Student teaching while pregnant

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No offense meant to the lady who’s trying to enforce the dresses, panty hose, and high heels, but in a science class, I think it’d be WAY more practical to be wearing flats and pants. You’ll be around chemicals, and I would think it would be more protective to cover yourself better. 🙂
 
Regarding pantyhose: there are some good stay-up stockings that work just as well. I used to wear them on really hot summer days.
 
By the way, I will be in a high school science room. Technically I’ll be covering maternity leave for one of the teachers there (I was going to cover for a guy that got put on active duty, but they hired someone to fill that position since I’ll not be able to teach in the spring semester with a new baby). She’s due a week after school starts and I’m not sure when she plans on returning. In a way I will just be teaching and not student teaching because I will be alone in the classroom with the students all day. No worries about chasing little kids all day.
Pull out the “safety in the science classroom” issue. Wearing heals in a lab room is insane!! Check out the NSTA website; there has to be some official guidelines on what to wear. I do know that closed toe shoes are strongly suggested and I “think” long pants are also recommended for safety reasons in case of spills. Nylon/polyester is also taboo since it burns easily versus most natural fibers. (I have this silly safety video where a mannequin’s polyester shirt burns - or in reality it just melts that I show my students).

What subject are you teaching? I’m a Chemistry teacher at a local Catholic high school. I taught through 2 pregnancies. At the end of the first, I had one pair of “shoes” (they were actually ugly slip on things) that still fit my humongous, swollen feet. My second pregnancy I wore tennis shoes mostly and my feet were so much better.

Good luck

Kris
 
Pull out the “safety in the science classroom” issue.
…]
What subject are you teaching? …
I may pull that if it comes down to the difference in a letter grade, but all the instructors and advisors here just say to put up with her antics and play the part. It’s annoying, but I have to buy maternity clothes to work in anyway. For shoes, I was thinking some sort of a doc martin maybe. That’s and a pair of sneakers is what I used to wear when I worked in a lab fulltime – the rubber soles were great on spills or wet floors from ceiling leaks. Those things lasted forever and they were pretty wide for my foot.

Unless something changes again, I will be teaching classes in zoology, physical science, and a senior science seminar (teaches where to look for and how to read/discuss scientific articles).
 
Physical science has good experiments!

I don’t know if Docs would be too heavy on your feet, or how they’d react to foot and ankle swelling. But they ARE sturdy!
 
I may pull that if it comes down to the difference in a letter grade, but all the instructors and advisors here just say to put up with her antics and play the part. It’s annoying, but I have to buy maternity clothes to work in anyway. For shoes, I was thinking some sort of a doc martin maybe. That’s and a pair of sneakers is what I used to wear when I worked in a lab fulltime – the rubber soles were great on spills or wet floors from ceiling leaks. Those things lasted forever and they were pretty wide for my foot.

Unless something changes again, I will be teaching classes in zoology, physical science, and a senior science seminar (teaches where to look for and how to read/discuss scientific articles).
Maybe something like these Dansko heels would work. Danskos are super comfortable and supportive. Danskos tend to run a little wide so if your feet swell a bit they should still fit okay.

Target and Old Navy do have a lot of cute maternity clothes. You’re in luck in that empire-waist tops are in style right now so there are a lot of cute, dressy tops in that cut that could be paired with simple skirts in basic colors. And thigh-high garterless stockings (with the elastic to hold them up) might be your saving grace. I like them because then I don’t have to fuss with pantyhose crotch-sag or control-top bulges, but they would solve your baby-bladder problem.
 
I will be alone in the classroom with the students all day. No worries about chasing little kids all day.
I’m taking your thread in yet another direction here - but this is a HUGE red flag that your “student teaching” program is just not right. First of all, how are you supposed to learn when you have no teacher to learn from??? This is supposed to be an experience where you learn from a seasoned teacher. Second of all I don’t even think this is legal. I would look into this. I can’t believe the school agreed to this. You are probably also not covered legally if something should happen in the classroom while you are there. Third - are the parents of the students ok with it?
 
