Next month I go on my second teaching placement. I never really talked much about the first, last November, but it went well, I passed, and I met some great teachers and kids.
In the first year of college, we get one placement, at the end of the year, teaching full control for three half-days. This year we have two: one for five weeks in May, one for five weeks in August. Busy, busy. I start on May 5 and finish on June 6, and I have to do three whole days of full control, teaching in at least four curriculum areas. Not so bad, really. We’re required to teach literacy (which actually includes reading, story writing, handwriting, oral presentation and visual presentation) and numeracy (which is, of course, plain old math(s)), and I will probably teach PE (which includes 15-20 minutes of daily fitness as well as a weekly lesson devoted to a specific skill, sport or concept) and science, which may yet be the simplest to plan of the lot. I think I’ll get the students to help me write a class book of my time at the school — they’re Year 2, which is 6-7 year olds — and do lots of photography with them. Ideally I’d like to include a lot of outside-the-classroom time, making the most of autumn before it gets cold, so I’ll need to plan lessons that would work inside or outside.
This is mostly a lot of thinking on-screen, as opposed to thinking out loud. I’ve been working on my wardrobe since I recently rediscovered a factory/outlet store that I thought had shut down years ago. I bought a pair of boots (brown suede flat sole) and a pair of flats with ankle straps (black with cherries, so not me but so cool!) of which I may need to post photos. Instead of planning my units, I’m planning my outfits. Heh.
The school I’m going to is on a pretty tangible boundary between the “historic”, snobby part of Christchurch and the drab state-housing area northwest of the city. When I mention it by name, people instantly give me a knowing look, a sort of “Oh, posh!” thing which I would have done before last year as well, but we visited them for an afternoon last year to observe numeracy teaching and I know the demographics. Although the city-side of the school is wealthy, the poorer side is the main feed into the school — wealthy families choose to send their children to schools where the others are more like them, more homogeneous, such as private or integrated schools with a religious focus — and so the overall school population comes from a low socio-economic background.
For all that, the children are, of course, a gorgeous, lively pack of wild animals who can’t sit still any longer than the average 6-year-old. There are two who speak almost no English, which will be a huge challenge for me, and one who doesn’t like new people, so I will be spending some extra time in the class before placement in order to let that child get used to me.
It’s my dream placement, I think. My Associate (the teacher in charge of that class) wants me to do as much as possible and although I think she’ll be less interested in helping me with the planning process, she’s enthusiastic and hardworking and knows her kids well. There’s a great mix of kids, the resources in the school seem more than adequate (so far!) and the teachers I’ve met in my short visit seemed friendly too.
I am excited!
