Day One
- I spent all day with the year 3's, consisting of only 10 in the class there were plenty of chances to get very 'hands on'. What opened my eyes most about the day was how quickly time can go in a lesson for young children... by the time they have got out their books and pencil cases ten minutes of the lesson has already passed. Short lessons of 40 mins at this school meant things seemed to fly by!
- The children in the class were incredibly bright for those of a 7 or 8 year old, it was wrong of me to go in with expectations of their level of intelligence but I did expect a lot lower than what was shown to me.
- Throughout the day it became very clear that teaching dance was very similar to teaching curriculum based things.... for example similarities included lots of repetition, discipline firm but fair, explaining things very slowly and making all lessons seem fun to the children so they can learn to their best efforts.
- I thoroughly enjoyed spending the day with year three because I have taught children of a similar age in dance and I am used to ways in which they do things. I do think it is very apparent at this school though that the children are taught to 'love to learn' perhaps even by their parents as they are the ones paying the fees.
- The day was very long starting at 8.30 and ending at 5.15 for those children doing extra curricular activities.
- At the end of the day what was most rewarding was the children running up and giving me a hug and not wanting me to leave as they knew I would be with a different year group the following day. It just goes to show how much things or a person can impact a child's day and that even though they are young they have an incredible memory name wise and can become very attached very easily!!
Day Two
- Even though I am only interested in primary it was nice to see parts of the Junior sector today. I spent most of the day with the year 6 students who are aged around 10 and 11. It was amazing to see the jump in age and how much they can develop from just starting at junior school to almost the end of their time at junior school. The students were a lot more independent and didn't need as much help the difference with older students is they will always attempt their work before asking whereas younger children tend to ask for help first.
- I also personally feel that at this school the younger students enjoy the learning experience more than the older years, I felt that the teachers of the young years delivered their education to the students in a fun way whereas the older years cannot have the fun and excitement of games and things because they then feel that the teacher is treating them like a baby. This then can make the learning experience for older children boring. This is something I am going to bear in mind if I ever teach the older sector of a school, is to keep things new and exciting but at the same way not too patronising.
Day Three
- Today had been my favourite day of the week so far! I spent all day with Year 1, the age group I am more interested in teaching in the future. The children were in awe that a new teacher was going to be spending all day with them and they couldn't wait to show me their skills. When the main teacher asked who wanted to read to me, all their hands shot up in the air! This enthusiasm is just not there with the older children and it becomes more of a chore for them.
- Simple tasks like eating their school dinner was a learning experience as these are the age groups where manners need to be taught so the whole day becomes a teaching experience.
- PE was a great lesson for me to observe as the lesson was delivered with fun games. The children forgot that they were being active and keeping fit because they were having so much fun playing the games given to them. This is a great thing to hold onto and remember for when I go into teaching- is to try and make the children forget they are learning by delivering their education in a way they really enjoy.
Day Four
- The hardest day of the week so far was today due to the fact I was with the most challenging children of the school - RECEPTION
- Only age 4 and 5 they are at the most important stage of their life learning the basics of everything from the alphabet to numbers. Without this foundation knowledge they can't move onto anything else. Therefore when teaching this age group it's vital you can be in control as children of this age can lack focus. The day was a lot more free in terms of lesson structure as it was very bitty and time had to be allowed for them to play and refresh so they aren't learning too much within the day.
- It was a great day to observe as the children learnt life lessons from them being naughty. Discipline for them needs to be more of a telling off and it has to be an explanation. For example- one little girl pushed a girl into a bench so she banged her head, the little girl refused to say sorry and this event leaded onto the teacher sitting all the children down and explaining why it is important to say sorry. After the explanation the little girl went over and did eventually apologise. This was a major life lesson for all the children to see.
- The day definitely didn't put me off teaching reception age, I think it is such a rewarding year group to teach. The teacher showed me the children's work books and it was amazing to see the transition from September (the start of the year) to now (halfway through the year) at the start they were only writing shapes that were barely readable and now they are writing full words and can sound them out and spell them. As a teacher to look back and see that must be so rewarding.
Day Five
- Because I had enjoyed the primary sector so much this week I spent the last day of my week placement with Year 2 so I had covered all ages of the Key Stage 1 and early years learning.
- Again the transition in maturity is incredible to see, it was most noticeable in their writing and reading skills. Throughout the day it was also nice to walk in corridors and see children from other year groups I had spent the day with shouting 'Miss Sampson' and remembering who I was and the younger children being so sad that i wasn't with them and that I was with Year 2 instead.
The whole experience has confirmed that this is definitely the right pathway for me to take in the future and I can't wait to get started. I got the chance to speak to a lot of teachers about their career pathway into teaching and it confirmed my ideas that a PGCE full time route was the quickest way into it and the most fitting for me. I originally wanted to do School Direct but this is a long process and the teacher's said even though a PGCE is a lot of coursework, once done it is the best thing to have when finding a job. The best part of the week was that they said they would have me back for when I am doing my placements on a PGCE and that to me meant a lot! Even though I worked for free the whole week I would do it again! I highly recommend anyone who wants to go into teaching should try a week in a school of an age they want to teach and see if it is for them as it is so different when you are actually placed in the environment!
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