Firstly I must apologise for not making a new post for what seems like an eternity! I’ve been very busy at university and I’ve actually seen my friends recently!
Finishing at School 2 was a rather joyful occasion. I was so excited on my last day! They didn’t seem to fussed that I was leaving – even my mentor didn’t realise it was my last day. But I went out and celebrated with my non-teacher friends in the evening. I really feel I owe so much to them. They’ve put up with not seeing me for ages and have been very supportive through Facebook. And I’ve always known I can call them for a chat or a cry! Crying is something I did a lot at School 2. Whether it was because of the pupils or the teachers I’m not sure.
We’ve done a lot of work on Learning Outside the Classroom at university recently. This could be because it’s a key research area for some of our tutors! But it also provided a bit of relaxation time for us trainees. I say relaxation, but it’s been mighty stressful – I didn’t realise how draining it is to not only plan activities but also to supervise pupils for five hours straight. We were asked at the end of each day how we felt – “shattered” was the general concensus! During teaching practice we felt emotional drained – this was physically draining.
We spent three days at Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew and three days at the Natural History Museum. One day was for orientation/familiarisation, one day was for planning and the final day was with pupils. The pupils we had at Kew were ones we’d never met before and the ones at Natural History Museum were ones from School 1 – it was lovely to see them and David! It reminded me of how good I had it before, before I became cynical and lost all confidence in myself. I’ve always doubted the educational value of school trips – when I was at school, I just liked the shop! But now I’ve realised that the “educational value” only applies when you’re applying for permission or funding – it really is important that pupils see you outside the classroom and that they can have fun once in a while!
I must admit that I think I enjoyed Kew much more than the pupils did! The last time I went to Kew Gardens was when I was in Year 7 – nearly eleven years ago! And I thought it was boring – plants were boring. To me, plants were green, some had flowers. Only by studying some plants at Kew in depth have I realised just how incredible some of them are – how they’ve adapted to their different enviroments is amazing. And some are just beautiful. I hope I never revert back to thinking: “Plants are green, some have flowers.” I hope I always see them for the awesome things they are.
I start at Penguin High in a few weeks’ time and I’m really nervous. I’m just worried that School 2 anihilated my teaching ability and I’m going to sink. I’m also worried that I’ll get a reputation as a bad teacher before I “really” start in September. I suppose the key is to be harsh now and ease off later if necessary.
So although on paper I haven’t finished my teacher training, the hard work is over. I can’t believe I survived. The last four months have been the hardest of my life, much harder than when I was doing my Master’s! One of my friends is thinking about doing teacher training and I don’t want him too because I love him too much and don’t want him to go through the hell I’ve been through. And I’ve heard that the NWT year is harder. Wish me luck!
