By Olivia Grobien
Olivia Grobien has just completed her PGCE in Secondary History with the Bracknell Forest Partnership and the University of Reading.
In many ways the first few weeks of the teacher training course are the toughest. It is hard to know how to be fully prepared for your first week of lectures and seminars at university, and of course your first few days in school. What’s important to remember is that this is only the very beginning of a journey that will hopefully last for many years to come. Here are some tips to think about as you embark on the initial stages of your teacher training course.
1) Embrace new challenges with a smile
Your teaching training year isn’t going to be plain sailing. Remember that even if you breeze through something another trainee is struggling with, there will be times where you encounter difficulties in school or at university yourself. The course is designed to push you to become the best teacher you can be.
The key thing to remember is to face your struggles and challenges head on. Recognise that having difficulty doesn’t mean you have failed. Build on your experiences and use them to become better — there will always be another opportunity to try again. The areas I found the hardest and most challenging at the beginning ended up being my strongest areas towards the end of the course. Persevere!
2) Keep calm and be prepared
If you can nail organisation from the offset, you will have a far easier year. The sooner you create your folders and give each piece of evidence a home, the more time you will have to focus on the crucial elements of your teaching practice further on down the line. Sure, there is a lot to remember, and sometimes you may feel like you’re drowning in paper, but if you can keep your planning, evidence and university work organised, you will in turn feel a lot less stressed! Happy folders mean a happy head.
3) Build a support system
It is so important that you are able to talk to people during the training year, be it family, friends or other trainees on your course. You cannot do it on your own! Make sure you build up a good support system. In your first week, set up WhatsApp groups and make the effort to socialise with your course mates. Remember, you are all in the same boat and going through this experience together. You are not on your own — you can guarantee that there will always be at least one person on your course who is thinking or feeling the exact same as you. Talk! It really is a year where you will make lifelong friends.
Think teaching could be for you? Find out more on the Get into Teaching website. Find out more about teacher training at the University of Reading here.
