This paper addresses conditions in teacher preparation which increase the chances of student teachers experiencing severe difficulty in their practicum assignments. Focus is on practical and ethical issues, offering suggestions for changing some present programmatic conditions in order to achieve optimal development of beginning teachers. Emphasis is placed on sensitivity about the need for high levels of care when dealing with potentially unsuccessful student teachers; role models presented to prospective teachers; facilitating the development of student teachers so that they become ethical, concerned teachers; and the need for discussion of ethical concerns in preservice teacher education. Many issues raised emanate from dilemmas faced by those responsible for elements of preservice teacher education. These include dilemmas related to time, finances, personnel, and accreditation requirements. The need for high standards of ethical caring implies a variety of actions such as: more selective admission criteria; more humane, person-centered, and appropriate career guidance; early remedial activities or direct exit counseling; enhanced and more intense supervision of student teachers; responsible placements with cooperating teachers who have perspectives that are not massively incongruent with student or practice teachers; and debriefing during and after student teaching. (Contains 33 references.) (Author/LL)