PGCE - Current Students Thread
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Original post by Ratchit99
Ok guys, quick bummer post.
So im half way through my pgce, in the middle of writing my first 4k essay for it and about to start second placement so stressed enough as it is...you know what i didnt need, to find a lump on christmas eve...some of you ladies might appreciate the stress that comes from that freakin tiny discovery...not the best start to the new year to have the doc refer you to the local specialist ward for further checks while trying to reassure you...freakin joy....
So im half way through my pgce, in the middle of writing my first 4k essay for it and about to start second placement so stressed enough as it is...you know what i didnt need, to find a lump on christmas eve...some of you ladies might appreciate the stress that comes from that freakin tiny discovery...not the best start to the new year to have the doc refer you to the local specialist ward for further checks while trying to reassure you...freakin joy....
I'm sorry to hear that. I know it will have already been said but try not to panic u til you know more. Hopefully it will be something benign. X
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Original post by Ratchit99
Ok guys, quick bummer post.
So im half way through my pgce, in the middle of writing my first 4k essay for it and about to start second placement so stressed enough as it is...you know what i didnt need, to find a lump on christmas eve...some of you ladies might appreciate the stress that comes from that freakin tiny discovery...not the best start to the new year to have the doc refer you to the local specialist ward for further checks while trying to reassure you...freakin joy....
So im half way through my pgce, in the middle of writing my first 4k essay for it and about to start second placement so stressed enough as it is...you know what i didnt need, to find a lump on christmas eve...some of you ladies might appreciate the stress that comes from that freakin tiny discovery...not the best start to the new year to have the doc refer you to the local specialist ward for further checks while trying to reassure you...freakin joy....
Oh crap. Sorry to hear this. I can relate to you knowing the worry that comes with finding a lump! Hopefully it will be nothing, best to get it checked.
Remember, this PGCE might seem like the most important thing in the world right now, but nothing is more important than your health. That always comes first.
Hope your check up goes well. xx
Original post by Airfairy
Oh crap. Sorry to hear this. I can relate to you knowing the worry that comes with finding a lump! Hopefully it will be nothing, best to get it checked.
Remember, this PGCE might seem like the most important thing in the world right now, but nothing is more important than your health. That always comes first.
Hope your check up goes well. xx
Remember, this PGCE might seem like the most important thing in the world right now, but nothing is more important than your health. That always comes first.
Hope your check up goes well. xx
Thanks hun, thankfully its high priority so ive been told under 2 weeks for an appt which is basically the time until my second placement starts so i should have a better idea of the situe by then. Just staying positive( as much as you can!)
Does anyone here have mentors who don't trust them to take over their year 10/11's to prep for exams?
I don't know why my heart just sank a bit when my mentor said she's taking them for the next 3-4 lessons because they have exams and she told them that I'm a trainee teacher in my absence a few weeks ago.
I think they don't really like me and have said to her we would rather you take us for lessons tbh but they've had her since the beginning so that's natural right?
Am I being too hard on myself? I have tried to be interactive and build a relationship of trust with them it has improved from before but I still think there is a way to go, with 4 weeks left on the placement I shouldn't be beating myself up but I am because I thought I was doing pretty well (from feedback they have given and other staff have told me theyve said good stuff about me too) until now..
I don't know why my heart just sank a bit when my mentor said she's taking them for the next 3-4 lessons because they have exams and she told them that I'm a trainee teacher in my absence a few weeks ago.
I think they don't really like me and have said to her we would rather you take us for lessons tbh but they've had her since the beginning so that's natural right?
Am I being too hard on myself? I have tried to be interactive and build a relationship of trust with them it has improved from before but I still think there is a way to go, with 4 weeks left on the placement I shouldn't be beating myself up but I am because I thought I was doing pretty well (from feedback they have given and other staff have told me theyve said good stuff about me too) until now..
(edited 9 years ago)
Original post by Ratchit99
Thanks hun, thankfully its high priority so ive been told under 2 weeks for an appt which is basically the time until my second placement starts so i should have a better idea of the situe by then. Just staying positive( as much as you can!)
Hope everything goes well for you - as airfairy said nothing is more important than your health, and I need to take this advise on board too but seriously, health comes first. Let us know what happens.
Original post by Ratchit99
Thanks hun, thankfully its high priority so ive been told under 2 weeks for an appt which is basically the time until my second placement starts so i should have a better idea of the situe by then. Just staying positive( as much as you can!)
I second what everyone says, heath first. Make sure you tell your uni if you feel happy to share and feel it's affecting work... They should understand and take it in to consideration.
Original post by Sam89
Does anyone here have mentors who don't trust them to take over their year 10/11's to prep for exams?
