dd student teacher placement Update post 36****

[nonnie]

Thanks Lola, I’ll pass that on, she does Panto every year and is the junior cast director. She always said that being in Panto has helped her as sometimes it’s like being in character in front of the kids and as you say the appearance of confidence works wonders, thanks again xx

[duchy]

I spent a year as a TA whilst deciding if I wanted to return to uni to qualify as a teacher.
Some schools are awful , very unsupportive, others are great.
I’ve had the dumping of problems with no warning on me too, it’s not nice . I’ve also been put in the position of bumping into a head of department who asked me to go into a class where a supply teacher wasn’t coping (I didn’t mind and was able to get things back on track for her, the kids knew I knew who they were and that I wouldn’t stand for it) , and the hideously embarrassing walking into a classroom that appeared unsupervised with a minor riot going on , letting rip and getting them all back to their desks and stopping the footballs been kicked around , then realising there was a supply teacher sitting there (I apologised and got a “no,no, thank you so mucH”)
Kids see new teachers or new faces as easy game and poor schools let them get away with it .
Best advice I ever heard was , start firm with no nonsense , you can always ease up later but if you start soft , you have nowhere to go... oh and never let them see you are rattled, fake it til you make it . Both worked for me with very challenging situations , I loved my time there , the only thing that stopped me entering the profession was the realisation I had no taste for school politics .
EDIT I completely get the “on stage” thing , spot on

[sueandco]

Not a teacher but both my brother and daughter are and they say the same from the moment you walk in to that classroom you own it. It is your classroom and they WILL follow your rules or there are consequences. They both agree the students smell weakness, indecision or lack of confidence and will capitalise on it. Hope you daughter gets better support in her next placement.

[Twin mummy]

Totally agree with previous comments. I often try to keep them guessing- so if they expect me to shout I am very calm and quiet. Show you are genuine, many poorly behaved pupils are testing the boundaries as they are so used to being let down. Praise, praise praise/ it’s the old thing about catching them being good. High expectations and feign disappointment when they don’t reach them. Totally agree that it’s an act.

Part of me is worried that I’ll have lost it after 6 months out of face to face teaching and another part is sure that they will be so pleased to be back in a classroom that it will be a breeze.

Please reassure your daughter that even the most experienced of us can find a difficult class hard- I now see it as a challenge and usually they become my favourite ones to teach.

[joanna23]

There’s a lady on Instagram and Twitter who has recorded a series of videos. I think she’s brilliant.

Lisa Miller Education.

Completely agree with all the other suggestions people have given. Will have a read through them myself again. Pre-night nerves!

[Neep]

The Paul Dix book previously mentioned - which you have bought is a good call. Relationships are key in this. Getting to know names and who your focus should be on. Use the school behaviour/ relationships policy. Control the entry and exit of pupils and the room. Build the routines you expect and be consistent. Don’t be on your own. Use the faculty team or good listeners in the staff room.

[Twin mummy]

One of the things to think about this year is how you ‘control the classroom’ when it might not be your space or your seating plan.

I’m used to ‘my room’ I control entry and exit, I set behaviour expectations from the off and I sort out a seating plan that works for me.
This year I’m in 13 different classrooms, the students are likely to be in the room before me (especially if I’m haring from one side of the school to the other) and the seating plan is a general one that is set.
This throws up extra class management issues that need thinking about- both generally by the school and by individual teachers. We are expecting pupils to be ready and working quietly with pre given activities- we need to think about the rewards and sanctions that will be in place and how we set high expectations. I’d suggest that when your daughter goes into her new placement she really looks at how teachers are managing this (if it happens in her school).

[levtweeney]

Hi, what an awful experience, how are we supposed to get new teachers in to the profession with these experiences. My heart goes out to her as there is no fear like having to teach under a cloud of fear and intimidation, it is virtually impossible to do.

My best bit of advice would be to get your daughter to ask for a mentor. We do this at our school and I’ve actually been a mentor to 7 or 8 PGCE and NQT students. This is vital for the development of a trainee teacher. Your daughter needs someone she can go to, to get the help she needs with “that class” or “ that pupil” She needs to be able to get the advice for each situation she may face from someone who knows her strengths and weaknesses in the classroom. Not from her department would be preferable so their not caught up within department machinations. I’ve been mentor to two PE teachers, one Maths teacher, one English teacher and a Music teacher. One of the PE teachers is now on our SLT and he still tells everyone I’m his mentor hahaha 😂

If the school does not offer this then I would ask for one on an unofficial basis. We all need someone to vent too or get help from and this is even more so for a trainee. I’m sending good luck to your DD and hope she makes it through. It really is the best job in the world but by god it can be a toughy at times.

[nonnie]

Originally Posted by duchy

I spent a year as a TA whilst deciding if I wanted to return to uni to qualify as a teacher.
Some schools are awful , very unsupportive, others are great.
I’ve had the dumping of problems with no warning on me too, it’s not nice . I’ve also been put in the position of bumping into a head of department who asked me to go into a class where a supply teacher wasn’t coping (I didn’t mind and was able to get things back on track for her, the kids knew I knew who they were and that I wouldn’t stand for it) , and the hideously embarrassing walking into a classroom that appeared unsupervised with a minor riot going on , letting rip and getting them all back to their desks and stopping the footballs been kicked around , then realising there was a supply teacher sitting there (I apologised and got a “no,no, thank you so mucH”)
Kids see new teachers or new faces as easy game and poor schools let them get away with it .
Best advice I ever heard was , start firm with no nonsense , you can always ease up later but if you start soft , you have nowhere to go... oh and never let them see you are rattled, fake it til you make it . Both worked for me with very challenging situations , I loved my time there , the only thing that stopped me entering the profession was the realisation I had no taste for school politics .
EDIT I completely get the “on stage” thing , spot on

See more...

Thanks Duchy that’s really helpful, she tried so hard to fake it with this one particular class. She was told to drill them constantly or they would walk all over her, she did this and failed the crit being told that she was too hard on them. She was damned if she did or didn’t unfortunately, the class was referred to as the worst class by staff, I won’t say what they actually called them, her other classes were what I would class as average, some good, some challenging, just what you’d expect and she was fine with that.

I think though with all the helpful comments the lovely dibbers have given it will give her a much needed boost her to get through xx

[nonnie]

Originally Posted by sueandco

Not a teacher but both my brother and daughter are and they say the same from the moment you walk in to that classroom you own it. It is your classroom and they WILL follow your rules or there are consequences. They both agree the students smell weakness, indecision or lack of confidence and will capitalise on it. Hope you daughter gets better support in her next placement.

See more...

I’m sure your so right about smelling weakness, hopefully if the staff are actually supportive at the next school that will make a world of difference, thank you! xx