“I Can't Wait to See Carlos!”: Preservice Teachers, Situated Learning, and Personal Relationships with Students

In this study, we examined the reflections of 71 preservice teachers as they tutored literacy in a predominantly Hispanic American, low-income school. The carefully structured, intensively supervised practicum for each preservice teacher combined situated learning with guided critical reflection in the context of a relationship with one elementary student. Working within the framework of caring and its influence on socially mediated learning, we also explored the nature of personal relationships. Judging from their reflections, the experience of working one-on-one with a student positively influenced preservice teachers' content and procedural knowledge and self-confidence as teachers. Although not all relationships were easy to establish, the tutors' strong emotional ties with students resulted in their increased personal satisfaction, learning about teaching, and feelings of responsibility for their child's learning. Further, as tutors got to know their students, many rejected deficit notions and labels like “slow learner,” “limited-English proficient,” and “at risk” and came to regard their students as unique, valuable individuals.