I don't know why my heart just sank a bit when my mentor said she's taking them for the next 3-4 lessons because they have exams and she told them that I'm a trainee teacher in my absence a few weeks ago.
I think they don't really like me and have said to her we would rather you take us for lessons tbh but they've had her since the beginning so that's natural right?
Am I being too hard on myself? I have tried to be interactive and build a relationship of trust with them it has improved from before but I still think there is a way to go, with 4 weeks left on the placement I shouldn't be beating myself up but I am because I thought I was doing pretty well (from feedback they have given and other staff have told me theyve said good stuff about me too) until now..
I don't know why my heart just sank a bit when my mentor said she's taking them for the next 3-4 lessons because they have exams and she told them that I'm a trainee teacher in my absence a few weeks ago.
I think they don't really like me and have said to her we would rather you take us for lessons tbh but they've had her since the beginning so that's natural right?
Am I being too hard on myself? I have tried to be interactive and build a relationship of trust with them it has improved from before but I still think there is a way to go, with 4 weeks left on the placement I shouldn't be beating myself up but I am because I thought I was doing pretty well (from feedback they have given and other staff have told me theyve said good stuff about me too) until now..
Her saying you were a trainee aside...
Remind yourself of where you are in training. You aren't even expected to fully meet the teacher's standards until the end of NQT year, so even if you're doing very well you're still not going to be as good at teaching yet as your mentor, assuming your mentor has kept up high standards since qualifying. So the fact she (or they, if in fact they have requested her back) would prefer she teach the pre exam lessons, as these exams can affect the entire lives of hose pupils. They can still think you're good and she is better! And if you've heard good stuff then you're probably doing very well, so just enjoy the last weeks of placement and a chance to help out those pupils with exams.
Xxx
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Original post by Sam89
Does anyone here have mentors who don't trust them to take over their year 10/11's to prep for exams?
I don't know why my heart just sank a bit when my mentor said she's taking them for the next 3-4 lessons because they have exams and she told them that I'm a trainee teacher in my absence a few weeks ago.
I think they don't really like me and have said to her we would rather you take us for lessons tbh but they've had her since the beginning so that's natural right?
Am I being too hard on myself? I have tried to be interactive and build a relationship of trust with them it has improved from before but I still think there is a way to go, with 4 weeks left on the placement I shouldn't be beating myself up but I am because I thought I was doing pretty well (from feedback they have given and other staff have told me theyve said good stuff about me too) until now..
I don't know why my heart just sank a bit when my mentor said she's taking them for the next 3-4 lessons because they have exams and she told them that I'm a trainee teacher in my absence a few weeks ago.
I think they don't really like me and have said to her we would rather you take us for lessons tbh but they've had her since the beginning so that's natural right?
Am I being too hard on myself? I have tried to be interactive and build a relationship of trust with them it has improved from before but I still think there is a way to go, with 4 weeks left on the placement I shouldn't be beating myself up but I am because I thought I was doing pretty well (from feedback they have given and other staff have told me theyve said good stuff about me too) until now..
I'm going on second placenent after the weekend - thankfully only for 7 weeks as I'm on school direct - and I was basically told on my visit that they don't want me teaching KS4 for this reason... I was also advised the class had been told I was a trainee. Feeling incredibly anxious. Seems silly as I had a y11 group last term..! How long are you with the school for?
Original post by kpwxx
Her saying you were a trainee aside...
Remind yourself of where you are in training. You aren't even expected to fully meet the teacher's standards until the end of NQT year, so even if you're doing very well you're still not going to be as good at teaching yet as your mentor, assuming your mentor has kept up high standards since qualifying. So the fact she (or they, if in fact they have requested her back) would prefer she teach the pre exam lessons, as these exams can affect the entire lives of hose pupils. They can still think you're good and she is better! And if you've heard good stuff then you're probably doing very well, so just enjoy the last weeks of placement and a chance to help out those pupils with exams.
Xxx
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Her saying you were a trainee aside...
Remind yourself of where you are in training. You aren't even expected to fully meet the teacher's standards until the end of NQT year, so even if you're doing very well you're still not going to be as good at teaching yet as your mentor, assuming your mentor has kept up high standards since qualifying. So the fact she (or they, if in fact they have requested her back) would prefer she teach the pre exam lessons, as these exams can affect the entire lives of hose pupils. They can still think you're good and she is better! And if you've heard good stuff then you're probably doing very well, so just enjoy the last weeks of placement and a chance to help out those pupils with exams.
Xxx
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Thank you! You always give constructive and useful advise, for which I am very grateful, you are right if I put everything into context it does affect their whole lives essentially.
Original post by Bobble1987
I'm going on second placenent after the weekend - thankfully only for 7 weeks as I'm on school direct - and I was basically told on my visit that they don't want me teaching KS4 for this reason... I was also advised the class had been told I was a trainee. Feeling incredibly anxious. Seems silly as I had a y11 group last term..! How long are you with the school for?
