Week 6

So, I'm cheating this week. Officially it's half term, but with uni commitments, I'm not really getting a half term. The university's dropped our seminars and tutorials, but replaced them with a 3 hour lecture on Monday (eurgh) and some project work; and the preparation for the first assignment. Due to all of this, I'm working through my Saturday and Sunday, then popping home for a few days.

So this week's been interesting. A slight schism feels as though it's developing in our group, which is a shame. I really hope that we can work through it as a group, rather than letting it become a big issue, especially as it seems to be one person isolating themselves.

We did our starters on Wednesday. The rest of the group had to pretend to be KS3 students, while we delivered starters on a given aspect of grammar. My partner and I were given 'Conjunctions'. Oh dear, oh dear. The group enjoyed our activities, but we were slightly sidetracked by a couple of people just not understanding how one word could be a subordinating, but not a co-ordinating conjunction. We did get through it, but I felt as though we'd done a really awful job. The feedback, however, was very constructive. I hope the feedback is similar when I'm observed in a real class.

School was great. A lack of sleep on Wednesday night meant that Thursday was a tough day, but I kind of had that 'running on empty' energy. The whole department was anticipating half-term though. Friday was a training day, based around safeguarding children. I'm very pleased I attended.

The rest of the group are bonding well. We're rallying together to share resources and help each other when someone's struggling with ideas. It's great to know that we're all there for each other.

So half term! Whoop! Today I'm gathering information for an assignment and tomorrow I'll be planning lessons that I'll actually get to teach in November. I'm very excited for that. Hopefully after half term I'll get to do some plenaries or starters too. I enjoy being a teaching assistant, but I think it's now time to get stuck in to the teaching. I think it'll help build my confidence and cement my role in the school, both in my own head; and in the eyes of the students.

Now to get my head around some more theory. Every conversation I've had with teachers in my school implies that, really, I only need the theory for this year- they never really use it again. I suspect that actually they are using it, but it's become embedded in their thought process that they don't realise it.

Enjoy the break!

Week One

I have survived the first week!

My fears of the university’s expectations vs. my expectations were allayed within 30 seconds of the first lecture. The course director started the class by stating that the university has high standards and expectations of all of us, and expects us to have high expectations of ourselves. This was music to my ears.

This has been less of an ‘introductory week’ and more of a ‘chuck you in head first’ week. It’s brilliant though. Our Professional Development lectures instruct us on the legal ins and outs of the profession; the value and purpose of teachers’ unions; the M level aspect of the course, among other things. The main tutor for these is a technology whizz kid; and also highly entertaining. He manages to convey the messages – at times serious- without scaring/boring/patronising the room. (Saying that, I’ve already noticed the numbers falling: there are fewer and fewer people each lecture).

We’ve also had a fair few subject classes too. The individual workload began from day one, and I think we’re all learning that leaving it, even one night, is going to be such a stupid idea. We’ve got a chunk of reading to do (handouts and online documents ranging from 10-243 pages!); we’ve had small individual tasks and larger group tasks to complete.

On Monday we’ll be delivering (in groups) our first KS3 lesson; although it is to our class pretending to be y9s. I’m quite proud of our lesson plan: I think it’s flexible enough not to fall to pieces in the event of a hiccup.

Quite a bit of this week has been reflective/evaluative work. We’ve all been discussing where we think our strengths and weaknesses are, what we think makes a good teacher, what kind of teacher we want to be, and trying to bond as a group. We’ve also been hearing about the necessary outlook for a teacher: cynicism = bad; sense of humour and bit of sarcasm = good.

There are some lovely people on the course (of course, I don’t know all of them yet). Within English, there are 13 trainees of a range of ages and backgrounds; and taking different routes into teaching. Some, like me, are doing a PGCE, others are doing Schools Direct. There’s not a lot of socialising as a group outside of class (admittedly, there’s not a lot of time outside of class), although it is quite difficult as the majority of the group commute into the city. It’s only the end of week one though.

We’ve already been told our first placement school. Mine’s about a 40 minute walk from my house. I’ve been researching the bus routes. Might have a practice run before I start there: I don’t want to be late on my first day. From its website, the school looks fantastic (of course that is the purpose of a website); however, it has been supported by word of mouth from mature students on the course. I’m really looking forward to starting there. I have an induction/observation week there in October.

From the start, I’ve designated Saturday as my day off from the course. Today is the first Saturday since the course started proper, and I’m finding it difficult not to do some reading, or a knowledge audit. However, at the same time, I know if I don’t take the day off, by the middle of the week I’ll regret it.  I know the workload’s set to increase. The family visited today (including the small child). The child has wrecked my room! There are cups and scraps of paper everywhere now. How a small thing can cause so much mess is beyond me. At least tidying up will take up some time.

After seeing a vague, semi-complete timetable; I did begin to worry – a lot –about my time management. But I’m pleased to say that I have begun to establish some kind of routine, especially in the evenings.

Tips:

My two tips for week one are:

1.       Establish a routine as soon as possible.

It’s helping me to stay on task, instead of drifting off to watch something, or tidy, or indulge in general procrastination. And,

2.       Smile.

A nice smile and a hello has helped me loads this week. It’s helped me meet people on the course (studying a range of subjects); it’s helped to break the ice in general; it’s helped me relax. I think being open (which a smile suggests) really helps to break the barrier when you’re in a new situation.

Next stop: week two. It’s going to be fun!

Query Blog: Unions

Friday is registration day. The day when I’ll finally get to meet other people on the course and my tutors. There will also be Trade Union representatives present on Friday. Now, this has got me wondering about Teachers’ Unions.

I’m the first to admit that I’m absolutely hopeless when it comes to jargon, especially regarding legal or financial issues. This is obviously something that I need to work on. With this in mind, the more I think about joining a union, the more I become confused and intimidated by my lack of knowledge.

Currently I’m trying to understand a teaching union in the same terms as a Student Union. My SU defended the rights of the student, offered incentives to the students, offered advice to the student. This is what I’m hoping for from a Teachers’ Union.

However, my knowledge of the market is shamefully thin. I’ve heard of NUT and NASUWT. Comparing the two from their websites, I have a favourite.  I guess the point of this post is to fish for a bit of advice. Aside from the two mentioned, are there other Unions of merit? What should I expect from being a member of a Union?  Should I even join a Union?

These are kinds of questions buzzing around my head this weekend. What would you suggest?