My first practical experience

Wow, it's being a long time coming but I've finally secured my first 3 week practical teaching experience.  The principal of the school that has excepted me has being very supportive and seems generally interested in giving me the best learning experience possible.  I'm feeling very spoilt as I've heard some real horror stories from other students.  My prac doesn't start until mid-October which gives me five months to work myself up into a complete panic!!!  I think I will be watching this clip the night before to calm my nerves http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBaUYcZU7-w&feature=feedf
It offers some very simple, practical tips on how to approach the experience and what the school will expect.

Approaching schools for practical experience

Most student teachers undertake 2 - 3 practical experience sessions throughout their degree, these are usually arranged by the University on your behalf.  If, like me, your university does not arrange practical experience and you need to approach schools yourself try treating it like any other job interview.  You may need to be firm to avoid principal's from dismissing you, but remain polite and professional.  For many principals being approached directly by a student is unusual and they are often reluctant, claiming that they only deal directly with the University.  I have found cold calling is better than sending a letter that can be easily ignored and if you have them, use your connections.  Friends or relatives that work in schools, teachers of your own children can all help break the ice with principals, this is how I have arranged two of mine thus far.

Good luck.

Saving Youtube clips on a channel

I have just discovered personalised Youtube channels.  Most people reading this blog have probably known about them for eons, but they are a really exciting discovery for me.  Throughout my studies I have watched countless of great clips as part of my course, but once the unit is over, my links to the clip is gone too.  Now I have a way of keeping all the really good ones together in my own channel by simply clicking the 'favorite' button ... fantastic!  If you'd like to check out the best educational clips I've found so far, check out my channel by clicking on my Youtube link.

Studying and school holidays ... they just don't mix!

One of the most difficult things I find to manage during my learning journey is the fact that my course runs back to back without any breaks.  One Study Period will end on the last day of the month and the next starts the very next day.  Having four Study Periods over the course of a year means that every unit I enrol in conflicts with a school holiday.  The units are 13 weeks long, but most finish during week 12.  I then lose 2 precious weeks over the school holidays, giving me just 10 weeks of uninterrupted study time.  This means I somehow have to find ways to study around the kids.  At the moment I'm completing this blog while my children watch Ben 10 reruns instead of having quality mummy time.  It also means assignments get rushed, I work late into the night and generally feel guilty all round.  There are of course ways around this ... overnight trips to nana and pa's, reciprocal babysitting arrangements, locking myself in the study over the weekend while my husband is home etc etc.  All these things help, but at the end of the day, sometimes it feels like life is going on without me while I keep my nose to the grindstone.  The journey will be worth it in the end ... won't it?

Blogs as a teaching resource

Wow!  I have just spent a quite Sunday afternoon searching for useful blogs for people embarking on a teaching career like myself as part of my Web101 assignment.  I have being blown away by the depth and breath available.  This has just provided me with a new weapon for my arsenal of handy tips and resources for everything from teaching resources, tips for beginners, how to approach schools, study tips, etc etc etc.  I've added a few to my blogroll, so if your a student-teacher like myself have a look ... you just might stumble across a gem.

Some great, basic tips for student teachers

A little info about my studies

I am studying the Bachelor of Education at Curtin University on-line through Open Universities Australia (OUA).  So far I have completed first year and am just beginning my first 2nd year subject Educating Students with Disabilities and am taking my first elective Web101.  This blog has being established as part of a Web Presence assignment for Web101.  Studying on-line, from the comfort of my own home, has made this degree flexible and convenient to me.  I can manage my studies around my children and plan to complete the degree when my youngest child begins school.  The idea of  becoming a 'real-life' teacher is frightening and exicting.  Questions I ask myself all the time are Can I do it?, Will I like it? Why am I putting myself through this?  The thing that gets me through though, is knowing that in the end it will be worth it.  Teaching WILL be an exiciting, challenging and rewarding career.