It must help but being on placement it's difficult to have the chance to visit.(Original post by pgce2013)
Aww don't worry, don't let it bug you. You made it to the interview stage and were shortlisted. It happens, head up - I'm sure you will get a job.
BTW just some advice and a thing I have noted - visiting a school before applying helps and puts you in good stead, I know of a few people who have jobs and all who visited the school before hand.
That said I am in need of my own advice - I need to apply - just don't have the will power or energy.
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I've lost the will to apply. Wrote so many over Easter and not got one reply - losing my motivation. But I'm gonna grind it out somehow. I have to.
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qwerty_mad
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- 29-04-2014 21:22
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- 29-04-2014 21:23
(Original post by outlaw-torn)
They chose the guy with the better interview over me. Gutted isn't even the word
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- 29-04-2014 22:40
(Original post by outlaw-torn)
They chose the guy with the better interview over me. Gutted isn't even the word
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If it makes you feel any better, I had about 10 interviews before I got a job!
You were shortlisted and made it to the end of the process (at some interviews they send people home halfway through!) so don't feel too bad. Ask for feedback from them and try to improve on the points they say.
One tips I found worked for me was to, at the end of the interview, say a few sentences about why you really want to work at the school and how you feel you'll fit in based on the day etc. It ends on a really positive note and shows passion for the job! -
outlaw-torn
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- 29-04-2014 22:47
(Original post by Shelly_x)
Sorry to hear this
If it makes you feel any better, I had about 10 interviews before I got a job!
You were shortlisted and made it to the end of the process (at some interviews they send people home halfway through!) so don't feel too bad. Ask for feedback from them and try to improve on the points they say.
One tips I found worked for me was to, at the end of the interview, say a few sentences about why you really want to work at the school and how you feel you'll fit in based on the day etc. It ends on a really positive note and shows passion for the job!
They did shortlist at lunch, 3 people went home and I got to stay. I am glad I've had the experience, I just think I was a bit overwhelmed because it was my old secondary school and I really felt at home there. The lesson that I did was one of the best I've done, not just in interviews.
I'm feeling a bit better now, I guess I just feel like I've missed an opportunity. I've sent another application to another school anyway.
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sunfowers01
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- 29-04-2014 22:54
Found out tonight that my contract isn't being renewed
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sunfowers01
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- 29-04-2014 22:55
(Original post by outlaw-torn)
To be honest, now I think about it my interview was just a total disaster. Which is such a shame because they said they were really impressed by my lesson
They did shortlist at lunch, 3 people went home and I got to stay. I am glad I've had the experience, I just think I was a bit overwhelmed because it was my old secondary school and I really felt at home there. The lesson that I did was one of the best I've done, not just in interviews.
I'm feeling a bit better now, I guess I just feel like I've missed an opportunity. I've sent another application to another school anyway.
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- 29-04-2014 23:25
(Original post by Piggsil)
Wow, you just summed up my own feelings from my training year so eloquently. Thinking back to that year still hurts even though it was 5 years ago.
I think I'll probably have similar feelings later on, though I can still say there were a lot of moments I enjoyed - certainly communication with the children. I also feel myself loosening up a little now in class (especially when I am not observed) so that the students see that I am actually a human being and not a teaching robot; it's a nice feeling, actually. Though at the same time I also have classes where I feel I can't let go of the reigns as they would take over, which is really not a nice feeling. Ah well, I'll become better at this, hopefully.
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Steveluis10
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- 30-04-2014 13:14
What about the interview do you feel went particularly bad Outlaw? A lot of people say that is the hardest part of it. Personally I think the lesson is harder as although you can prepare a little, the kids are all an unknown quantity, you probably aren't privy to all the SEN data and sometimes they might even play up (though not often).
In my interview lesson the pupils were mostly great but 2 pupils at the back tried to derail it from the start. Nothing too bad, just little comments like 'we've already done this poem you know sir' and smirking etc. I had a quiet word, threatened to move them and that did the job. For another candidate they might have gone further and really disrupted the lesson. I know the observers expect you to deal with this but it's a fact that really good behaviour management can only come once you know a class, same with differentiation and planning activities.
