sorry this is so late! Here's my reflection:
1. Your overall response to the TP experience
This TP experience is markedly different from my previous school experience—the Enhanced School Experience. First and foremost, during the entire TP experience, I constantly felt that I was being assessed and watched. Not only was I assessed for my lesson preparation, lesson delivery and classroom management; some teachers commented on my shoes and how I always colour coordinate my attire etc. It was a little unnerving. The trainee teachers are seated in the Teachers’ Resource Room—we were isolated and yet exposed. Why do I say this? Often, while working in the room, teachers going to and fro classes often look in through the window panels. And because we had to go into the Staff room to look for our CTs, the fact that we do not sit in the staff room, that we are trainees, gets even more apparent. Some teachers will talk to us, make small talk, but there are also some who look through us, as though we were not there. An incident that I remember especially was in the first or second week of school. We only start teaching in the second or third week of school, so we left school pretty early. On our way out of the school, we smiled at a female teacher. However, instead of smiling back, she stared at us, and looked at her watch in front of us! We were so shocked!
Apart from that incident, there are also some really nice teachers in the school. I had 3 CTs, 2 of whom were extremely helpful and wonderful. 1 of them was a Senior Teacher and she was extremely motherly. She was constantly giving me resources to use in class, as well as guidance and very encouraging feedback. Another 1 of them was the English HOD. He was also very encouraging and helpful. My main CT however, was just alright. Our relationship was cordial, but I constantly had to go look for her. She does not offer any help to me unless I ask it of her. She did not share her previous worksheets or previous lessons with me, unlike my other CTs. Her feedbacks are often, “I think the lesson was OK”. Where my APT forms from my other 2 CTs are always filled up, her comments are sparse and occasional. However, overall, she did not do anything bad to me.
I also have a good working relationship with the Principal and Vice-Principal. I don’t think I did anything that would jeopardise their good impression of me. In fact they were constantly asking whether I would like to stay on; and they eventually requested for me despite me telling them that I had the intention of teaching in a Junior College.
I was assigned 4 classes—a Secondary 1 Express class, a Secondary 1 Normal Academic class and Secondary 2 and 3 Express classes. Material and lesson preparation was difficult because for all 4 classes, I was doing very different things. I only had 6 periods of Literature a week and 14 periods of English, even though Literature is my CS1. However, the students, with the exception of the Secondary 3 class, were a pleasure to teach. The students were very friendly, generally attentive and receptive to my lessons. The Secondary 3 class was a problem because the students had a very nonchalant attitude to their lessons. They are often rowdy and talkative and that hinders my lesson delivery. Classroom management is definitely an area that I really need to work upon.
On top of our lessons, the trainee teachers are often given up to 4 periods of relief duties per day. That really tired us out, but at the same time, allowed us to get more of a feel of the school and the students. I went in to Secondary 3, 4 and 5 Normal Academic classes, an extremely notorious Secondary 2 Normal Technical class and various other classes. Although sometimes you’d rather be marking or preparing for your lessons, these relief duties allowed me to get to know some of the students better and it feels really nice when they take an interest and actually come and talk to you after lessons or during their recesses.
We attended a staff meeting, an Understanding by Design Workshop, a Parent-Teacher Meeting day and also helped out in the Founder’s day preparation. We were actively involved in the preparation process. We helped to print out close to 400 certificates, edited posters to be put around the school and also reception of the Guests of Honour on the day itself.
The School is a very staunch Anglican School. Every morning, on top of the National Anthem and Pledge, the whole school sings hymns and teachers would share morning devotional messages. When students greet you at the end of the lessons, they say “Thank you Ms Gunawan and may God bless you!” It was definitely a new experience for me. The school believes in developmental discipline and their approach to discipline is strict and yet they also focus a lot of developing their characters. This is something that I really like about the school.
The school is really unique in the sense that it is a neighbourhood school, however, in between classes, during recess and after school, when you listen to the students speaking together, most of them speak in English and not in their Mother Tongue, which is really different from previous schools that I’ve been in. However, this is also a point of contention that I have. I find that the students, because they come from English speaking families, they become over-confident in their English Language proficiency. The truth is, their grammar is atrocious and most of them cannot write well.
2. What are some learning points/ `growing’ points which you have taken away from all these encounters/ experiences, good and not so good?
As I have mentioned, this school has opened my eyes to the dynamics of staff interaction, student demography and also working with people who has different philosophies from you. I have learnt to tread carefully around such issues and try my best not to get embroiled in sensitive issues.
I have also learnt that being a teacher is not just about delivering lessons. It is about filing, administration, going after students for assignments, being involved in the continuous school activities and definitely building relationships with colleagues as well as the students.
I used to be easily affected by what people say about me. However, I’ve learnt that in teaching, you are constantly bombarded by comments, criticisms from fellow colleagues and most of all your students. Initially, when I overheard some of the things people say, I got upset. However, as the weeks go by, I became more and more impervious to comments and criticisms which were not constructive. Practicum has made me a stronger person.
3. If it is a good experience, why is it a good experience?
Out of 10, I would rate this TP experience as an 8. I think the main reason lies in my fellow practicum trainees. I could not have asked for better fellow ‘sufferers’. They were extremely friendly and real. There was zero competition between us and we genuinely liked each other. We would help each other out with relief duties when any of us were too busy. We would help each other make copies of our worksheets, help each other look through lesson plans, give suggestions. We were almost inseparable in school. We really looked out for each other and not let each other get hurt by what other teachers may say or do. I think our solidarity really shone through when one of us was being discriminated against by the school authorities.
As we had some common classes, we would often commiserate and exchange pointers on how to handle the class or improve on our lessons. We work together in the same space and we also had a lot of fun together.
Although we are all going to different schools, I think that no matter which school we go to, an important takeaway from our relationship is the lack of politicking between us. My relationship with them makes me realise the importance of being real. I have come to realise that politicking is inevitable in every school, but as I have learnt this practicum, it is important to be true to yourself and genuine in our treatment of others. I have also learnt to avoid getting involved in gossips.
4. If there are negative experiences/ encounters, what do you think is the `root’ of the problem?
A school, like any organisations, is made up of people, very different people all working together. And in any organisation, a hierarchy is inevitable and thus competition to occupy positions in that hierarchy may become the goals of some. I do not think that the ‘root’ of such problems may be easily pinpointed and subsequently rectified. Personally, I do aim to do well and progress, but definitely through my own ability and capability and not by politicking my way up. I think that this is one of the main takeaway learning point of this whole experience.
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