Don’t let them get your back up and drive you to give up on something you want to do. I agree that it’s best to keep quiet when you’re being critiqued-- pretend that you’re just the best, most earnest little student teacher they’ve ever seen when they grace you with their knowledge (because there’s a chance they might know what they’re talking about even if their skills at imparting that knowledge doth suck). Get what you came there for and go on to glory.
Some things I’ve noticed about myself and/or collegues that might help: yes, it bugs me that I can’t use words like ‘difficult’ and have to say ‘hard’ instead, but this is the reality of where I teach. Over time, I’ve gotten better at using simpler words at the beginning of the year and introducing more advanced vocabulary after a few weeks. Remember that the kids may not have stellar vocab, but they could still be brilliant. Try not to be more in love with how you teach than what you teach.
The first weeks I’m trying to let the kids know I’m a professional, but human. They’ve already got a ton of friends, they don’t need one in their teacher. Be somewhat friendly, as fair as possible, and always firm. Eventually relate to them on something though, and if you can’t, ask about them whenever you have a couple of minutes at the end of the period or when you’re circulating during an activity. If you met their mom, ask how she’s doing. Does the cafeteria food bite today? Admire a new backpack, tell them you like the poster they did for another class, something. Some kids will let you know they don’t want to interact and that’s okay as long as you’re connecting to most of them some of the time (it’s a good control tool because it’s harder to be mean to a teacher who seems so 3-dimensional). Take small steps on this one until you become more sure.
Observe other teachers and not just those in your subject area. Talk to the teachers who hang out in the lounge before school and at lunch. Ask questions, listen, take notes, plan your day out minute by minute. And don’t look down on subbing, it was the single most useful experience I was able to bring to my first year of teaching (I wish I could have subbed before student teaching).
Just to one up you on the misery of student teaching-- my first semester was at a middle school (6-9th) in a hellacious area. I didn’t get to the site on time because the road leading to the school was blocked by police, because a man and his wife were car jacked and shot execution-style not an hour before. My first day the teacher wasn’t even there, and hadn’t been for weeks. I took over the class after the sub watched me take attendance and then disappeared the rest of the day. The mentor teacher spoke to me twice, the entire semester, and was in the class with me once for about five minutes when she came in to find something in her desk. She then had the gall to say I was ‘above average’ when it came time for reviews. Luckily my college’s teacher coordinator knew what was really going on (like my students swept their category at the district art exhibition, and we put out a dandy yearbook on time and under budget, thank you very much).
You can do this. You might not like it at first, but you can do it.
