Chapter 5: “I Love Kids! Doesn’t that Mean i will be a Successful Preservice Teacher?”

We review applications, require adequate GPAs, read essays, score interview responses, and yet, as teacher educators, we often struggle with determining which qualities students should possess to become successful preservice teachers. During the application process, the vast majority of students state, “I love kids!” Indeed, their intentions are genuine; their feelings are sincere. However, loving kids is not enough to meet the demands of a successful teaching career in elementary education.

Semester after semester, we admit qualified applicants to our Elementary Education Program only to find that some students lack the necessary skills, dispositions, professionalism, and/or knowledge to be successful preservice teachers. Often, these issues surface during their field placement experiences, resulting in critical conversations between the student teacher, cooperating teacher, and university teacher educator. Were there red flags? How did we miss them? If teacher educators within university teacher preparation programs knew several specific qualities to assess in preservice teachers to help ensure their success, then perhaps these situations could be avoided.