Oh, good, it's normal then! Only 4 more weeks, then off to the next one. My PCM did say to us that if you feel anyone is undermining your authority and she specifically said they're not supposed to tell the pupils you're a trainee, we should come to her but tbh I cba there's only a few weeks left best to buckle up and go along with it!
Original post by Sam89
you are right if I put everything into context it does affect their whole lives essentially.
Agree with kpwxx, as always. I wouldn't leave my year 11s to a student because the time to get it right is so limited, it matters so much for these kids, and all the flak would land on me if it went wrong. Sounds harsh, but it's true. It's not a time for them to be guinea pigs. You will have plenty of time to have your own exam classes in the future, and when you do, you will start from scratch with them, get to know them over a long period of time and have learned what needs to be done long before the crunch time comes when it is going to matter. Don't take offence.
Original post by Sam89
Does anyone here have mentors who don't trust them to take over their year 10/11's to prep for exams?
I don't know why my heart just sank a bit when my mentor said she's taking them for the next 3-4 lessons because they have exams and she told them that I'm a trainee teacher in my absence a few weeks ago.
I think they don't really like me and have said to her we would rather you take us for lessons tbh but they've had her since the beginning so that's natural right?
Am I being too hard on myself? I have tried to be interactive and build a relationship of trust with them it has improved from before but I still think there is a way to go, with 4 weeks left on the placement I shouldn't be beating myself up but I am because I thought I was doing pretty well (from feedback they have given and other staff have told me theyve said good stuff about me too) until now..
I don't know why my heart just sank a bit when my mentor said she's taking them for the next 3-4 lessons because they have exams and she told them that I'm a trainee teacher in my absence a few weeks ago.
I think they don't really like me and have said to her we would rather you take us for lessons tbh but they've had her since the beginning so that's natural right?
Am I being too hard on myself? I have tried to be interactive and build a relationship of trust with them it has improved from before but I still think there is a way to go, with 4 weeks left on the placement I shouldn't be beating myself up but I am because I thought I was doing pretty well (from feedback they have given and other staff have told me theyve said good stuff about me too) until now..
Of course you're being way too hard on yourself...
It varies from school to school too what they want trainees to do.
I didn't teach anything above KS3 in my first placement.
Original post by Sam89
Oh, good, it's normal then! Only 4 more weeks, then off to the next one. My PCM did say to us that if you feel anyone is undermining your authority and she specifically said they're not supposed to tell the pupils you're a trainee, we should come to her but tbh I cba there's only a few weeks left best to buckle up and go along with it!
Oh, good, it's normal then! Only 4 more weeks, then off to the next one. My PCM did say to us that if you feel anyone is undermining your authority and she specifically said they're not supposed to tell the pupils you're a trainee, we should come to her but tbh I cba there's only a few weeks left best to buckle up and go along with it!
I think it's pretty normal. Even at primary level some schools will be reluctant to allow trainees to teach Y6 because of exams. I wouldn't take it personally. As for your mentor telling the kids, they are teens and teens are nosy. They probably would have figured it out anyway; if anything, she's saved you a few lessons of gossiping/speculation.
Yeah I only taught one year 10 lesson in my first placement. I think it's normal to not get to teach any - that's what my uni have suggested anyway. What does annoy me though is that people have such varied experiences. A few of my friends have taught loads of KS4 and 5 lessons, whereas I've taught practically none. It's a shame they will get to put that on job applications when I can't. I know that's just how it is with PGCEs though - the whole thing is really varied.
It's totally normal for you not to get Y11 so I wouldn't worry about it too much. My first PGCE placement was in an upper school (14-18) so I had to have KS4, but they gave me 3 Year 10 classes and 1 Year 11 class which was a bottom set NVQ group so didn't have to prepare for the same exams as the rest of Y11.
That said, I don't think your school has handled it particularly well, by giving you them and then taking you off them at this point - I can see how you feel undermined by it, even if it wasn't intentional.
It would have been better to plan for this from the start when they did your timetable. They could have not given you any Y11 GCSE groups, or arranged for you to share the group (eg: teaching them for 1 lesson per week) to give you some experience whilst minimising the impact on pupils.
That said, I don't think your school has handled it particularly well, by giving you them and then taking you off them at this point - I can see how you feel undermined by it, even if it wasn't intentional.
It would have been better to plan for this from the start when they did your timetable. They could have not given you any Y11 GCSE groups, or arranged for you to share the group (eg: teaching them for 1 lesson per week) to give you some experience whilst minimising the impact on pupils.
