiences
Emily Arenz
University of Wisconsin-Whitewater
Alexa Thornton
University of Wisconsin-Whitewater
Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.northgeorgia.edu/jces
This Student Voices is brought to you for free and open access by Nighthawks Open Institutional Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in
Journal of Community Engagement and Scholarship by an authorized editor of Nighthawks Open Institutional Repository.
Recommended Citation
Arenz, Emily and Thornton, Alexa (2019) "Frustration, Excitement, Commitment: Preservice Teachers Reflect on their Fieldwork
Experiences," Journal of Community Engagement and Scholarship: Vol. 12 : Iss. 1 , Article 12.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.northgeorgia.edu/jces/vol12/iss1/12
Vol. 12, No. 1—JOURNAL OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND SCHOLARSHIP—Page 95
Frustration, Excitement, Commitment: Preservice 
Teachers Reflect on their Fieldwork Experiences
My fieldwork experience broadened my views 
regarding the complexity of the current education 
system and helped me develop my own ideas about 
the purpose of education. In the school I observed, 
administrators and teachers genuinely promoted 
the importance of meeting statewide testing 
requirements. The content students were learning 
usually connected back to the standardized test 
questions they were going to answer on their future 
tests. 
Overall, these efforts did help students reach 
higher test scores. However, this strong focus also 
led the school to adopt a fixed curriculum to better 
prepare students to meet testing expectations. This 
meant teachers often followed a script when 
speaking to their students and had very little room 
for creativity toward their lessons.
I noticed quickly that students seemed to 
struggle to stay engaged in these scripted lessons. 
While my cooperating teacher was able to have 
caring conversations with his students before and 
after class, he immediately switched personas when 
he had to teach from the conventional lesson. 
Although the students genuinely enjoyed their 
teacher, they had a hard time paying attention to 
these lessons and I was left questioning how much 
of the content they were learning. As an observer, I 
was able to see and hear what students truly 
thought about the content and this kind of 
instruction. In one instance, some students were 
talking in the back of the classroom and when I 
suggested that they pay attention they replied, “But 
it’s boring and we can’t focus.” I realized they were 
right. The lesson was boring and it did not offer any 
opportunity for students to actively participate or 
engage with ideas. I was surprised that I was left 
feeling frustrated and even angry. 
The purpose of education, in my opinion, is 
for students to flourish and learn to engage in a 
democratic society. Students can learn this if they 
are taught a broad understanding of the world 
around them and how to develop their own 
thinking on what that world means. Teaching this 
to students helps them become aware of current 
issues and recognize how their voices can have an 
influence in a democratic society. Although the 
scripted content taught in this classroom might be 
considered important for one kind of student 
growth, it is not enough for students to reach these 
broader goals. Instead of listening to a teacher 
routinely teach, students need to work together, 
engage in class discussion, and get involved with 
their curriculum as a whole.
As a future English teacher, I want to show 
students literature written by people of diverse 
backgrounds and help students form their own 
voices in their writing, as well as society. In my 
classroom, I want students to be able to freely 
express their ideas. Democracy is about being able 
to have individual ideas and respectfully voicing 
these ideas to possibly make a change in the world. 
I was frustrated that the school I observed seemed 
to be teaching students to achieve higher test scores 
instead of how to develop and communicate ideas 
that could lead to success for themselves or society. 
Teachers are there to guide and inspire, and to help 
students create their own ideas. Having a classroom 
environment that establishes the importance of 
developing informed opinions will help students 
flourish in a democratic society because it prepares 
students for a life of involvement with ideas. 
Instead of just listening to the teacher lecture, 
students should be able to talk among their 
classmates and learn from each other. On the few 
The Purpose of Education: 
Engaging Active Minds
By Emily Arenz
1
Arenz and Thornton: Frustration, Excitement, Commitment: Preservice Teachers Reflect
Published by Nighthawks Open Institutional Repository, 2019
Vol. 12, No. 1—JOURNAL OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND SCHOLARSHIP—Page 96
occasions when the students were given the 
opportunity to work in groups, I saw how this type 
of interaction could motivate and energize them. 
They were extremely excited to discuss the topic 
they were learning. They were able to bounce ideas 
off each other and gain new insight. They were 
engaged in a way they were not during most of the 
lessons I observed. When I saw students working 
together, I realized this type of teamwork helps 
students grow through their peers. 
My fieldwork experience helped me discover 
there is still work to be done in education. I believe 
there needs to be a better way to get students 
involved in their own learning. While I recognize 
there is a specific curriculum teachers may need to 
follow, it is important that teachers are able to use 
creativity to make lessons that align with their 
beliefs about the purpose and goals of education. 
Although I was often frustrated, I also gained a 
new understanding of education that I had not 
recognized before. Teachers have the power to get 
students to find their own voices in society, and it 
is important that teachers use this to benefit their 
students. Ultimately, this experience makes me 
