Why I love my job

Have just spent a fabulous day with a range of Key Stage 2 children which emphasised just why I want to be a teacher and why I love being with children! We had a Key Stage 2 trip to the local Castle Museum for a Roman day - our topic for this half-term is Romans - and I had a lovely day! As a group we took part in 4 different workshops, and the enthusiasm and engagement of the children underlined for me why I want to spend my days in a classroom - the children loved what they were doing and if I can instil half of that enthusiasm in my lessons I will be very happy.

We had a session on Roman artifacts, another on life as an Iceni, a day as a Roman soldier and a session on making a torc. The children were beautifully behaved and , while I realise that life in a classroom is slightly different, I hope that I will - at some stage - be able to capture the children's imagination as much as they were captured today.

I came away from today with several ideas for lessons and lots of ideas of what appeals to children. Long may it last!

Doing a happy dance....

On Friday evening I received an email from GTTR - the clearing site for PGCE applications - to say that my application had been updated. Cue knot in stomach as I dithered over the login screen - would it be good news or bad? My daughters were sitting next to me threatening to push me out of the way if I didn't log in and find out the answer. And there it was - conditional offer! I will admit I shed a few tears as I was so relieved to get a place (the condition is that I pass my degree - no surprise there). I have today hit the button to formally accept my place on the course so, degree permitting, as from September I will be a full-time student for a year.

Now comes the fun stuff - sorting childcare and finance. Not sure whether my lovely childminder can have both boys before and after school every day, so I may be calling on favours from friends! And, of course, finishing my current module - 1 assignment due in on Thursday then 4 more to go. Oh yes, and we moved back to our house at the weekend, so I'm surrounded by boxes! But at least I've got a connection to the internet again as from today :)

Interview hell!

On Monday I had an interview at the University of East Anglia for a place on their Primary PGCE with French course. I had been dreading it, and my dread was well founded! According to the letter I received, the morning would consist of a conversation in the target language, a written piece in the target language plus an interview, then the afternoon would be an interview, a written piece plus a presentation and group discussion. However, the reality was slightly different!

There were 7 of us for the morning (language) session, and I was the oldest by around 15 years, plus I was the only person wearing a suit! The conversation and interview turned out to be one and the same thing, which threw me somewhat and I ended up blanking when he spoke to me in French. I hope they will realise it was only down to nerves and that I can actually speak French! I think the written task was ok, but given my complete failure on the interview I am no longer very confident.

The afternoon was, I think, better. We were joined by 4 more students for the general PGCE part of the day. I was one of the first in for interview and I think it was ok, but I never know how to interpret the 'hmm, hmm' - is it a good hmm, hmm or a bad hmm, hmm? I managed to answer all the questions, so hope I was saying the right things! I feel as if the book presentation went well - I stuck to my 3 minutes unlike some of the candidates - and joined in the discussion, although admittedly I wasn't the first to speak in the discussion phase unlike the very keen candidate who obviously wanted to stand out. the written task was horrible though - I have no idea if I wrote the right thing.

We were told that if it was a definite no we would hear within 2 weeks, otherwise we would be on a list dependant on the allocation for funding for places. I'm ju't hoping I don't hear anything before Christmas, which would mean I still have a chance!

In other news, it was the last day of term today. Feeling sad as the teacher I work with is leaving to go to another school and I will be working with a supply teacher for next term. There were quite a few tears from the children, but I'm sure they'll soon settle in with a new teacher. Plus I have the opportunity to do some work experience in another school with my former colleague!

Hoping for positive news soon...

A degree at last, plus an interview

Finally, I can say I have a degree! I have received the results of the 3 modules I took this year, and received a pass 2 in my level 3 French and a pass and a distinction in my level 1 German modules. This means that I can claim 3 qualifications from the OU - a Certificate in German, a Diploma in French and a BA (Open). I still need to pass my current Children's Literature module to get the final 60 credits for an Honours degree, but the end is in sight. With my current grades. as long as I get a pass 3 or above for this module, I should still come out with a 2:1, which I will be absolutely delighted with. There is still a lot of work to do though - I'm not finding it to be an easy module as I haven't studied any literature before, but it is interesting, so I'm hoping I can get through it in one piece.

