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PGCE worries

Hi,
So I'm about a month in to my PGCE and am enjoying is so far. I just have a few concerns and was wondering if anybody else felt the same during their PGCE?

1) I am finding it hard to switch off after uni/school- even though the workload at the moment is minimal. I feel I should always be doing work?

2) I am really nervous about starting to teach. Whenever I imagine it, I just picture it as a disaster, its really worrying me that I won't be good enough or the lessons I teach are wrong.

If/when will this pass? And how did you overcome these problems if you felt the same?
Original post by _chloe11
Hi,
So I'm about a month in to my PGCE and am enjoying is so far. I just have a few concerns and was wondering if anybody else felt the same during their PGCE?

1) I am finding it hard to switch off after uni/school- even though the workload at the moment is minimal. I feel I should always be doing work?

2) I am really nervous about starting to teach. Whenever I imagine it, I just picture it as a disaster, its really worrying me that I won't be good enough or the lessons I teach are wrong.

If/when will this pass? And how did you overcome these problems if you felt the same?


I used to teach in a uni setting so slightly different. Lots of people struggle to switch off from work in loads of different professions and that's very much down to you as a person and how you perceive work. Set yourself goals to accomplish within time frames and if you don't accomplish them then take work home. If you do allow yourself to relax and switch off. Make sure you keep yourself busy with other things so you're not tempted to work all the time. The other thing is that people around you will then start to expect you to always be contactable which is not a good place to be. Standing in front of a room of people still makes me nervous even though I've been doing it for a while now. I relax into it once I start talking. Knowing your material and having written it yourself helps as does being prepared for questions. The other things I've found help are having some ice breakers handy in case you need them and being able to manage or distract disruptive students.
Find something obvious to do at the end of the day - jogging, swimming, walking in a park - where you just relax and breathe. Build this into your day. Your body and brain needs to switch off and 'let go'. Once you start doing this, the routine helps you deal with it - almost like your body is expecting it and knows what to do.

'Imposter syndrome'? Its very common at all levels of post-grad and has nothing to do with ability. Lots of people feel 'I'm not good enough' - when clearly they are. Even academics get this - promise. Its about confidence - and you will get that once you get going and realise that you are good enough.

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