The most important element of my pre-service teaching experience was my cooperating teacher,

Keri Crocco, pictured above. She welcomed me into her seventh-grade classroom at North Shore
Middle School on Long Island and gently guided me through every aspect of what makes a great
teacher in practice, not just theory. The lessons she taught me were invaluable and even today,
seven years later, I remember and utilize everything she taught me. Even though I have always
had a raw talent and a heartfelt passion for teaching, without the jewels of knowledge and
experiential opportunities that Keri so freely provided to me during my six months with her, I
would not have had the confidence as a new teacher that I had. That confidence opened up many
doors for me and over and over again I have been commended for my sometimes unconventional
methodologies and approaches to teaching kids. Keri is a huge part of that.
Keri Crocco sets the bar high for what a cooperating teacher is supposed to be and do. She taught
me not only how to draft a potential lesson into a written-down plan, but also the importance of
spending time planning. She taught me to be malleable with those plans in order to meet the
needs of my students; she taught me to always trust my instincts; she taught me to hone in on my
innate love of the arts and to bring them into my English Language Arts classroom at every turn;
she taught me to hold classes outside whenever possible; she taught me to just be me, regardless
of who enters into the classroom, and to teach my students to do the same. She taught me to
know how to use technology, but to always have a back-up plan of old school resources pen,
paper, crayons, markers, glue sticks, and construction paper just in case. She taught me that
teaching is an all-consuming profession and that I will forevermore be thinking about my
students and will see everything as a teachable moment for my students as I go throughout my
everyday life. Because of these truths, she taught me to never take my work home: instead, pick
one or two days a week where I stay late or come early to work and do my paperwork, grading,
and tutoring.
Family first. What wisdom.
I earned my certification to teach during my undergraduate studies of English/Secondary
Education at the CW Post campus of Long Island University. This was my moms, Phyllis
Hemans (RIP), alma mater. I grew up hearing great things about my moms experience at Post,
which played a major role in my choice to go there. As a burgeoning teacher, one of most
beneficial aspects of Posts program was allowing me to pick the school where I would conduct
my pre-service teaching hours. This is a major decision because it is ultimately the equivalent of
your teaching boot camp. Luckily my experience was a positive one; however, I remember being
in senior seminar class with fellow soon-to-be-teachers who were treated like glorified
babysitters during their months of pre-service teaching. They werent allowed to pick their
placement. The teachers they were placed with to mentor them did not want the responsibility.
The whole experience deterred many who started off with high hopes from going into the
profession. At a time when we need passionate teachers in the classroom, this is not something
our society can afford. In turn, do not agree to be a cooperating teacher merely for the college
credits that you will get. You have to sincerely want to pay it forward to the next crop of
teachers.
At the end of my student-teaching, Keri and our students threw me a surprise going-away party. I
will never forget that day, especially the moment when they presented me with a book of poems
that the children had authored and illustrated for me. During some of my most challenging days
as a teacher, those poems have reminded me why I became a teacher. Those students graduated
from high school two years ago. They showed me a lot of love. Just like Keri, they taught me
well.