First Week Whirlwind

"I cannot teach anybody anything, I can only make them think." - Socrates

So the fun has finally begun!

I started training on Monday, returning to the hustle and bustle of lectures, seminars and a little bit of drama which, I feel may have already given me a reputation as a little bit of a loud mouth (my course mates say confident, but I'm not so sure).

The importance of safeguarding and professionalism has been forced through our ears and pinned into our minds. The days are long and many times, I have been in danger of an information overload. So, as I spend a weekend trying to digest the buffet of information I have sampled this week, I find myself hovering over the horizon of 'it is only going to get worse'. As things stand at the moment, I do have some sort of idea of what I will be required to do. Through a combination of past occurrences, personal experience and perhaps a little luck, I am wading my way through this world of new ideas, contrasting opinions and trying not to fall on my face in front of my new peers.

In this sense at least, I've been lucky in the fact I'm surrounded by good people. The atmosphere is that of support, rather than competition. Compliments and advice are flowing freely and everyone has different ideas, which is providing a new way of thinking about things. We are all experts in different areas... Which, while providing an exciting and interesting exploration of differentiation, fills me with dread in relation to the actualisation of when I will be considered an 'expert' in something.

The work... teaching... experiences I have done/had I feel are difficult to explain. I react the way I do because of my past. I have faced the dark and come out fighting as it were, so some of my methods of empathetic thinking aren't exactly easy to explain... But I suppose, that's why we're all here, to learn from each other as well as learning to explain to each other and eventually, our pupils.

I suppose, to end, I am enjoying my experiences so far.

Though my next step is my first placement... A new set of challenges await.

I'm definitely not in Kansas any more.

Textbooks, Novels and Plays - Summer Reading

“A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies, said Jojen. The man who never reads lives only one.” 
― George R.R. Martin, A Dance with Dragons

42 days to go...So I'm currently sat highlighting, post-it-ing and attempting to absorb my first uni suggested textbook. Most of you reading this are probably thinking 'why is she doing it so early?' The truth is, I like to be prepared... Probably the control-freak part of me.

The book is actually somewhat insightful. I'm only a fifth of the way through and it has already encouraged me to question what I already know. I caught snippets of classroom culture during my time as a Teaching Assistant, but I never really examined it properly. Starters had the students hooked from the word go, activities seemed to flow seamlessly into each other and plenaries were succinct and perfectly polished to evaluate the learning of the lesson. The question I find myself grasping at now is... How on earth did they do it?

You see, dear reader I have a tendency to get a little overexcited when I'm talking about or showing something I'm particularly interested in. Though in a one-on-one situation, I can generally tell when the other person wants me to shut up, when I'm teaching something and the other person/people are actually engaged, I tend to lose track of time. Before I know it, the bell has gone and my time is up.

I suppose this will be all down to practice makes perfect... planning and preparation will be my friend in this instance. But what if I over/underestimate my students? What if I plan too much? What if they don't have a clue what on earth I'm going on about?

So, as I sit highlighters in hand, trying to comprehend half of what I'm reading (which to be honest is becoming rather difficult at half past eleven at night) these questions are floating around in my head and I'm sure many others will form too.

The final hope that I have, is that after I have finished this textbook (and the other that follows it) I will be able to look at what I'm really looking forward to:

The novels, poems and plays.

I love to read... though you may not think so after reading my above comments, but reading is my passion. The ability of a story to transport you to a place you have never been, experience a culture that is unfamiliar to you, push you to consider a thought that otherwise may not have crossed your mind. If I could spend my life curled up with hot chocolate and a mountain of books... I'd happily do it.

Poems I just find interesting. The rhythm and language authors achieve fascinate me. Messages and opinions spoken in a way that does not force the writers view upon you, but merely asks you politely to consider their point of view and to think about your own life in relation to it.

And well really, let's be honest... Who doesn't love a good play? (Cue a number of hands going up)

These books, poems and plays will be my reward for wading through the technical terminology and complex contents I am currently going through.

I just hope I can get there before the summer ends.

