Inside the classroom

Day one: An introduction to primary school life

It was the first day of my placement at Forge Integrated Primary School and I felt a range of emotions, from excitement to a slight nervousness as I knew I was about to embark on the primary school setting. It was an environment which I had only experienced for a week as a classroom assistant back in 2018 so I knew what to expect but yet again it had been so long. I had been in contact with the vice-principal Grainne Kerr who was extremely helpful in getting me a placement at the school, and she greeted me at the front gates. I had to sign some pre-placement forms with the PA Kathy, who warmly welcomed me to the school alongside other members of staff, including the principle, Neville Watson. As soon as I walked into the school, I instantly got a sense of nostalgia from when I was in primary school, about eleven years ago. The children playing football, the smell from the canteen after breakfast, the artwork on the walls and the franticness of the school setting, all came rushing back to me and I was looking forward to getting started.

As I entered the classroom, I thought of my role and recollected back to my own primary school experience, to my various teachers and classroom assistants over the years. I thought of the role they played in shaping my life on a daily basis, teaching myself and other children the importance of good morals and kindness- something so simple yet influential. This is something I knew I wanted to succeed at within this work-based learning scheme.

“You are a small but enormous link on the enormous chains that comprise other people’s lives”

– Tom Bennett on ‘What is a teacher?’

Bennett, Tom. Teacher: Mastering the Art and Craft of Teaching. Continuum; 2012. P.9

Entering the classroom

The children were lining up outside and I knew it was nearly time for my first engagement with them.

I took a walk around the classroom and looked at some of the artwork and activities which the children had been working on and done. I especially noticed a Roald Dahl section within the classroom which gave me a sense of sentimentality as he was my favourite author as a child. The children began to filter in, and I could see their curious faces looking up at me, wondering who I was and what am I doing in their classroom; most still said hello, despite the fact I was a stranger to them. One girl in particular, named Hannah, ran up and asked me, “Are you a new teacher in our school?”, to which I explained how I am a student from Queen’s here to help out as a classroom assistant once a week. As the rest of the class came in and took their seats, Grainne introduced me as Mark to the children and I went to the front of the class and explained a bit of why I was there, what age I was (which caused enormous discussion amongst them), where I went to school and so on. They gave me a round of applause after which gave me a good laugh. I knew from the start that this class would be easy to work with as the weeks go by.

How I felt from the first interaction

I felt a range of emotions: from slight nervousness at how the children would perceive me to one of relief and excitement in getting this opportunity to bond with this class. All in all I felt more relaxed from the initial reaction and ready for my next task, which was to help out with individual reading.

My tasks on Day 1

Helped with individual reading

Grainne asked me to go out into the corridor with a boy named Ethan. All the children are at a different skill level when it comes to both literacy and numeracy, so Ethan’s mum had rang asking if Ethan could get a little more help when it came to reading. He was reading a level 3 book at key stage two (most of the other children were level 6/7) so I sat down with him outside the classroom and read the book with him. I helped him sound out words which he struggled with and identify words alongside the pictures. I have been doing this with him most weeks which I have been there, and he has made excellent progress, all it needed was a bit more one on one help and I was glad that I could be of assistance.

Pinned up notice boards, helped sort out the children’s art pieces

On day one I did mostly simple tasks:

• I pinned up artwork on a noticed board within the classroom
• Cut and stuck artwork on coloured card to make them look neat and more aesthetically presentable
• Went round the class and helped the kids spell words which they found difficult

Conclusion from Day 1

From the beginning of the day until the end, it was a pleasure to meet the children and feel so welcomed at Forge Integrated. I grasped a lot from the first day, whether that be the various staff introductions, when break and lunchtime are, getting to know the children and recognizing the variation in skill levels which spread across the classroom. I looked forward to the following weeks to come.