Observations, observations, observations…

I was observed teaching today by my personal tutor (take two!).  The lesson went well, although (as expected) I ran out of time.  However, I managed to adapt the lesson to ensure that we met the Learning Objective (bane of my life) and finished just as the bell went for break.  What a relief!

My tutor said that the lesson went well, and just highlighted one or two areas to think about when teaching next time.  She was very fair with her observations.  Then we looked at the RPD, which is a ridiculous folder which is supposed to track our progress for the course.  I think it’s unnecessary paperwork which adds extra stress – and that’s exactly what I told her!  She wasn’t phased by it at all; I think because she’s only been employed by Faculty for this placement that she isn’t too ‘tied up’ with all of their bureaucracy; she can tell when something is just the Faculty trying to uphold the name of the University – here here!

Anyway, it’s been a good day.  I’ve got to teach Grammar tomorrow, which will be boring for all of us, but then it has to be done.  Year 4 have got to work on those apostrophes for contraction….

It’s time…

That’s it, I can’t put it off any more – the second 6000 word Masters level assignment is looming.  Hand in is 7th March, which really isn’t that far away when you consider that we are in school for the next 5 weeks, so need to do lesson plans, lesson evaluations, and fill in lots of other apparently meaningless but somehow meaningful pieces of paper.  We then have one week called ‘assignment preparation week’, so that’s going to be manic; then we have one week and four days in Faculty and the assignment has to be in.

I’m thinking I might be making a resubmission on this one!

Hello there!

I’ve recently been made aware that my blog has just been shared on the fantastic ‘York Students in Schools’ facebook page; thank you for popping along to have a look.  Hopefully nothing on here is putting you off wanting to teach – I’m just trying to give a realistic view of what goes on during a PGCE course.  I will say (shameless plug) that, if you’re at the University of York and want to teach, then a YSIS placement is such good preparation and I couldn’t recommend it more highly!

Anyway, enough of that, this week we are back in Faculty (Uni) which, as regular readers will know, I am not a fan of.  The classroom is where I’m at my best.  Today involved a series of terrifying lectures on what is expected from us on our 1b placements which will be 8 weeks long, two weeks before Christmas and six after.  It all seemed frightening when they were telling us what we need to do but currently I work on the philosophy that you need to take one week at a time.  It’s worked so far!

In amongst this hard-line talk were some interim moments of, what I like to call, ‘non-sensical fluff’.  I know that meditation is for some people, and I am in no way being derogatory towards it but, personally, it’s just too…..fluffy.  I’m all for chilling out to fight stress, but if you make me close my eyes in the middle of a lecture hall and breathe deeply then all that’s going to happen is that I will get the giggles.  Combined with a cold it just ain’t pretty…..

 

“Let’s Start at the Very Beginning….”

….often perceived as a “very good place to start”!

Hello one and all, my name’s Alice and I graduated this year with a 2:1 in English Literature.  After a two month holiday I’m ready to hit the ground running again, but this time as a General Primary PGCE student!  Not only does this entail a new city, university, housemates and essay referencing style, but it will also, inevitably, mean a heck of a lot more work!  

I’m clearly not one to shun education as a viable option, but it turns out that an English Literature degree perhaps wasn’t for me – 5-7 hours contact a week proved disheartening, especially considering all I really wanted to do is teach.  I know some people are a little begrudging of teaching, the infamous saying “Those who can, do, whilst those who can’t teach” rings in my ears, but for me it’s the only realistic option.  I’ve done lots of work with kids, I’m by no means an expert, but I’m certain I’ve made the right choice.

So that’s the background over, now to the nitty-gritty!  It all starts with a bang tomorrow with a week long ‘Home School Placement’.  This involves a week of observations in a local school in my home town; I’ll be working with Year 2 alongside their teacher, the head of Key Stage 1.  This should be a great experience, getting to see what it’s like in a school during the second week of a new academic year, observing how children learn what is expected from them both in their academic work as well as their general behaviour.  It’s going to be a busy week, with the conclusion of the week being my move to my University town!

I’ll let you know how it all goes – hopefully this will be helpful to some of you looking to undertake a PGCE, hilarious to those of you wanting to see me suffer a nervous breakdown, and generally time-absorbing for those seeking to alleviate their boredom.