excited to pursue these goals and to continue to 
develop my skills in order to realize the positive 
impact I can have in the education system.
When one thinks about the role of the teacher, 
it’s easy to think that the role is simply to teach 
content, to set up lessons for students to engage in 
that lead to the successful development of 
knowledge and skills. As an aspiring teacher, this is 
what I thought my passion was: to learn and to 
teach what I had learned. After my fieldwork 
experience, I realized that having a passion to teach 
content was not enough to be a successful teacher. 
What is also necessary is to have the ability to 
prepare and support students so they are able to 
learn. For this to happen, teachers must know who 
their students are as people. Successful teachers 
analyze their students and explore their challenges 
and strengths. To make an impact, educators 
connect with their students in order to motivate 
them and engage them in learning. I learned from 
my involvement in the community that a successful 
education takes more than having an intelligent 
teacher. It also requires a teacher who can foster 
relationships in order to engage and inspire 
students. 
I learned this lesson through my experience 
with a particular student. Jordan was kindhearted 
and witty, but he did not engage in class and I and 
my cooperating teacher had trouble motivating 
him. I tried a lot of one-on-one attention, but, 
while we had some good interactions, he would 
not apply himself to assignments and spent a lot of 
class time engaging in disruptive and distracting 
behaviors. When I first started to observe in the 
classroom, I was expecting students to automatically 
listen, communicate, and ask questions. I found 
Jordan’s actions and lack of focus, as well as my 
inability to change these behaviors, frustrating. I 
wanted to demonstrate my passion for teaching, 
but my ideas about what teaching means were 
consistently challenged by Jordan and students like 
him. My cooperating teacher also struggled with 
these students. He sometimes told Jordan to pay 
attention or to do his work, but otherwise he 
focused on other students. Looking back, it seems 
to me that Jordan did not have the benefit of a 
meaningful relationship with his teacher, the kind 
that can promote motivation and inspire learning. 
I believe these kinds of relationships between 
students and teachers are crucial in the success 
of a student and that what Jordan lacked was not 
intelligence, but connection. 
Understanding the Role of Teacher: 
Frustration to Dedication
By Alexa Thornton
2
Journal of Community Engagement and Scholarship, Vol. 12, Iss. 1 [2019], Art. 12
https://digitalcommons.northgeorgia.edu/jces/vol12/iss1/12
Vol. 12, No. 1—JOURNAL OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND SCHOLARSHIP—Page 97
I wish my experience was a success story. I 
wish that I could say I found a way to engage Jordan 
and that my passion for teaching was ignited, but 
I did not and it was not. As a student who had very 
little teaching experience, I did not have the tools, 
skills, or confidence to turn this into a success 
story. The reason I share this, however, is because I 
learned a very valuable lesson about the role of a 
teacher. I learned that rarely, if ever, do students 
come to school immediately ready to begin a day 
of strictly knowledge and skill acquirement. I 
realized that the academic learning aspect of school 
is only one part of students’ lives. Everyone has 
different identities and experiences and teachers 
can use these details to connect with their students. 
Motivation comes from understanding. If a student 
can feel as if his teacher understands and respects 
him, a connection is bridged, and that connection is 
the beginning of meaningful learning. As a teacher, 
this fact is perhaps the most important thing to 
acknowledge in order to be the best educator for all 
students. By supporting, confirming, and accepting 
students, the wall between my passion and theirs 
can be brought down. 
The only way to really understand students 
and relate to them is to be an active member in our 
diverse society. I do not yet know how to relate to 
every student, but I do know that to be a successful 
teacher I must push myself to understand the 
students I work with. I must do so much more than 
teach content. After my fieldwork experience, I feel 
ready to dedicate myself to all the challenges that 
are included in being an educator. I wish I had 
longer with Jordan, and I think about him often. I 
know he was capable of success and achievement. 
Working in the community has taught me that I do 
have a passion to teach, but even more so, the 
passion to be a teacher. That realization is the most 
valuable asset to me and to my future students.
About the Authors
Emily Arenz is studying for a bachelor’s degree 
in Secondary English Education at the University 
of Wisconsin-Whitewater with plans to teach high 
school English after graduation.
Alexa Thornton is a recent graduate of the 
University of Wisconsin-Whitewater with a 
Secondary Education degree in mathematics. She 
is currently teaching in the Sheboygan Area School 
District.
They wish to thank their advisor at UW-
Whitewater, Dr. Kathleen Elliott, assistant 
professor of Educational Foundations, for her 
counsel and guidance in preparing this manuscript 
and for her encouragement and helpful advice 
throughout their time at UW-Whitewater.
3
Arenz and Thornton: Frustration, Excitement, Commitment: Preservice Teachers Reflect
Published by Nighthawks Open Institutional Repository, 2019


Frustration, Excitement, Commitment: Preservice Teachers Reflect on their Fieldwork Experiences

https://digitalcommons.northgeorgia.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1340&context=jces

Frustration, Excitement, Commitment: Preservice Teachers Reflect on their Fieldwork Experiences

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

North Georgia College & State University: Digital Commons