In the interview itself I stumbled on maybe 2 questions but nothing too stupid. I knew roughly the questions I'd be asked, they're all largely the same but phrased in different ways with some obviously specific to your subject.
As long as you have rough answers ready for any question they might throw at you I think you should be ok. If you do get thrown a curve ball then ask to think about it for a minute then just say something thoughtful and related to your practice. If you show some nerves that's normal and they're used to it, particularly in NQTs.
I'm sorry you missed out but there's still plenty of time - just really go to town on interview questions, ask others what questions they were asked, if you don't like the sound of some questions, prepare possible answers to those above any others. Do a mock interview with someone.
Good luck. -
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- 30-04-2014 16:23
Xxx
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- 30-04-2014 17:25
Today was awful. I feel like I've taken a massive step back since returning to this school. The kid's behaviour is out of control and nothing I do seems to work. I actually ran out of referral rooms to send kids to today, twice!!! And one kid told me that she wouldn't return to the classroom if I was in it, and that it wasn't rude, it was her own opinion!
Sigh. -
Steveluis10
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- 30-04-2014 17:34
(Original post by Shelly_x)
Today was awful. I feel like I've taken a massive step back since returning to this school. The kid's behaviour is out of control and nothing I do seems to work. I actually ran out of referral rooms to send kids to today, twice!!! And one kid told me that she wouldn't return to the classroom if I was in it, and that it wasn't rude, it was her own opinion!
Sigh.
Pupils will always play up for teachers they know aren't there to stay. I don't know how your course works but I assume you went to one school, then to another then returned to the first school? If that's the case the kids will cotton on to the fact you are a student. Kids are smart and know when you aren't the 'proper teacher'. The pupils at the school I'm currently at (placement 2), are on the whole really lovely with very few behaviour issues. If you take out the regular classroom teacher from the room though you immediately notice a world of difference. Quieter pupils suddenly start making silly comments, the noise volumes tend to raise and you get challenged more. Why? The pupils are testing you out, do you know the school policy? How good is your subject knowledge? If they push a boundary what are you going to do about that?
That's what I've found the hardest in this course, trying to establish myself as the authority figure. -
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- 30-04-2014 18:27
Three interviews down, how many more to go before the luck turns???
Any tips on how to keep going at the applications?... -
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- 30-04-2014 22:20
Is it possible then to simply send her out? But not just for her to sit somewhere in the quiet - give her some boring text to copy. Or possibly - I would have the kid stay in the classroom, but sit her at the back and have her face the wall. Get a second member of staff to support you and help you carry this through. She needs to learn it's not acceptable behaviour.
And sometimes, classes are just out of control. I've come to learn that sometimes that's just the way it is and it's got nothing to do with you as a teacher or your lesson plans - it's just a bad day. Go with the flow. If at all possible, break from the lesson plan and do something else that matches the kids' energy better.
I'm saying all this NOT having done a PGCE yeah. Technically not trained as a teacher at all, but I've been teaching abroad for several years now, currently at a Japanese primary school. My environment and situation is rather different, because with us, there's no curriculum to follow - I give English "conversation" lessons where the key focus is basically learn through games and song. There was once my 1st grade class (6-year-olds) was acting up so much, I resorted to just playing Baskets, Simon Says, and we sang Head, Shoulders and I think we did something else too. Completely broke from my original plan, but I think sometimes that's just what you have to do. If you're being observed and assessed, I guess it's harder because you can't go completely off-topic, but to be honest you'd probably give a good impression if you show yourself to be so adaptable that you can switch your plans to match the kids' energy level/mood at the time.
Another trick I learnt to control a class - be very, very quiet. Just look at them all very sternly and wait until they notice. I dunno if there's an element of difference in culture, but this works wonders in a Japanese classroom. I've not heard a single member of staff ever raise their voice, and I've learnt not to as well.
