First day (back) at school

First up, I’m going to be very careful not to mention anything to even remotely identify any staff, students or schools during any placements. A handful of friends and relatives know where I’m at at the moment (including one who turned out to be an ex-pupil there!) and that’s as far as it need go. Any posts about the course will be about how I’m getting on and my impressions. No specifics. Sorry if that bores you but I have other people’s anonymity to protect as well as a professional code of conduct to adhere to.

Professional. Me.

Oh dear, this will all end in tears.

Anyway, I’m glad to say the whole Disclosure thing was dealt with swiftly this morning. My copy had arrived in the post, but the uni hadn’t received theirs courtesy of lazy postal workers who fancied an unpaid holiday (my student card is still missing for similar reasons). As a result, I had to make a detour via the uni so they could check out the form, call the school and ensure it was OK for me to go in first thing – which it was.

I got there at 9:30, which wasn’t too bad all things considered, and only missed a meeting with the Head Teacher. We were given some useful bumph, a timetable of events scheduled for us then taken on a quick tour by one of the Deputes. After break, I was handed over to the teacher who is to oversee me for the next two weeks.

Unfortunately, and understandably, as she’d been told on Friday that I wouldn’t be in due to the Disclosure mess she had nothing planned for me. Instead I sat and observed through a few lessons, but that was by no means wasted time. We’ve been asked to spot things and gather “hints and tips” if you like by watching practised teachers.

As such, I started making bullet notes with small subtitles: Discipline, Equipment, Routine, Questions Asked and the like. I could do with getting a new watch so I can time the way the lessons are split up – my 1000 Kyat Rolex died a few weeks ago. How the pupils are handled does vary a lot depending on the individual and what/how they’re doing.

Overall, the kids weren’t that bad (with two exceptions) and behaviour was vastly different from age group to age group. My guiding teacher is very forthright and honest when talking about students, the school, materials, government guidelines and everything else. This is incredibly useful and something for which I’m grateful. She’s also pretty cool, though I guarantee the kids don’t see her that way!

The school itself is really good. They have plenty of original programs, support networks for students who require a huge variety of types of aid, a decent canteen, a great staff room, and a good reputation from those I’ve spoken to. The walls around the place have newspaper clippings detailing achievements by the staff, pupils and the school as a whole.

I really think I’ve landed on my feet with this as my first placement, especially after talking to another student who’s not had anywhere near as nice an experience on her first day. Sure, it’s not 100% perfect but where would the fun in that be?

My overseer has already mentioned me taking a class or two. Perhaps before the end of the week. I put on the calm “yes, let’s see” face while inside my stomach kind of clenched. I don’t think she noticed the sudden cold sweat either.

Actually, it’s more the fact that I don’t know what it is that I’m supposed to teach that’s my main issue. Specifically, I’ve not been able to find any syllabuses online. If they are there, they’re very well hidden. Thankfully I should be the owner of either a URL or a photocopy of them sometime tomorrow. Aces. I also think I might try to borrow some past papers for the various levels from the school library. If I can’t answer the papers I shouldn’t be teaching the subject!

As I’ve discussed with several others on the course, this is our last “easy” couple of weeks. Once we return to uni in a fortnight, things are going to ramp up a notch. The workload’s going to be daunting, to say the least. I’m going to make the most of this temporary freedom!