Whether you’re a career changer, thinking about starting a BEd or you’re planning on taking the PGCE route you’ll find lots of advice here. Charlie Taylor will answer new topics containing "Dear Charlie" in the subject.
So, now that I've secured my place on a Secondary English PGCE course (woohoo!), I'd like to know the best ways to prepare for next year, and try to minimise the notoriously high levels of stress. Where should I begin?
Save your money.
Typically, I've bought a load of books I don't need and none that I do. Most libraries are well stocked. Buy as you need.
You will need as much money hoarded as you can for the weird expenses that pop up. Get the overtime hours in now.
SiggsD: Congrats to you too! Where can I find these resources that you are saving? Or are they only relevant to primary PGCE?
Alliandra: yes, I'm saving like crazy! That sounds odd, given that saving mostly requires a great deal of inactivity - but you know what I mean... what kind of weird expenses have you had to shell out for? I've already factored travel, food, fun stuff, books and accommodation into my budget.
Resources (no matter how much they say a school should provided everything, you will come up with something that they can't/won't/you want to keep after placement), printing/photocopying expenses (seriously, I have never done so much printing and copying in my life!), clothes, interview attire, repairs to car (several people have had some sort of car breakdown this year), and various other daft bits like secret Santas, nights out, staff parties, etc. Normal life stuff but money drains so fast and I'm not used to not earning! (I'd only just got used to the whole not being able to work extra for overtime thing when I started my PGCE.)
a) The more work you can do in the evenings, the easier the next day will be.
b) Have a time of the week when you do no work. At all. Mine was typically Friday evening.
c) Get a car. If you're car-sharing, do it on your (reasonable) terms.
d) This one depends on your uni. If you find you are commuting 30-60mins each day for a main-placement, consider getting lodgings for Sunday - Thursday. You'll find the extra time a boon.
e) Allocate a time limit for essays and suchlike.
f) Be prepared to take on some extra-curricular in your placement to add a USP to your interviews. Seems loads of NQTs don't get jobs: on my course everyone found employment, and most were invited to every interview for which they applied.
g) Get a subscription to teachit.co.uk. And to NATE.
h) A big one this: ensure you befriend the diligent colleagues on your course to share resources, ideas, hopes and fears.
I) The most important thing is being healthy and vibrant enough to put on a performance the next day. I never worked past 9pm (save on 3-5 days over the entire year) and read before sleep every night. One lass worked until 2am and seemed to be fine, but then again she was able to socialise until 4am on a Saturday and recover rather well the next day, too.
J) Who you are is more important than what you do. In my view, literacy is the most important subject in school. And numeracy after that. But English teachers and maths teachers are not necessarily the most important teachers.
K) As a teacher you are cartoon character, a character, of who you really are. The character of me as a teacher is not who I really am, and I'll say/do anything that I can to promote the persona of myself as a teacher.
L) You'll never have as much time to develop your resources as you will do during your PGCE.
M) Get into the habit of cooking quickly/freezing food. You might find the extra time in the evenings useful.
N) If you can get hold of the reading for next year already, do it now. Save the quotations/citations, and keep ahead of yourself.
O) Keep hydrated!
P) No, really, drink lots of water and get used to it. You'll be doing a lot of talking and thinking, and without it you'll be in trouble.
Q) Get at least two work suits. You will need every shred of authority and bluff you can muster.
R) Go onto edublogs and begin following as many of the recommended blogs as you can.
S) Begin getting your CV in order (as you must have done already to apply to the PGCE!)
T) Be humble and helpful in your school placements. Make the coffee etc. If you haven't already managed work experience people in your career already, you'll know what this is like.
U) Realise that you are in a different position to a classroom teacher. While they have a history with the students and they might seem to quieten with a stare, you might need more.
V) Keep your teaching simple. Make the students feel they have learnt something in every lesson you have with them.
W) Keep a sense of humour. The job is too important to take seriously.
X) If you haven't worked in an inner-city school that has never/rarely been graded below 'good', find one that might take you on work experience/a visit.
Y) Get ALL your books second hand, where possible.
Z) If you're going to go out like a student middle of the week, bear in mind that will stay with you the rest of your career in that school. You're a student, yes, but no really! Not any more, at least... Enjoy!
Sort out a particular place in your house which is just for school and uni 'stuff'. Ideally, get some storage system like a filing cabinet. You don't want to be scratching around for stuff when you're on placement as you won't have time.
Get a good haircut just before you start the course.
Arm your body against colds (you do not want to get ill on the PGCE course!) and just force yourself to eat loads of fruit and veg and drink lots and lots of water.
Consider dropping hints to friends and family that they might want to buy you massage treatments as gifts!
This is brilliant everyone, thank you so much! I have one query regarding resources. Is this a catch-all term for the things you use to implement your lesson plans? So, for English, things like quote sheets, good excerpts and example? Or do you mean information for the teacher?
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