Ollie reflects on the first half of his teacher training

Woooaaaaahhhh, we’re halfway there! (in the style of Bon Jovi) 

Every so often this year I have found myself looking back on the year, wondering how I managed to get so far through the course and, as we’ve reached the halfway point in the year, I am feeling particularly reflective (what a treat for you all). 

With several teachers in my family, I knew that teaching and teacher training in particular would be a full-time job and that it would likely eat into my spare time especially as I worked out the strange details that go into planning and delivering a good lesson to around thirty 11-16 year olds. I felt optimistic: I’ve completed two degrees which I worked alongside to make ends meet so I’ve done the whole balancing academia and job thing; it should have been relatively simple right? Wrong. 

Starting out and finding my feet 

It turns out that after waiting nine months for teacher training to start and attempting to re-learn everything that goes into GCSE and A Level English that, on day one, you have no idea what’s going on. The first couple of weeks flew by and, to some extent so did the rest of the Autumn term and I started to be able to manage a class, but it took ages to be able to: 

Plan a lesson (my personal worst was three hours to plan a starter) 

Work out how to deliver it (so much trial and error) 

Feel confident about any of the students’ names (I’m not going to pretend that I know all of them even now). 

By the time December rolled around, I had just about consistently managed each of these and was feeling confident in my ability. It was going oh so well and, with the promise of Christmas around the corner, (I use promise very loosely based recent Christmases past) I felt like I had finally found my feet in teaching. However, the shadow of a second placement loomed. 

Second placement and finding my feet (again) 

I arrived on the first day after Christmas and, simply put, I was pleased to have some respite from teaching and academia having submitted the first university essay. But I did not enjoy the first week back. Everything was strange. I knew my mentor’s name and that was it. I had no idea how to get from the car park to the English department. All the taught side of the course for the SCITT and the university side were going to be online for the foreseeable due to the Omicron variant. I felt like I had forgotten everything that I had learnt and improved upon in my first term of teaching and, while a week to get to know the classes was welcome, it did not build my confidence in my ability. 

The next week, it was time to teach. I went through the motions of planning my lessons which went without a hitch, collating all my resources, and trying to remember the positive routines that I had built up during my first term. The lesson came and went. It turned out that I could still do it – amazing! 

From there, the remaining weeks of the half term went by like a flash! We returned to in-person sessions for both university and the SCITT, I built rapport with the department, forged relationships with my classes and, with one week to go, I was genuinely upset to be leaving. My teaching has come on leaps and bounds thanks to my second placement and my confidence has been built due to the support that the department gave me throughout my short placement – everything from building a timetable to meet my developmental needs through to supporting me before visiting schools where I might apply and looking through applications with me. Simply put, I cannot thank them enough. 

Half term 

Before I knew it, the half term was over and so was my second placement. Once again, it couldn’t have come at a better time. I was worn out from the roller coaster that is teaching and from a short and intense placement somewhere new. But now I know that I can do it. I’m not limited to the places I’ve taught in so far. Wherever I end up working in September, I’ll be able to take each and every skill that I have learnt and am refining, and I will be a good English teacher! I genuinely can’t wait to return to my main placement school and continue teaching my classes to the best of my ability. I’m thankful to have had the opportunity to train this year in spite of the difficulties schools have had to work through and firmly believe that without the support of everyone involved in the Redhill SCITT it could easily have been a very different year. 

My advice? 

I’m going to split this into a couple of sections. 

If you’re wondering whether teaching is for you: 

Teaching will take over your life in ways that you wouldn’t have thought. This isn’t always a bad thing. Every area of my life might be a bit more regimented than it was previously, but I have found that it has paid off immensely! I use my time more effectively, I eat and drink more healthily, I set aside time to relax and enjoy my free time and it is so much more purposeful and enjoyable than it was when I worked a 9-5 job. 

If you have a place on the course starting in September: 

Even if you prepare as much as you can, the first few months will catch you off guard. Try to create routines for yourself and think about the following: 

Why do you want to teach? 

What makes your subject worthwhile? 

Where can you develop yourself to be the best teacher you can be? 

Why are you going to be a great teacher? 

How can you manage regular feedback effectively? 

 

Overall, I can't stress how pleased I am that I decided to take the plunge into teaching. But for now, thank goodness it’s half term! 

Ollie Hurdle, English trainee