On this placement day we were split into small groups of 2/3
people, we were then put into various classes to help assist the teacher and
students in whatever way we could. In the first half of the day I was with a
class of year 10 art students, as they were nearing a deadline they all had an
almost completed sketchbook and either a final piece of a plan for a final
piece. I went around the whole class asking each student what there project was
about, how they have found, what they liked or disliked most about it and
whether they were interested in doing an art subject once they left school. The
majority of them were still unsure as they also enjoy many other aspects of
their school life, however there were a small number of students who were 100%
sure they wanted to continue with their creativity. After this, I went around
to each individual to ask if they wanted any help with their work in terms of
ideas, advice, artist research etc. but most of them were very confident in their
work, which was lovely to see. One student however was struggling with the
display of his sketchbook, he asked for some advice on what to do with some of
his drawings and how he should present them in his sketchbook. After a little
chat about various ways he could do it myself and another student sat and
helped him turn his drawings into a series of collage displays and sketchbook
pages, he seemed extremely grateful for our help and smiled as he explained the
process to his teacher.
For the afternoon session, I was with a class of year 8 students,
which meant they had yet to pick their options. I was slightly worried at first
as I thought there might be a number of students who do not enjoy art and
become bored easily resulting in some form of misbehaviour. (When I was in high
school this happened often in the early years). Fortunately, I was wrong and
although some students did not particularly enjoy art they got on with their
set tasks, again I went around each table and questioned the students to see if
they were interested in someday becoming an artist. As they were a young group
of students, I did not expect any of them to have a clear idea of what they
want to do as a career, but many of them seemed quite keen to follow up their
favourite subjects (mainly P.E, Science and Maths). With a small amount of
disturbance throughout the lesson, it seemed to be going much better than
expected until the year group were called into an assembly that took up the
last hour of the school day. This is a perfect example of having to deal with
unexpected issues and learning how to deal with them in a professional manor.
From this experience, I have gained a better knowledge of
how a teacher’s day is constructed and how control of a classroom can make a
difference in the outcome of work at the end of the session. I feel much more confident
in my ability to help others and I hope to gain even more confidence and
teaching skills with the help of voluntary positions in the near future. I have
also learnt that my idea of an ideal career may not necessarily be the most
suitable in terms of financial income, after talking to one of the teachers
about wanting to do weekly workshops in various schools with different age
groups, ability etc. I was advised that a full time teaching position in a set
school is a much better way of fulfilling a teaching career as not only is it a
regular income for stability in general, but you get to know the students you
are working with on more personal level. You can see the progression of their
personality in themselves and in their work, and to me the sense of achievement
of contributing to student’s future career aspects would be a wonderful thing.
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