In other news, I have an interview for a place on a Primary PGCE course next week. To say I'm nervous is an understatement! I know I'm not great at interviews, so am doing what I can to try and prepare for the day. Because I am applying for Primary with French, I get a whole day of interviews! French conversation, a French written assessment plus an interview, then the PGCE part - interview, book presentation and group discussion, and another written assessment. This is what the past 3 years have all been about - getting a place on the course to do my teacher training, so there is a lot riding on the interview day.

Must remember to stock up on Rescue Remedy to see me through the day!

The right decision.

I recently spent 2 days at a local high school which has a newly opened International Centre. I wanted to have a look at life in secondary education to make sure that my decision to aim for primary teaching was the right one. Plus I wanted to find out a bit more about what is expected of children's language abilities when they start at high school.

The school was very welcoming and I observed a range of languages and ages. There seemed to be an assumption that the children have no prior language experience which I feel is a shame for those that have had the opportunity to start exploring other languages. However, this school is slightly different from usual as it doesn't have any direct feeder schools - children come from all over the county, the country and overseas, so the school doesn't have the chance to influence their feeder schools that other high schools may have.

The biggest difference I noticed between primary and secondary was the behaviour - some of the pupils had some definite attitude problems! Also the enthusiasm for languages that I have seen in my primary just wasn't there - some of the children seemed keen but others were just not interested at all.

I'm glad I observed the secondary school - it has confirmed to me that primary education is where I want to be. From my (admittedly limited) experience so far, the children in primary are more willing to try new things and have an enthusiasm that seems to be missing once they reach secondary. From the language side, I think that if you can get the children interested in other languages and cultures at an earlier age, they are more likely to carry that interest through high school. If they don't start learning languages until the reach high school, that interest seems to be lacking.

Now, how can I work that into my PGCE personal statement?!

Back to school

I have loved spending the holiday with my children. but I have also loved getting back to work this week. Tuesday was an INSET day, spent mostly sorting out the classroom ready for this year. I have ripped up so many old books this week it is ridiculous! I don't work Wednesdays (at the minute!), so Thursday was my first real time back in school. We have a lovely class this year and I am really looking forward to working with them. I spent most of today sorting the cupboard again, but it was quite therapeutic! I have been asked to take the4 Year 6s for French, which I am really looking forward to. It will be a bit daunting, but I hope I will be able to really improve their language skills by the time they leave next year. I am already looking at how I can refresh what they learnt last year. As from next week I am changing my work days, although I have unfortunately had to turn down some extra hours as I have my OU work to finish.

September is a bit of a mad month - 2 end of course German assessments plus a French dissertation, then a spoken assessment for each course. I am so looking forward to October when I will only have one course on the go (Children's Literature) although I think it is going to be a tough course to pass.

In October I will need to submit my PGCE application. I am spending a couple of days on a high school next week for observation, but know I want to apply for Primary. Just need to make sure my personal statement is up to scratch. Have spoken to my class teacher about looking at his plans and assessment, so I have a bit ore of an idea what I am doing!

It is going to be a busy, but rewarding, few months.

Studying and school holidays don't mix!

Don't get me wrong - I love my children dearly. Yet when I have 3 tutor marker assignments, then three end of course written assignments plus 3 end of course spoken assignments to prepare, my patience is stretched to the limit. Every time I think I have an hour to make some progress I get interrupted for one reason or another. I have one more TMA to submit, then I am on to the end of course assignments - the important bits that will affect my overall degree grade.

I am reasonably confident with my German EMAs - I think I should be able to write enough to get a pass grade. Yet I am very apprehensive about the spoken component of these exams - I have little to no speaking practise!

French is another matter altogether - my continuous assessment has just been enough to get a pass grade 2 overall, but that means I need to get a grade 2 in my written and spoken end of course assessments. That will mean a lot of work between now and October! Lie I said, my children are great but they are not conducive to studying! I need to spend several hours working on my assignments before submission date, plus try to get to the face to face tutorials during September to practise.