On certain occasions undergraduates get a student teacher for a semester. Ever since the budget cuts of last year some are left questioning why would anyone want to have a teaching profession in this day and age of the economy? Currently there is a new science student teacher, Ms. Kantak whose been helping out students with biology and anatomy. Kantak just recently graduated from UCI (Irvine) just a couple years ago, currently earning her teaching credentials for Cal State, “the thing is, I really feel like even if you take 10 different classes on teaching it’s still not enough, you actually have to be out there doing it.” 
 Many students believe that student teachers lack the experience and perhaps even the attitude, opposed to teachers who have been teaching at West for many years. Corey Atkinson (12) explains how “in the beginning of the year, [student teachers] are still trying to find ways that work for them. So their systems might be all over the place and confusing,”  nonetheless she believes this is a necessary process, “the long run it puts more experienced teachers in the classrooms.” Overall Atkinson believes how student teachers are a mixture of both “good and bad” as she explains even though they lack the self-assurance and knowledge compared to other teachers, can also present a new experience to both students and student teachers. Ms. Cortina recalls how “every mentor teacher once had a mentor themself, this is how the system works.” 
  But the question still remains that since school budgets why do people like Ms. Kantak still seek teaching professions? Cortina explains how even though in this horrible economy, where the salary of most teachers are declining, and regular teachers are finding themselves less job security, teachers dedicate themselves all for the students, “Good teachers enter the profession because they want to teach, not because the pay is good.” And her final opinions regarding student teachers are ” student teachers cannot be lumped into a single category. Ms. Kantak is doing a great job so far.”