Student teaching can be an anxiety-inducing experience. There is only so much thinking and planning one can do to prepare for a lesson before stepping into the unpredictability of a high school classroom, and just going with the flow. However, these unusual surprises and rewards are also what partly makes teaching full of unexpected experiences. You don’t wake up in the morning and expect to hear twenty-some students sing “Happy Birthday” to your dog, or receive unsolicited commendations on your daily lessons, but still those moments prevail to be the most memorable. These were just a few of Stephen Hart’s first experiences at Community High School, since he began student teaching for Chloe Root in early September.

Hart is completing his master’s degree through the University of Michigan’s MAC, a 12-month intensive program that prepares students for teacher certification. He completed his undergraduate degree at U of M as well, in economics and political science. He is preparing to teach economics, government, and history, hopefully in Ann Arbor. Otherwise, Hart would like to travel back home to Colorado, or explore possibilities in San Francisco. “I would like to do educational policies some day, since our system needs some serious reform…we’ll see,” said Hart on possible alternatives to teaching.

Hart’s beginnings at Community have been overwhelmingly positive. Hart says, “I like the fact that it encourages a lot of self-control and taking responsibility for your life and your actions and things like that. And things that encourage that, the bells, the attendance, the dress code the lack of all those things. I love the commitment to social justice things and diversity issues and what not.”

The morning of his first lesson he woke up sick and groggy, but after walking into a classroom of energetic students, Hart had found his motivating factor. The students asked questions and showed respect, something Hart didn’t expect on his first day of classes. Simple, positive feedback from both students and adults gave him an amazing amount of energy he didn’t think was going to be possible at the beginning of the day.

Hart is working closely with his mentor teacher, Chloe Root. Root completed the MAC program just a few years earlier, and was supportive and understanding, always looking for a way to help Hart inside and outside of the classroom. She isn’t afraid to give him responsibilities such as leading classes, grading assignments, and organizing activities.

“She is a great listener and it is nice to see the devotion she has to her students and their personal well being,” Hart said. He’s learned things from Root such as fostering the intellectual capabilities of a child, as well as the emotional and social aspects of their person. Hart explains, “I believe fostering environments like this makes education much more fun, productive, exciting, worthwhile, and personal.”

Despite his experiences at Community, Hart is still hesitant about becoming a teacher. “I love seeing kids grow and knowing that I am helping them be the person they were meant to be. But I hate watching them leave.” Though not difficult for Hart himself, he describes how he is always ready and anticipating the next stages of life. Hart wants to watch his students mature into responsible adults and to keep them close. He knows that teaching doesn’t offer those types of opportunities. “And, simply put, that is what’s going to suck. I guess the only way to reconcile with this fact is to know that I had a positive impact on a child’s life and that I may be the reason they are a good person and a successful individual.”

This semester Hart will be in Root’s room on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and the occasional Monday morning to sit in on the first block U.S history class. He will be teaching Econ classes, as well as co-teaching U.S History, all while taking side master classes. With his hectic schedule, it’s surprising that Hart doesn’t feel a tad anxious with the upcoming overload of responsibilities. He manages to draw up even more bubbling eagerness. “I’m very excited to see how this year progresses and I am already excitedly awaiting next semester when I am at Community just about every day! For now, I’ll have to deal with the two days a week I am given and suffer through the other three.”