Would you recommend this school as a training school?

This was the question I was asked this week by the University tutor.

This is a question I hadn't expected to be asked.

This week was official observation week.
I'd spent so long frantically organising folders and planning (what I thought was) a safe observation lesson (too safe, as it turned out) and ensuring all the resources were ready and that I was ready and could provide evidence for anything, that a question about the suitability of the school kind of threw me.

I know I'm training in the school. I know I'm expected to be trained by members of staff in that school, but at the same time, I've been in the school. I know what's going on. I see the stress they're under every day. And more than that, I want to do things for myself and then call on help/tips when it's not quite working.

Does this put me in a good position for judging if it's a decent training school?

There are elements of my school which are brilliant (and by 'elements of', I mean 'people in'). My mentor, for example, is rushed off her feet but always finds time to check that I'm ok. I have three of her classes- she always checks that I know what I'm doing with them. One of my other host teachers is fantastic. Always on hand to offer tips and advice, suggestions of how she would do things; but ultimately, let's me try things for myself.

However, there are other times when I feel that I have no support and that the school is treating me as a cover teacher, rather than a trainee. There are some classes where I feel that I've been completely abandoned. And these are difficult classes. One of these classes was picked for the observation lesson.

I "laid foundations" before his arrival, and they were on their best behaviour. It was a pleasure to teach them. This was the first time in 7 weeks where I've actually enjoyed teaching them. The tutor cannot understand why I've been given this class, because all I've done is spend 7 weeks battling poor behaviour with little effect.

At other times, I'm told to do one thing, then it changes, so I edit my approach to accommodate the changes, then when it's assessed, suddenly the original criteria are back in place. And I don't find out about important meetings etc, unless I overhear someone talking about it.

So, I do feel a bit like a spare part. I'm torn on the 'am I being trained' question, because I'm not quite sure how much I'm supposed to being doing by myself.

This is all the stuff that ran through my head, and which I tried to express in my answer when suddenly asked 'Would you recommend this school as a training school?'

Busy

On any other uni course this would be the time of year to be worrying about exams/ beginning the wind down for summer. Not this one.

It's been a very busy fortnight and the next four weeks look like much of the same.

In the last two weeks I've bumbled across to the West Coast for an interview (didn't get the job, but it was a good experience), completed my final university essay, fixed a date for my formal observation from the university, passed both skills tests, applied for more jobs, and did lots of teaching. I cannot believe how quickly this placement is going. Only four weeks left in school! Eeek.

Before the end of the course, I need to organise my folders, book driving lessons, get a job, sort a quick trip to London, make some big leaps in teaching- prove to myself that I can do this, produce a cracking observation lesson for the university mentor, produce a different observation lesson for the ITT coordinator, and finally, finally, finally make some headway with y9

But tonight, I stop worrying about all of that and watch Eurovision!

The Next Phase

Well, what a week this has been.

Monday we cracked on with our assignment work, after a talk from a local Head teacher about interviews. Monday afternoon I did a trial run to my TP2 school.

Tuesday, we created lessons to deliver at the English Language Workshop in two weeks.

Wednesday was my birthday. I took cake to uni. We had a drink at lunch. I went home and wished I was surrounded by friends. Then- being a whole year older- I had a nap.

Thursday was the start of TP2. I had developed some kind of idea of what the school would be like,  based on wandering around the local area, its website and word of mouth. I'm getting a surprise. Going into the details on this blog would be unprofessional, but it's safe to say that the school is not what I thought it'd be. Saying that, the staff are lovely and the kids (from the minimal interaction I've had with them over the last two days) are very helpful.

While I'm looking forward to going back next Thursday, and to the challenges which my new timetable will throw at me, and I know I have to give this school a fair chance; I do find myself missing my first placement school. This is strange to me because whilst there, I felt that I didn't quite fit. It could be that I'm just feeling like a fish out of water because TP2 is so different from TP1, so I'll give it some time; but I do really miss TP1- it's staff and pupils.