PGCE - Current Students Thread

I had another trainee and it was brilliant to have him for support and we bounced ideas off each other and suggested interesting things to be getting on with but then he left and I was quite heartbroken.

I was told yesterday that I'm getting a new lady trainee and now I'm like a child waiting for her baby sister to be born. It means I have to share my office again but ill take less space for somebody in the same position as me any day.

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You have an office???

It's not a big office but it's mine The departmental office is a bit too small to squeeze somebody else into so they cleared out an empty office and put me in there. I still wander out at breaks but it's nice to have my own little bit of space to process stuff in.

In 30 years, I have never had my own office!

I've heard that from a lot of people... I'll have to work on not becoming too attached.

Indeed - you are being spoiled!

It definitely make up for last placement. I didn't have anywhere to work at all while I was there.

Does anyone have another trainee at their school in their department? We have eight trainees at my school, but we are all in different subjects, however my subject mentor told me we are getting someone else in my subject. I don't know how common it is, but it has annoyed me. My mentor only has two frees a week and I struggle to catch her for feedback as it is, without having another trainee to balance that with. I also feel that it will make things competitive.

Don't you have 2 trainees from your University at the same school. We were always put in pairs. We each had our own mentor but at the same school in the same department. Usually we actually got observed by the the oher mentor as well as we took a comination of all the teacher's classes.... I am of course talking about Secondary School.

Yeah I also think its maybe for the best; I really annoyed its due to their mistake though.

Does anyone have another trainee at their school in their department? We have eight trainees at my school, but we are all in different subjects, however my subject mentor told me we are getting someone else in my subject. I don't know how common it is, but it has annoyed me. My mentor only has two frees a week and I struggle to catch her for feedback as it is, without having another trainee to balance that with. I also feel that it will make things competitive.


If you've been signed off you can't go in, so they have no right to require you to, and they should know that. Don't worry, just relax now - you've been signed off, and you have a nice amount of time to do some thinking about what you want to do come September. Sorry that you've been messed around so much, I really feel for you. I hope that you have a better experience if you choose to start afresh!

On my pgce the first placement is paired (primary, we have the same class) and for the second one I had another trainee in the same year group. It was actually really nice to share ideas and experiences, although on the second one we had different classes/mentors which allowed time still.

Xxx

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I second everyone else. Just say you can't go, they can't make you. There is nothing they can do to harm you more!

Also, do whatever you need to to make yourself feel better. This might be going away, going to local events, seeing friends, going for a walk on the beach... Don't feel guilty for living your life and making yourself happy. If you had lost your voice or got a cold people would tell you to take medicine. With this kind of anxiety making yourself happy and relaxed is your medicine and it doesn't invalidate the fact you aren't up to going on to placement etc.



On my pgce the first placement is paired (primary, we have the same class) and for the second one I had another trainee in the same year group. It was actually really nice to share ideas and experiences, although on the second one we had different classes/mentors which allowed time still.

Xxx

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Does anyone have another trainee at their school in their department? We have eight trainees at my school, but we are all in different subjects, however my subject mentor told me we are getting someone else in my subject. I don't know how common it is, but it has annoyed me. My mentor only has two frees a week and I struggle to catch her for feedback as it is, without having another trainee to balance that with. I also feel that it will make things competitive.

I felt like I was reading my own diary when reading some of these comments.

I've lost a lot of my confidence during these past few weeks.

My mentor wrote some informal obs notes for my lessons and she had a page full of everything I did wrong - she didn't even mention one thing I did right, then she started to pick grammar issues out of my PowePoint. My last mentor, gave me the good then things I could improve on a lot of constructive criticism.

She also gave me 3 classes worth of books to mark for her - I felt like a piece of the furniture the way I'm being given these tasks, when I offered a suggestion for one of the lessons the HOD was teaching as a plenary to save her time, she said, can you close my PowerPoint - and went red in the face.

I feel so lost in this school, PCM is sooo weird - was walking down the corridor the other day and he looked at me and switched directions, literally ran! He smiles at all the other staff but not me - before someone says it's in my head - it's not, he was smiling at my mentor and I was standing right next to her, I smiled (I'm generally a smiley person anyway) and he refused to acknowledge my existence.

The kids are actually fine, not a problem, but it's the staff that are putting me off. I am seriously questioning continuing with this although I only have 9 weeks left.. *sighs*

^^ Sound like a right moaner lol - sorry needed a place to vent, don't feel like anyone understands.

I think most people know how that feels. Mentors are a very mixed bag. Some are very supportive and very helpful. While others are not! They seem to think you are a free assistant and a way to boost their own ego by putting you down (if they don't like you). Although it must be said there are more of tbe latter than the latter.

Have you tried speaking to your University about it? I fell out with my mentor on one of my placements. They other trainee with me she loved and me... well she didn't like me from the start. I don't know why. I think because unlike the other trainee I was very different to her personality wise.
...Anyway, one Friday evening it became too much and I phone the lecturer in charge of the placements saying it was too much and I didn't think I could keep doing this. He was very nice and helpful. Firstly he gave me some advice to deal with the situation and arranged a 'Supportive Visit'. It was useful and summed it up. It was no where near a good lesson at all! However the lady who came in to visit from the Uni (I had never met her before), gave was kind and said it wasn't the best but it was OK. She said I would be fine. She gave me great advice and said if I just cut down the time of my introduction at the start the rest would fall into place.

It completely summed it up when she asked to see my lesson plan because it was with my mentor. I was feeling happy and confident (for the first time in ages), saw my mentor who chucked the lesson plan at me and said "that was a disaster, wasn't it?"!!! I didn't see her for 2 days after that.

Again, I know that expecting the world to be fair is a rather naive attitude but surely they must have been in our shoes once upon a time - since when has "that was pure garbage" ever helped shape a good teacher.

Me too. I've been working most of the day today and have an essay to do tomorrow. I'm just on auto-pilot now to get through this thing. I'm not even phased by my bad classes now as I have switched off emotionally and know I won't have to see them again next year.