I’m taking your thread in yet another direction here - but this is a HUGE red flag that your “student teaching” program is just not right. First of all, how are you supposed to learn when you have no teacher to learn from??? This is supposed to be an experience where you learn from a seasoned teacher. Second of all I don’t even think this is legal. I would look into this. I can’t believe the school agreed to this. You are probably also not covered legally if something should happen in the classroom while you are there. Third - are the parents of the students ok with it?
Don’t worry about taking this in a new direction as I already got lots of suggestions about places to look and styles I had not considered.

My situation is not the average student’s experience. I’ve been working with this high school for a while as a certified substitute, and I’ve already completed my degree, I was just getting certification to teach. The principal knows me personally and he was even my instructor for the content area of methods. I taught summer school for him this year too. He was confident enough in my abilities to ask me to do this as a favor. Most of the teachers in this building know me, and I feel comfortable going to just abut any them for advise. I think the science dept chair and the principal will be frequenting my classroom when they have time, to make sure I’m keeping things up to snuff. I am covered legally by insurance through SMSTA just like all other student teachers and by the fact I’m a sub for the school. I assure you, this practice is perfectly legal and not uncommon. There are many instances of students having their first bit of teaching count as their student teaching semester. The only catch is the education department at their university has to sign off saying it’s ok. Surprisingly enough, the chair we’ve been talking about here signed off for me, although it was because I was going to fill in for one of her former “favorite” students while he’s away on active duty.

There are lots of things wrong with my college’s education department, but this is one instance where they have done things right. The small high school in a small town would be hard pressed to find a sub to cover a lady’s maternity leave as qualified in the sciences as I am. Honestly, the only person they could find to work for the guy I was originally going to cover for is a guy majoring in social sciences. Those poor kids got almost nothing out of the last half of the school year other than powerpoints and lots of naps. When I was there subing, several good students would regularly come find me and ask me to explain assignments or concepts he brought up in lecture. In one particular instance, they barely understood the concept of a basic monohybrid cross, let alone how to represent it on a punnett square :mad: and bring up a dihybrid cross and they looked like this :confused: 😦 :confused:
 
I would love to applaud your choice to student teach and tell you to take it all the way to the top to get to wear what you want and do a good job.
But first, stay in touch with your body. A chem lab? In the heat of autumn? If you feel any discomfort, I hope you knock off for the day and go straight to your doctor.
 
I would love to applaud your choice to student teach and tell you to take it all the way to the top to get to wear what you want and do a good job.
But first, stay in touch with your body. A chem lab? In the heat of autumn? If you feel any discomfort, I hope you knock off for the day and go straight to your doctor.
:o lol, actually… this is as far as I want to take it. Yea I know how stupid that sounds considering the stuff I’m going to have to do to actually get student teaching done, but my career goals are to be a homeschooling stay at home mom. I don’t want to work, and unless I have to, I won’t. This certification is a safety net incase my husband is unable to support the family for whatever reason. Lastly, there’s a big difference between a chem lab and a zoology or physical science lab. I’ll be handling more toxic substances cleaning my bathroom at home than in the lab at school.
 
You might try eBay.
Good luck and congratulations!
I was going to say – for nice maternity clothes, eBay eBay eBay! I picked up a whole nice maternity wardrobe including two designer maternity dresses for special occasions for less than $300 on there.

And then after the pregnancy and you don’t need maternity clothes, again, sell 'em on eBay! My feet grew a size while I was carrying my son, so I also sold some shoes I had outgrown after my son was born too.

Best wishes with your new baby! 😉
 
I’m taking your thread in yet another direction here - but this is a HUGE red flag that your “student teaching” program is just not right. First of all, how are you supposed to learn when you have no teacher to learn from??? This is supposed to be an experience where you learn from a seasoned teacher. Second of all I don’t even think this is legal. I would look into this. I can’t believe the school agreed to this. You are probably also not covered legally if something should happen in the classroom while you are there. Third - are the parents of the students ok with it?
Don’t worry about taking this in a new direction as I already got lots of suggestions about places to look and styles I had not considered.