Original post by tory88
Any advice on applying for NQT positions? When do most positions become available - I've heard both January and Easter bandied around? I don't really feel developed enough to be applying to those positions yet, but I don't want to miss the boat on getting a school I like.
Jobs start appearing in January but the real flood start appearing around March. I started applying in January and went to 7 interviews before getting a job. Most of the time I was turned down in favour of a more experienced candidate (or so they told me...).
Thankyou all!
You stars - I appreciate everything everyone has said, this support is really important to me, I don't really have anyone who would understand what a trainee goes through, recently my uncle said to me "oh what are you stressed about - ticking a few boxes" and that really stuck with me for a while - so it's nice to hear all of the above.
Especially now when I am likely to criticize myself and think negatively, I'm grateful to you all and it's reassuring to hear similar responses
You stars - I appreciate everything everyone has said, this support is really important to me, I don't really have anyone who would understand what a trainee goes through, recently my uncle said to me "oh what are you stressed about - ticking a few boxes" and that really stuck with me for a while - so it's nice to hear all of the above.
Especially now when I am likely to criticize myself and think negatively, I'm grateful to you all and it's reassuring to hear similar responses
Just to respond to two of the recent questions/problems:
Applying for jobs: as others have said, February-May was red hot in terms of them coming out. I had my first interview in March and luckily got the job but I had a few others lined up for the same week which I obviously then pulled out of. Everyone on the course pretty much got their jobs during those months. About 3 out of 25 didn't have jobs lined up until June or July. I'd advise to apply to any school that seems realistic in terms of where you live and look at the school's Ofsted report. Not only will it aid your application as you can quote from the report to show you've actually done some research but it will give you some indication of what the school was/is like. This may put you off a bit before you get invited for an interview - on the day if you get a bad vibe then you definitely know it isn't for you and you can make that clear.
To the person who had their year 10 class taken off them - that happened to me during my second placement as well. Not explicitly but I taught about 3 lessons with that class then my mentor said she'd teach them the next day and I never took them again...I never taught year 11-13 on either placement. I was pretty much just key stage 3 on the PGCE. I think this is fairly normal. It didn't hinder my application for jobs in any way - the schools you apply to aren't going to ask your mentor what classes you've been teaching - they just want to see you've had some experience of dealing with different pupils/sets/SEN pupils etc.
To all PGCE students, enjoy the last few weeks of your first placement - it's exciting seeing which school you get sent to next and the second placement absolutely flies by because of the short terms.
Applying for jobs: as others have said, February-May was red hot in terms of them coming out. I had my first interview in March and luckily got the job but I had a few others lined up for the same week which I obviously then pulled out of. Everyone on the course pretty much got their jobs during those months. About 3 out of 25 didn't have jobs lined up until June or July. I'd advise to apply to any school that seems realistic in terms of where you live and look at the school's Ofsted report. Not only will it aid your application as you can quote from the report to show you've actually done some research but it will give you some indication of what the school was/is like. This may put you off a bit before you get invited for an interview - on the day if you get a bad vibe then you definitely know it isn't for you and you can make that clear.
To the person who had their year 10 class taken off them - that happened to me during my second placement as well. Not explicitly but I taught about 3 lessons with that class then my mentor said she'd teach them the next day and I never took them again...I never taught year 11-13 on either placement. I was pretty much just key stage 3 on the PGCE. I think this is fairly normal. It didn't hinder my application for jobs in any way - the schools you apply to aren't going to ask your mentor what classes you've been teaching - they just want to see you've had some experience of dealing with different pupils/sets/SEN pupils etc.
To all PGCE students, enjoy the last few weeks of your first placement - it's exciting seeing which school you get sent to next and the second placement absolutely flies by because of the short terms.
I'm getting real nervous about my second placement. I had RIs across all the TS for my first placement. I have so much to improve on, I just can't see myself applying for jobs in the next month or two.
Original post by Red Lightning
I'm getting real nervous about my second placement. I had RIs across all the TS for my first placement. I have so much to improve on, I just can't see myself applying for jobs in the next month or two.
Don't worry about jobs, they will start in the next couple of months but carry on until the summer (and even beyond). They won't be looking for a fully formed teacher but even so you don't have to apply till you feel you're ready.
Xx
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Original post by kpwxx
Don't worry about jobs, they will start in the next couple of months but carry on until the summer (and even beyond). They won't be looking for a fully formed teacher but even so you don't have to apply till you feel you're ready.
Xx
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Xx
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This. I got mine in June after loads of applications and two interviews. My applications were rejected left, right and centre but there's so many jobs out there, you just gotta remain patient. Even if you don't get it right away, never give up. If worse comes to worse, you can always do supply. But don't think about that just yet!
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Uni is soooooo boring and utterly unhelpful. I feel like I've gone back 5 steps as a teacher since the end of placement.
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