autumn_in_philadelphia

AN: Handbook segments and information on student teachers and their cooperating teachers was obtained from the handbooks put out by James Madison University.

The final bell of the day rang much to Jonathan Turner's dismay. He still had another ten minutes before he had to meet the student teacher, and was hoping that something would come up so that he could cancel it.

Watching the seconds creep by was unnerving, so he re-read the letter from the school board he had received on Tuesday.

"Thank you for agreeing to serve as a cooperating teacher for a student teacher from City University of New York." "Like I had a choice", he muttered under his breath. "Student teaching provides an exciting opportunity for our candidates to fully embrace their role as emerging professionals and to practice what they have learned about the teaching/learning process.

Effective communication is critical to a successful student teaching experience, and this handbook is one means of encouraging that communication. It is intended to serve as a supplement to other materials..." Blah, blah, he thought unhappily and sighed.

You have been selected as a cooperating teacher because of your strong dedication to the teaching profession, your history as a highly skilled and effective teacher, your willingness to mentor someone into your profession, and your high level of professional ethics. We deeply appreciate the time, energy, and expertise you share with our student teachers. Thank you!"

He really didn't mind student teachers being around- he just didn't want them in his classroom if only because he remembered his less than stellar student teaching days. He had been a royal thorn-in-the-side to his cooperating teacher for the most part of his internship and made the year unnecessarily difficult for them both.

Jonathan leafed through the file Feeny had given him on his student teacher with five minutes left to kill.

Andrews, Audrey Theresa

Graduate from City University of New York; fully admitted into Teacher Education

maintained a 3.7 GPA; passed Praxi I; completed all prerequisite course requirements; outstanding academic record

Audrey's resume was picture perfect and reading it made him think of Topanga who no doubt would end up with a similar resume one day.

The rest of the file contained personal information on Audrey; she was a New York City native, 21-years-old, graduated valedictorian from Elizabeth Irwin High School.

One piece of information that Jonathan found interesting was that she had attended four semesters at Julliard in addition to her sophomore and junior years of high school. The record didn't state what she studied there or why she failed to complete her training; it only reveled that she had received an unprecedented invitation to attend the prestigious performing arts school while still a high school student.

Time obstinately shuffled its feet along and he absently studied the handbook. Again. The book fell open to a chapter entitled "The ABC's of Working With A Student Teacher".

Allow your student teacher to take risks.

Be a positive role model.

Comment on the good things you see.

Don't interrupt his lesson.

Enjoy your time with your student teacher.

Find time just to talk.

Give frequent and sincere praise.

Have a thank-you party for your student teacher on her last day.

Introduce your student teacher to every staff member in the school.

Just be yourself.

Keep an open mind.

Listen! Listen! Listen!

Model effective teaching strategies.

Never criticize your student teacher in front of others.

Observe him regularly and provide immediate feedback.

Provide her with the materials she needs for success.

Quickly include your student teacher in your classroom routine.

Reinforce her strengths.

Support your student teacher's ideas.

Treat him to lunch occasionally.

Use your student teacher's abilities whenever possible.

Value and respect his opinions.

Warmly welcome your student teacher to your class.

X-cellent teaching ideas in your files? Make copies for your student teacher.

You are the experienced professional. Always reflect that in your behavior.

Zero in on areas in which the student teacher needs help, and provide support.

"Good grief," he thought disdainfully. "Almost sounds like they want you to date 'em."

A soft rap at the door interrupted his musings. He instinctively glanced up at the clock first; still four minutes to go until his meeting. He turned his attention to the doorway where a girl he didn't recognize stood. She glanced around the room with wide stormy eyes. She would have looked as though she stepped off the cover of Allure if it hadn't been for her apparent nervousness. She clutched a couple of folders in front of her.

Jonathan raised his eyebrows slightly. Must be one of the new students, he thought.

"May I help you?" he asked.

The girl jumped slightly. "Y-yes," she said weakly. She cleared her throat and frowned at a piece of paper in her hand.

"I'm looking for a Mr. Jonathan Turner." She had steadied her voice and sounded more confidant than she looked.

Jonathan stood up and came around to the front of his desk. "That'd be me," he said after a moment.

The girl stood straighter and smiled slightly as though she had just overcome her biggest hurdle.

"I'm Audrey Andrews," she said with a warm grin and extended a pale hand to him. "Your student teacher."

Again, Jonathan's response was a bit delayed as he studied her. He ventured to guess that it had been dance that she had studied at Julliard- she had a ballerina's slight build and seemed to exude a grace and poise in spite of her nervousness.

Jonathan mentally shook himself from staring at her.

"Right," he replied, slightly embarrassed. He took her hand and gave her a stiff smile. He wasn't entirely sure what he had expected the student teacher to be like, but she wasn't at all what he had imagined.

The meeting went by swiftly as Jonathan gave her an overview of what to expect. She seemed greatly relieved that she would only be observing for the first two weeks. Jonathan covered everything on his agenda much faster than anticipated; Audrey listened intently to everything he had to say and when he was finished, she asked him a series of questions about her internship. As the meeting progress, she became more comfortable and demonstrated that there was an intellectual mind behind her pretty face.