Always remember, the truth is, the kids are more afraid of you than you are of them. Realise this. It gives you a lot more power - that confidence you exude - children feel that, and they will react to it. -
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- 01-05-2014 06:33
(Original post by Steveluis10)
Chin up.
Pupils will always play up for teachers they know aren't there to stay. I don't know how your course works but I assume you went to one school, then to another then returned to the first school? If that's the case the kids will cotton on to the fact you are a student. Kids are smart and know when you aren't the 'proper teacher'. The pupils at the school I'm currently at (placement 2), are on the whole really lovely with very few behaviour issues. If you take out the regular classroom teacher from the room though you immediately notice a world of difference. Quieter pupils suddenly start making silly comments, the noise volumes tend to raise and you get challenged more. Why? The pupils are testing you out, do you know the school policy? How good is your subject knowledge? If they push a boundary what are you going to do about that?
That's what I've found the hardest in this course, trying to establish myself as the authority figure.
Erm, yeah I know the school policy and I've been following it through, hence me sending kids to other rooms. Like I said, it isn't really working.
(Original post by tarepanda)
Is it possible then to simply send her out? But not just for her to sit somewhere in the quiet - give her some boring text to copy. Or possibly - I would have the kid stay in the classroom, but sit her at the back and have her face the wall. Get a second member of staff to support you and help you carry this through. She needs to learn it's not acceptable behaviour.
And sometimes, classes are just out of control. I've come to learn that sometimes that's just the way it is and it's got nothing to do with you as a teacher or your lesson plans - it's just a bad day. Go with the flow. If at all possible, break from the lesson plan and do something else that matches the kids' energy better.
I'm saying all this NOT having done a PGCE yeah. Technically not trained as a teacher at all, but I've been teaching abroad for several years now, currently at a Japanese primary school. My environment and situation is rather different, because with us, there's no curriculum to follow - I give English "conversation" lessons where the key focus is basically learn through games and song. There was once my 1st grade class (6-year-olds) was acting up so much, I resorted to just playing Baskets, Simon Says, and we sang Head, Shoulders and I think we did something else too. Completely broke from my original plan, but I think sometimes that's just what you have to do. If you're being observed and assessed, I guess it's harder because you can't go completely off-topic, but to be honest you'd probably give a good impression if you show yourself to be so adaptable that you can switch your plans to match the kids' energy level/mood at the time.
Another trick I learnt to control a class - be very, very quiet. Just look at them all very sternly and wait until they notice. I dunno if there's an element of difference in culture, but this works wonders in a Japanese classroom. I've not heard a single member of staff ever raise their voice, and I've learnt not to as well.
Always remember, the truth is, the kids are more afraid of you than you are of them. Realise this. It gives you a lot more power - that confidence you exude - children feel that, and they will react to it.
Yeah the confidence thing is something I need to exude I think. At the moment I think they're aware I'm a bit run down. -
qwerty_mad
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- 01-05-2014 07:40
Behaviour was the main reason I chose primary over secondary. I can't stand these hormone-evolving rude teenagers. Year 7 seem ok but I just think the worst are Years 8 and 9.
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Steveluis10
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- 02-05-2014 17:01
End of another week
only in school 2 days next week then only 4 full weeks left with a week off for half term. So close to the finishing line, keep going guys!
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outlaw-torn
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- 02-05-2014 17:22
I've finished my final placement
and got offered a job interview today.
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- 02-05-2014 18:09
22 teaching days to go until the end of placement. I've never been so exhausted!
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qwerty_mad
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- 02-05-2014 23:00
(Original post by outlaw-torn)
I've finished my final placementand got offered a job interview today.
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outlaw-torn
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- 02-05-2014 23:35
(Original post by qwerty_mad)
Ooo, well done. Clearly you've impressed them. Did you apply for a job there or did they just ask you? Best of luck with it.
Posted from TSR MobileI so wish there was a job there though.
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