- Location
- the post-brexit wasteland
i'm thinking of doing it next year (i.e. september 2013), anyone got any tales from the road to share?
graduate teacher programme… anyone (been) on it?
- Thread starter alecstilleyedye
- Start date
Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.
Baggy
Cake connoisseur
- Location
- Where the chevrons are
Not personally...but the former Mr.Baggy went through the PGCE Secondary English course in his late 30s. He was really keen on his subject matter, which helped no end.
Overall he enjoyed the course, but he did work incredibly hard and found it very frustrating that many of the kids on his first placement (in a failing outer London school) didn't actually turn up to lessons. This did have some payoff in that he learned to deal with disruptive behaviour and how to engage pupils with limited interest at an early stage. Your partner will also need to be prepared to listen to stories of classroom trauma and be a shoulder to cry on at times!
Eight years on he's still teaching - but after three years teaching here he moved back to the USA!
The most difficult part for him was getting enough peace and quiet at home to study, and then balancing study with time out to relax and spend time with friends and family. That said he was very keen to socialise with his fellow trainees when he should perhaps have been a bit more concerned about his existing friends and relationships (not that I'm bitter
). It's hard work, but can be hard work for your partner and family, too.
If you've got the support from the family, and a subject you're keen on, I'd say go for it - you're already used to dealing with large groups of children - at home!
Overall he enjoyed the course, but he did work incredibly hard and found it very frustrating that many of the kids on his first placement (in a failing outer London school) didn't actually turn up to lessons. This did have some payoff in that he learned to deal with disruptive behaviour and how to engage pupils with limited interest at an early stage. Your partner will also need to be prepared to listen to stories of classroom trauma and be a shoulder to cry on at times!
Eight years on he's still teaching - but after three years teaching here he moved back to the USA!
The most difficult part for him was getting enough peace and quiet at home to study, and then balancing study with time out to relax and spend time with friends and family. That said he was very keen to socialise with his fellow trainees when he should perhaps have been a bit more concerned about his existing friends and relationships (not that I'm bitter
). It's hard work, but can be hard work for your partner and family, too.If you've got the support from the family, and a subject you're keen on, I'd say go for it - you're already used to dealing with large groups of children - at home!
OP
OP
- Location
- the post-brexit wasteland
thanks baggy, the gtp is a slightly different beast from a pgce in that you learn 'on the job' in as much as you get paid a salary for a year working in a primary school (where i want to teach) while you train. a pgce is no good to me as i can't stop working for a whole year to do it with a family in tow…
fossyant
Ride It Like You Stole It!
- Location
- South Manchester
OP
OP
- Location
- the post-brexit wasteland
not got as far as that; i'm at the mo planning to get the classroom experience at the school of which i'm a parent governor, and another one across town which, at least architecturally, is different from 'my' school (and it has a big covered bike shed).Where you going to do it ?
mmu would be the ideal training establishment (where i'll have to have a sponsoring school before i even apply), but there are others (where they find one for you).
subaqua
What’s the point
- Location
- Leytonstone
Mrs Subaqua has mentored a few on the GTP. as long as you LISTEN to what experienced teachers are telling you and don't think you know it all immediately its really quite a rewarding process for the mentor and the person on the GTP.
its not like the adverts for teaching so put that out of your mind straight away. I have taught a few structured lessons on electricity which tied into the "victorians" topic at eldests primary school when she was in yr 5 2 1 hour lessons took a lot more planning than i would have ever imagined.
Primary and Secondary are 2 very different beasts educationally too. behaviour wise there isn't much difference if you get a bad school. Mrs Sub has had arms broken, been pushed downstairs several times, eventhreatened with rape(yr 6 boy) . no punishment as LEAs beleive in inclusion these days
its not like the adverts for teaching so put that out of your mind straight away. I have taught a few structured lessons on electricity which tied into the "victorians" topic at eldests primary school when she was in yr 5 2 1 hour lessons took a lot more planning than i would have ever imagined.
Primary and Secondary are 2 very different beasts educationally too. behaviour wise there isn't much difference if you get a bad school. Mrs Sub has had arms broken, been pushed downstairs several times, eventhreatened with rape(yr 6 boy) . no punishment as LEAs beleive in inclusion these days
fossyant
Ride It Like You Stole It!
- Location
- South Manchester
GTP - that's the one where you are working as an unqualified teacher. There is a little bit of change going on with GTP partners in 'this area' as MMU partners with EBITT providers and isn't a 'direct' deliverer - but you get the MMU award - is it that route you've looked at ?
fossyant
Ride It Like You Stole It!
- Location
- South Manchester
Meant to say there will also be lots of changes with the TDA over the next year !
OP
OP
- Location
- the post-brexit wasteland
i know enough, as a governor, to know that far from knowing it all, i have much to learn. i'm going the primary route as i believe that's where i can make the biggest difference, and i can add a little bit of testosterone into what has become quite a feminised curriculum over the years.
in the school in which i am a governor, we have a minor problem with boys progress in maths, which, although it picks up in later years, is a cause for concern. by way of anecdotal evidence, i recently went along as parent helper on a gifted and talented maths day for 8/9 year olds. there were two different problems set; one was working out how many passengers a plane could carry, and one was working out the unit price of shopping items and finding the best value. i perceived the boys engaging fuller with the aeroplane question (set by a man) than the shopping one (set by a woman) and vice versa, and I sometimes think that boys sometimes need to see maths in a useful context with which they are familiar (formula one and football, or for that matter, cycling, lend themselves excellently to applied maths).
still, i can't just teach boys, so finding the balance will be key…
Archie_tect
De Skieven Architek... aka Penfold + Horace
- Location
- Northumberland
Good luck A!
When I stop drawing and shut the computer software down, I'd really like to put something back into education whether it's in an architectural school or doing engineering/ design input in schools to help inspire some of the children to see engineering and design as a route to a good job.
When I stop drawing and shut the computer software down, I'd really like to put something back into education whether it's in an architectural school or doing engineering/ design input in schools to help inspire some of the children to see engineering and design as a route to a good job.
OP
OP
- Location
- the post-brexit wasteland
possibly. as the deadline for submissions for september 2012 is still to pass (most are already full), i'm not too worried about which school so much as getting the classroom experience and the stamp of approval from a head teacher. if i can show myself to be an asset in class, i may be able to wangle the support of my school, but as helpful as the head has been so far, i would not expect her to say i was up to the job if she didn't believe it was so.
OP
OP
- Location
- the post-brexit wasteland
on the gifted and talented session i attended, one of the chaps was an engineer with many letters after his name who, although not retired, was probably someone doing as you have suggested. he also bore a remarkable resemblance to ricky tomlinson…
OP
OP
- Location
- the post-brexit wasteland
be that as it may, i was relieved to be able to be just a step ahead at the g and t sessions, as my 13 year old (top maths set in year 9) has long since not bothered asking me when she gets stuck with her homework…Well I wish you luck if you're wanting to make a difference in Maths. Teaching of it in England is so bad by international standards that I think you probably will make a difference.
It's never too late to learn. As for teenagers that's a bit different, really one should get on to teaching them university and A-level topics at that sort of age (or younger) but the gifted and talented programme is a start. Today's world has much greater access to books and videos on maths than ever before.
I don't know anyone that's been on the programme, known many people do PGCEs.
