12.10.2012: A week of little sleep

I've become a little bogged down in all the work, additionally illness and injury have taken their toll, so have not been able to blog in a while.

Today started out rather stressfully, almost to Cambridge (within 10 miles of our 40ish mile journey, we hit a stand-still. I'm impressed that we had managed this long without a major traffic jam, but today the luck ran out. We sat, with the engine off for over an hour, BUT we were only 15 minutes late for the lecture... All I can surmise from this is that we clearly leave home at least half an hour too early on the average day...

Today, was our last day in University before the first placement. I'm looking forward to being back in a classroom, but at the moment, I'm a little overwhelmed with the amount I need to prepare/sort/read/write/organise etc. We have a placement week, then a three week break before we go back to complete this placement in November. In the 'break' we have two weeks of classes - in which I have a group presentation, and a reading week - which I am going to need! We also have been set our first proper assignment: 6000 words on formative assessment in relation to a certain area of the curriculum. I have science to cover, but am required to make reference to specific examples I see within my placement, so I have background reading to complete right now, but am unable to think about the 'main body' of the assignment until I have started my placement.

There is basically very little time to do anything other than university work, and consequently, I am now finished blogging for today. Back to work I go.

S x

20.09.2012: Health and Safety

This morning I left with plenty of time - and hour and 45 to travel 37 miles... even in rush hour that should be an easy drive. But three miles out, I hit the stand still. It took me nearly 40 mins to do the last 3 miles, which is a slower speed than I walk. Oh well, luckily I had made good time on the rest of the journey and was still in on time :)

Today, I feel like I have been talked to a lot! Mainly because my one interactive session was first thing, and then I had health and safety and ICT in the classroom lectures. Both of which were about similar things.

Health and Safety now officially covers safeguarding of children - so risk assessments as well as dealing with bullying and abuse. And ICT was much about e-safety - keeping your life as a teacher private, and how to cope with the restrictive firewalls in the classroom.

I have 9 things to complete/start tonight. A couple will be really quick (I just need to put a form in my bag for example) but other will take slightly longer (like reading, and essay writing). But no-one said this year would be easy. And it already isn't! Still, I wouldn't change career just because of the work, I wouldn't change career for anything.

S x

17.09.2012: Slightly late....

First day, lots of paperwork and introduction meetings. Why all of this couldn't have been done on enrolment or enrolment done today is beyond me.

I arrived more than early - I had to be in at 10, but I was doing a Monday morning traffic practice as I normally have to be in for 9am so hit all the rush hour traffic... But, I made it to the University building for 8.50, so I'm pretty certain that it's not as bad as I first thought. But maybe I am naive.

My timetable seems rather nice, Friday afternoons off for the most part and the occasional late start. And so many placements :) There are some really lovely people on the course, and a few that I'm not sure will make good teachers - possibly because they spent their entire first day trying to speak in 'big' words - and I wanted to yell at them and mention that they are training to become PRIMARY school teachers, and there are NO children that will understand. AT ALL. But again, maybe that's just my belief? I've always been one to think you shouldn't talk down to children, but that still means that you have to modify your language to use words that they will understand.

Well, I started my homework last night - one piece completed, one piece planned out of two. And I fear there will be more tonight.

But, right now, I have to head off to Cambridge on my two hour morning drive...

S x