Obstacle 1: The QTS Skills Tests

The only condition I had to meet to get on to my course was the skills tests. I had the DBS, the school experience and had filled in the relevant forms. Only the tests remained... And that scared me...

There are two tests, the literacy test and the maths test. I gave myself 3 months revision time and set to work.

At first, literacy didn't bother me too much, working on commonly misspelt words (especially the double consonants), perfecting my punctuation and reminding myself of grammar structures I hadn't investigated in years actually calmed me. As long as I concentrated on the comprehension, I was passing the practice tests no problem.

Maths was another story.

Maths + Speed = Sheer panic.

Don't get me wrong, I got a B at GCSE. I am competent at maths and can hold my own as a TA in a GCSE maths lesson, but I just wasn't fast enough.

The first time I tried a practice test my initial response was "what the heck is a proportion?" before proceeding to close down the test and wallow in my own stupidity.

After confiding in one of the maths teachers, I tried again. "You can do this" she told me. "You do this every day in my lessons"

I passed this time, just barely. I kept trying, making notes of the questions I didn't understand and trawling maths sites and apps trying to improve my speed and mathematical ability. Slowly but surely, I saw an improvement. As long as I didn't panic at the formally voiced woman on the tape and made sure to read the questions properly, I was doing ok. My scores were creeping up and I actually started to remember how to cancel fractions down so I could make them into a percentage. I was even starting to like the stately voice coming through the headphones.

When the day arrived, I was strangely calm. I arrived at the test centre early, just in case something went wrong. After witnessing a heated debate between a candidate and one of the assessors over an incorrect form of ID, I registered my presence and started the tests. Maths first, then literacy.

The maths was better than I expected, despite one of the questions being something I had never seen before, there was a lot of the things I was confident in. The literacy was lovely! Not just because English is my specialism, but a lot of the words/ideas in the test were those I was familiar with.

Thankfully, I passed both of them.

Tips for passing the QTS skills tests

Literacy

• Practice spelling words you think you would use in your role as a teacher e.g. achieve, unacceptable, liaison.
• Double consonants! Learn where you have to use more than one consonant.
• Revise punctuation rules.
• Make notes during the comprehension reading. It may take time to do, but it does make answering the questions a lot easier.

Maths

• Learn your tables, especially 6,7,8 and 9's.
• Try and use the 24- hour clock in your daily life.
• Read/listen to the questions carefully.
• Read the graphs carefully.
• Ask friends to test you.

• Youtube is your friend, especially for the maths.
• Use the practice tests, they are similar to the real thing.
• Look at the forums on TES and thestudentroom, there is a lot of advice on there (but don't spend hours on end sitting there scaring yourself silly)
• Download some free apps on to your phone.

And most of all... KEEP CALM!!

Introduction: Who, What, When, Where and Why?

Back in December I got an e-mail that has pretty much changed my life.

After leaving university almost three years ago, after a number of difficult personal obstacles and feeling at my lowest, I found myself in a fantastic secondary school working as a mentor for KS3 students. A year later I was taken on as a TA, specialising in ASD. After nearly two years of challenges, tears and triumphs I found myself applying to teacher training courses.

Now, being the pessimist that I am, I didn't exactly expect to get anywhere. But I smiled and nervously withstood the interview processes sharing a few anecdotes, feeling like an idiot for almost rising from my chair while I was talking and even throwing in a little bit of slang (not randomly, for a reason) for good measure. I proved I could recognise a review and peruse a poem all while under the watchful eye of my fellow candidates.

The day ended, I contemplated heading back into work but deciding against it, I headed home. Not four hours later, my inbox pinged and the decision was made.

"I am delighted to tell you, you will soon receive an official offer from the university"

I read the message again three times. It couldn't be true. Me? No. Never. Really?

Then I cried.

I called my friends and family (only one of whom picked up the phone) and I cried some more.

I was filled with elation, uncertainty and purpose, it was finally happening.

So here I am, 172 days away from starting my PGCE in Secondary English.

Working with children has shown me who I am and what I can be... Hopefully I can do the same for them...