Hello, need some advice ASAP!! I have just started my PGCE in Drama and have been at my first placement for almost three weeks now. Although my specialism is Drama, the university has placed me in a school without a Drama teacher; and without a Drama department in fact. My subject mentor is a Music teacher, who runs a two-man department of Music and Performing Arts. After observing and assisting lessons for the past couple of weeks I have came to the conclusion that I should not have been placed at this school at all. There are absolutely NO lessons dedicated to Drama, Key Stage three have Music for half of the year and Key Stage four can opt for Performing Arts GCSE which is a combination of Dance, Drama and Music (generally singing). The sixth form also offers A-level Performing Arts and Btec Music, where there are no more than 8 pupils in each class. The Performing Arts qualification allows the pupils to choose a discipline to perform, so generally in each class there is only typically one pupil or one small group focussing on Drama.
I have spoken to a mentor at university, and he agreed that I shouldn’t be there. I compiled a list of local schools with Drama departments for the university to contact to see if they could get me moved to another school. However, my university mentor has now sent an email out to myself and the school arranging my first observation visit; which tells me that the university are choosing not to move me anymore.
I am really upset and frustrated over this because I feel that all of the other university students are at an advantage than me, as I am the only person that is at a school without a Drama department. Your subject mentor is meant to be someone who you can go to for advice related to your subject and should be basically an ‘expert’ in your specialism – which I do not have. My biggest worry is that when it comes down to taking over the classes, how am I meant to do that? The pupils are not taught any skills they are literally just told to make up a performance and write up about it. I cannot see any opportunity for me to teach a dedicated Drama lesson at all! I am getting that stressed over it that I don’t even want to continue with the course if they do not move me. I haven’t spoken to the school teachers here so they do not know that I have an issue at the moment, as I’ve thought there is no point mentioning it as I thought I would be moving schools by now and I don’t see how they can resolve the issue for me as they are not exactly going to change their whole curriculum for me.
I need advice on what I should do next with this issue. I don’t really know how to tackle this problem as I feel like I’m kicking up a fuss; but at the end of the day I have paid £9000 to be a Drama trainee and at the moment I haven’t experienced this at all. What’s more is if I have to stay at this placement until February, and then when I get to my second placement the secondary school would be expecting me to be knowledgeable, experienced and prepared from my previous placement which I will not be. Please help!