My situation is not the average student’s experience. I’ve been working with this high school for a while as a certified substitute, and I’ve already completed my degree, I was just getting certification to teach. The principal knows me personally and he was even my instructor for the content area of methods. I taught summer school for him this year too. He was confident enough in my abilities to ask me to do this as a favor. Most of the teachers in this building know me, and I feel comfortable going to just abut any them for advise. I think the science dept chair and the principal will be frequenting my classroom when they have time, to make sure I’m keeping things up to snuff. I am covered legally by insurance through SMSTA just like all other student teachers and by the fact I’m a sub for the school. I assure you, this practice is perfectly legal and not uncommon. There are many instances of students having their first bit of teaching count as their student teaching semester. The only catch is the education department at their university has to sign off saying it’s ok. Surprisingly enough, the chair we’ve been talking about here signed off for me, although it was because I was going to fill in for one of her former “favorite” students while he’s away on active duty.

There are lots of things wrong with my college’s education department, but this is one instance where they have done things right. The small high school in a small town would be hard pressed to find a sub to cover a lady’s maternity leave as qualified in the sciences as I am. Honestly, the only person they could find to work for the guy I was originally going to cover for is a guy majoring in social sciences.
It sounds like what my mom (may she rest in peace) did for her student teaching. There was a private school near her college that needed a Latin teacher for most of a year when the regular teacher was on (😃 ) maternity leave.
Mama was a graduating senior in Secondary English Ed., with a strong minor in Latin, & they hired her for the rest of the year. Her college counted this as student teaching,& Latin electives; the salary paid for her college. (She ended up with a 2nd major in Latin for all that “independent Latin study”!).
Those poor kids got almost nothing out of the last half of the school year other than powerpoints and lots of naps. When I was there subing, several good students would regularly come find me and ask me to explain assignments or concepts he brought up in lecture. In one particular instance, they barely understood the concept of a basic monohybrid cross, let alone how to represent it on a punnett square :mad: and bring up a dihybrid cross and they looked like this :confused: 😦 :confused:
I have:blush: no idea what you just said…but it 😉 sounds professional enough to be impressive anyway…
Good luck to you!!!
 
Don’t worry about taking this in a new direction as I already got lots of suggestions about places to look and styles I had not considered.

My situation is not the average student’s experience. I’ve been working with this high school for a while as a certified substitute, and I’ve already completed my degree, I was just getting certification to teach. The principal knows me personally and he was even my instructor for the content area of methods. I taught summer school for him this year too. He was confident enough in my abilities to ask me to do this as a favor. Most of the teachers in this building know me, and I feel comfortable going to just abut any them for advise. I think the science dept chair and the principal will be frequenting my classroom when they have time, to make sure I’m keeping things up to snuff. I am covered legally by insurance through SMSTA just like all other student teachers and by the fact I’m a sub for the school. I assure you, this practice is perfectly legal and not uncommon. There are many instances of students having their first bit of teaching count as their student teaching semester. The only catch is the education department at their university has to sign off saying it’s ok. Surprisingly enough, the chair we’ve been talking about here signed off for me, although it was because I was going to fill in for one of her former “favorite” students while he’s away on active duty.

There are lots of things wrong with my college’s education department, but this is one instance where they have done things right. The small high school in a small town would be hard pressed to find a sub to cover a lady’s maternity leave as qualified in the sciences as I am. Honestly, the only person they could find to work for the guy I was originally going to cover for is a guy majoring in social sciences. Those poor kids got almost nothing out of the last half of the school year other than powerpoints and lots of naps. When I was there subing, several good students would regularly come find me and ask me to explain assignments or concepts he brought up in lecture. In one particular instance, they barely understood the concept of a basic monohybrid cross, let alone how to represent it on a punnett square :mad: and bring up a dihybrid cross and they looked like this :confused: 😦 :confused:
Okay - whew, had me worried there. I thought you were just going into a school directly from college! What you wrote here makes sense!
 
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