Experiences so far!
- Jade S-B
- Jun 23, 2019
- 6 min read
Updated: Jul 28, 2019
I have been incredibly fortunate because of my teacher training course. In 2016 I embarked on a three years bachelors degree with QTS (qualified teaching status), a long awaited dream from a four year old girl. Although daunting to begin with, I slowly got the hang of writing assignments and developing my teaching skills. I am going to miss out the assignment stuff as that is not interesting, but I will highlight my three main placements and other additional experiences.
My first teaching placement began with attending the school one day a week (Tuesday). I was placed in a two-form entry school in an upper key stage 1 class (year 2). The school was lovely and staff very supportive. There were some expectations but the main goal was to 'dip my feet into the water' and get used to school routines. After a few weeks of attending the school once a week, I had my first opportunity to attend two full weeks (spoilt!) and teach some starters or plenaries to my base class. These went well and observations from my mentor and PAT (personal academic tutor) were okay. I was happy with my progress. As my teaching gradually reached 40% I was asked to take over the teaching of French to upper key stage 1 on a Tuesday afternoon, of course I said yes (perhaps for the wrong reasons). As Tuesday was my 'one day a week' thing I knew all afternoon I would deliver the same French lesson twice with no clue if I was pronouncing the words correctly. Of course I discussed the challenges with a French speaking teacher, who was very helpful and I based lessons on the trends of 2016/17 - meaning FIDGET SPINNERS and BOTTLE FLIPPING! Time progressed and I completed more practical tasks as part of my portfolio. The first placement is only graded as a pass or fail, unlike placement 2 and 3 because they are graded by each individual teacher standard. Anyway I passed that placement and was ready for my next, but first there was something special!
Before I could embark on my second professional placement, the university complete a module called ALE (Alternative learning experiences). This module was explained during an open day I attended in 2015 and the third year student at the time spoke about going to Kenya and helping a girl learn some of the English alphabet for the first time. Amongst the lump in my throat and tears in my eyes as the PowerPoint had photographic evidence, I thought to myself 'this is something I want to do!'. So as I began my second year I wrote my proposal letter to go to India. Unfortunately the four places available went to other students but I was offered three African countries instead. I decided to go to Tanzania. I went in January 2018 for one month where I made resources for visually impaired children - including braille textbooks, a digestive system based on feel (picture below) and a planet for our solar system. I fixed books and visited the boarding students - the girls boarding house allowed them to question us for a short time too.
I was based in a Secondary school which taught English but had the opportunity to visit a local primary school one morning too. The whole experience can be summed up as BIZARRE.
When we first arrived at DCT secondary school in Mvumi (after sharing a taxi suitable for 7 but 11 people were crammed in) we were told to attend morning briefing at 7am (or 7.30am?) - this would be the beginning of term. But when we went to the briefing some teachers did not turn up at the school and most students did not attend due to heavy rain. This persisted for a few days and then eventually in 'drib drabs' teachers and students began to arrive. When school was in full swing (if I can call it that!), unusual things would happen. If it was arranged for the English university students (myself) to observe a lesson the teacher would not turn up. Or one day the bread van was late to the school by an hour or so, therefore the most logical thing to do was to give all the students the afternoon off. I could write about this all day but I want to keep this 'journey' based, but I can write a different post about this if people are interested?
As my time went on in Tanzania I visited the local hospital where they trained some nurses on-site and was shown around the primary school. The whole experience was incredibly eye opening because it was evident children in the Mvumi village really appreciated their education. As a teacher it broadened my knowledge and understanding but it also had an emotional impact on myself. This lead to a personal refection on how lucky I am to have received the education I have and how it is going to be an honour to deliver high quality education for children in the future.
My second professional placement was in a one-form entry church of England school. I was teaching 50% of the time and based in lower key stage 1 (year 1). The teacher was very trusting and would leave me to take charge of the class for an afternoon whilst she observed another student or attended conferences. Having a responsibility such as this made me feel like a real teacher for the first time - four year old me would have been smiling from ear to ear. I had the respect of the children and planned entire modules of work. The TA in my class was very supportive and helpful, especially with the homemade Bogbabies (look up the book, Jeanne Willis - The Bog Baby). Having a supportive TA makes all the difference.
Again I was given an opportunity to develop my teaching further. I was asked to teach religious education to year 2 every Friday before lunch - of course I said yes (this time for the right reasons). The entire placement was joyful and I left feeling a step closer to having my own class, as well as an idea of the type of school I would like to work in. I completed the placement with grade 1's and 2's across the teachers standards (1 is the highest and 3 is the lowest before fail).
My final teaching placement was in a two-form entry church of England school. I was based in reception but both classes shared one large space. At first it was loud and exciting to find out how the teachers manage the children's behaviour whilst on the carpets. This would be the first time I could plan with someone else. I was teaching 70% of the time but this equated to full time due to child-initiated activities and assembly etc. I was planning maths, phonics, morning routines, end of day activities and the environment. The freedom of having the class all of the time was amazing and made me their teacher. This time I was engaging with parents more, solving children's dilemmas and taking responsibility for their achievements (and downfalls). I planned world book day activities, became a professional at counting to 100 (Jack Hartman) and dancing to 'you don't know you're beautiful' on Just dance. Still unaware of what was to come in terms of jobs, I was eager to have my own class for an entire year. I was ecstatic because I passed this placement with all grade 1's across all standards. My mentor had to ask me to create my targets as she could not think of any (this is a boast!). But it was my last time teaching a class which was handed to me mid-way through the school year.
And now I am here. Organising my life to begin my teaching career in the United Arab Emirates! It was always a possibility, but I never thought I would be having my first class of children outside of the UK. Fingers crossed it all works out and I become a better teacher for the children in the future.
Side note: The aim of this blog is for a personal memoir to look back on. If it goes further than that, brilliant. If not, I don't mind.
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