Wow, a lot has happened since I last posted here. Not only in regards to my own journey to becoming a trainee teacher, but in regards to life in general. Covid-19 happened / is still happening, a global pandemic that has probably changed life for everyone and we have been reminded, again, of the awful injustice that is still happening today around the world. At the moment, our concentration is on demolishing racism from this world. The Black Lives Matter movement is one that I will always support and will stand up and shout about. Racism is still very present in our society (even if many people may claim it’s only in America) we know it isn’t.
The importance of this movement reminds me of part of why I want to teach. I want to help instil knowledge and interest in children. I am going to be working with children from disadvantaged backgrounds and I can’t wait to help make education a fairer place for all. Part of the knowledge and information I will teach is how to treat everybody fairly, regardless of where they come from, their skin colour and more.
I was brought up in a foster family and was given a unique upbringing where I was an only child with over 120 siblings. This upbringing, and my parents in general, taught me to treat people fairly, to never judge a book by it’s cover, and to invest time in people and learn about their history, their lives and their goals. If I can help a group of children be open-minded, kind and treat people equally, then I will have mastered one part of teaching.
Alongside everything that is going on in the world, I have been completing a Primary Mathematics SKE with TES. This SKE has helped me develop my understanding of Primary Mathematics and the pedagogical skills I will need to successfully deliver this subject to my pupils. It was very helpful as: I was given a wealth of resources which will be used in school; developed on my own curriculum knowledge and began to develop specific pedagogies relating to this subject. All of the information and skills learned during the SKE will be applied to my teaching in September.
I am reminded about how important reflection is in life. I have always been a big advocate for reflection as I have had to do a lot of it throughout my degree’s. This is a skill that relates very well to teaching as it is very important for me to be able to critically look at my practice, research, skills and development as I progress through my programme and teaching career. Being able to be critical of yourself and not only see negatives, but see positives and learn from these will be key to my development as a successful teacher. The Mcber Report goes through this in depth and it a resource I will refer to in the future.
I am coming to the end of my current job; I leave on the 17th June 2020, just in time for the beginning of my Teach First summer institute programme. I am very excited and slightly nervous to start summer institute and ready start my journey to becoming a Teacher!
That’s all for now, but I imagine I will be posting much more in coming weeks as I fully immerse myself in the world of teaching. Stay tuned.
Hope you are keeping safe and happy in this very weird time.
– R
A Teacher in the making 