Jonathan was impressed by her preparation- something he hadn't done for his cooperating teacher. Maybe things wouldn't be so bad after all. Maybe...

Audrey stood up at the conclusion of their meeting, shifting her books to rest on her hip.

"It was really nice to meet you, Mr. Turner," she said. "I can't wait to start."

"Yeah," he smiled and paused a beat. "Nice to meet you, too."

She flashed him a shy smile and walked out of the room, waist-length fiery tresses swinging as she went.

Audrey woke up early on Monday, dread and anticipation knotting her stomach up. She must have changed clothes half-a-dozen times in the quest for the perfect outfit for her first day of interning. She was worried about being too casual; it had surprised her that her cooperating teacher wore jeans, but it made her feel better about dress code until she ran into the sharply dressed Mr. Feeny after her Friday meeting. Trying to find a happy medium between the two styles of attire, Audrey finally decided on black dress slacks and a simple fitted white sweater with extra-long sleeves. After slipping on a pair of strappy black heels, she scurried away from her closet lest she be tempted to change again.

Audrey checked the clock every few seconds as she danced around the tiny kitchen of her miniscule apartment, opening and closing the cabinet and refrigerator doors without taking anything out.

She knew she had to eat something, but nothing appealed to her.

Maybe I could skip breakfast just this once. No one will know...

Audrey shook her fiercely as though trying to get the though out of her head.

No, no, you have to eat! she told herself. Come on!

The redhead grabbed a banana and poured a glass of skim milk. She forgot about the time as she forced herself to eat the piece of fruit. She managed to eat it and choke down the milk. Audrey steadied herself against the kitchen countertop, fighting to stop her body from rejecting the sustenance. Waves of nausea rolled over her.

It's all in your head, Aud. You can to do this...

Eventually, the feeling subsided and she was able move again.

Audrey glanced at the clock again and decided to go ahead and leave for school.

Jonathan walked into his classroom, reading over the syllabus for the week. He passed Eric Matthews sitting in the last row and Shawn Hunter sitting in the front row. He stopped abruptly in front of his desk and turned on his heel to face the class.

What's wrong with this picture? he wondered rhetorically to himself.

With an arched eyebrow, he studied Shawn suspiciously.

"Hunter."

Shawn didn't respond; his attention was locked onto to something behind his teacher.

"Hey! Hunter!"

"Huh? What?" Shawn blinked and looked up at Turner. "I haven't done anything yet."

Jonathan ignored him. "You never sit in the front. Why are you sittin' in the front?"

Shawn sighed dreamily and returned his attention back to the front of the room.

"Because English is my favorite class," he stated with a slightly goofy grin.

"Uh-huh." Jonathan took the hint and turned around. As he expected, Audrey was busy preparing for her first day of observation and was thus the reason why the front rows were filled with guys. It didn't explain one thing though...

He walked to the back row and stood in front of Eric.

Eric looked up at him and seemed annoyed.

"What are you doing in my room?" Turner wanted to know.

"I'm here for class," Eric responded as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Jonathan smiled sardonically. "Okay, but there's one problem with that."

"What?" Eric kept moving trying to see around the teacher.

"You're not in my class."

"So?" Eric stood up, but he couldn't see over Turner's head. "I signed up. Could you move, please? You're blocking the view."

Jonathan let out an exasperated sigh.

Cory Matthews entered the room just in time to hear his English teacher say,

"Get out of my room, Matthews!"

"All right," A confused Cory turned around and headed out the door. "I'm goin', I'm goin'."

Jonathan glanced up. "Not you. Your brother."

"Oh," Cory smiled sheepishly and entered the room again. "Right."

A dejected Eric reluctantly left, but Cory stopped him.

"Why are you here?"

Eric cast a longing look over his shoulder. "Just enjoying the view," he replied pushing his bottom lip out in a pout.

Cory shook his head convinced that his brother was a nutcase. "Whatever." He took a seat next to Topanga who wasn't happy to have been relegated to the back row.

"Okay, everyone," Jonathan said to begin the class. "We have a special guest who will be with us for the year. She's from the City University of New York and will be doing her student teaching here. Class, this is Audrey Andrews- that's Miss Andrews to you."

A collective sigh was heard from the front row boys.

Yeesh, Jonathan thought. This ain't going to be a cakewalk.

Mr. Feeny stopped by Mr. Turner's class to see how thing were progressing. He stood outside of the door, observing through the window.

Audrey was introducing herself to an oddly quiet class. While the girls asked her questions about herself, the boys gawked at her, all but drooling. She was quite engaging to watch actually- George seemed to recall that she had taken several public speaking courses and had been actively involved with theatre throughout high school and college and thus knew how to hold an audience. But the boys weren't the only ones whose attention she held.

George frowned slightly as he noticed that Jonathan seemed equally enchanted with her.

That won't to do, he thought dourly.

With a final glance at Turner, Feeny retreated to his office vowing silently to watch the young English teacher closely.