Anna Russell

I completed my placement in a local primary school in my hometown. The school is situated in a seaside town in rural Donegal. There are around a hundred and twenty students in the school.  The school employs two AEL teachers, two special needs assistants, and five class teachers. When I began my placement around the end of the school year, I thought it would be the easiest phase of the year, where I would observe classes and occasionally perform drama workshops with certain groups of students. But I was completely wrong….. 

This blog uses Gibbs’ Reflective Cycle to help me reflect on my experience, allowing me to examine multiple aspects of it.

During my first week of placement, I mostly assisted the principal who teaches Senior Infants which is equivalent to P2 here. On Thursday of my first week, I was in her office answering phone calls and updating book lists for the coming academic year. Every phone call that I received, I wrote down the person’s name and their reason for calling. In one phone call in particular a woman asked that the principal would call her back as soon as possible. When I mentioned the name of the woman to the principal during the break, the expression on her face completely dropped and she rushed to her office. 

At that time, I wasn’t sure how to react, I wasn’t sure if it was a personal matter or if I was in the wrong by not going to her with this information straight away.

A while after, the principal returned to inform the staff that a Department of Education inspector had called to let them know that they would have an entire school inspection the following week, during which every teacher would be observed in action and all policies were required to be up to date. I saw as each teacher took in this information and suddenly, I went from being in a relaxed environment to an extremely tense one. I wasn’t aware of the severity of this situation and didn’t expect the teachers to be as anxious and worried as they were. Because of this, I had to step up and assist the teachers. I was in charge of a class whilst the staff had lengthy meetings to update their policies. The children in the class were approximately seven or eight years old.  I really was thrown into the deep end!

At first, I felt uneasy entering a classroom, taking complete charge and being accountable for all 28 students. But I had to come to terms with it, so I did so right away! I was worried that the students would pick up on my anxieties as well as any that were circulating the school due to the upcoming inspection. I placed my entire focus on the students and their learning. I was faced with a difficult task when put in charge of this group, there were two separate class groups as well as five Ukrainian students, each with a range of needs. To best serve each student, I had to modify my teaching methods. A student with learning disabilities was helped by a special needs assistant and I immediately observed a difference in the classroom environment when she was there and when she wasn’t. In order to assist myself when conducting lessons such as Irish, I made sure that all students who were working from the same books were seated next to one another. I was working with four different books to meet the various needs of the students in my class. 

I found that working closely with a student who had learning disabilities meant that they completed tasks with greater difficulty than the other students. Since I hadn’t dealt with that situation directly before, I wasn’t sure how to help this student. The student turned to me and said “Miss, I don’t see it how you see it” after I had attempted to explain to them what they needed to do and how to achieve it. This made it clear to me that I needed to modify my strategy and give the students more control and let them tell me what they think is expected of them.

“Constructivist teaching philosophy is all about accepting student autonomy where student thinking drives the lessons”.[1] 

Akpan, J.P. and Beard, L.A., 2016. Using constructivist teaching strategies to enhance academic outcomes of students with special needs. Universal Journal of Educational Research, 4(2), pp.392-398.

If I had to deal with this situation again, I would take the same course of action.

I had the opportunity of working with five Ukrainian students in the classroom. As the school year came to an end, the other teachers informed me that although the students’ English had improved significantly, there were still several areas in which they struggled, I felt that working closely with them was incredibly rewarding. The students would be so proud of themselves and each other when one of them got something right, they would high-five each other and celebrate. This opened my eyes to a new way of teaching that I had never experienced before, using an app on my phone to translate what the students wanted to say was difficult to get a grasp of at first, but I wanted to ensure that they felt as though they were being heard and that the classroom was a safe place. I reported everything back to their teacher and she was only delighted that they were improving more. 

One day at school there was severe thunder and lightning, the students were brought in early from lunch and were sent to their classrooms. However, when I arrived at the classroom I couldn’t find the Ukrainian children, I asked the special needs assistant to keep an eye on the class whilst I went and looked for them. I found them huddled together under a table. I wasn’t sure what to do at that moment, but I knew that I needed to be mindful and cautious. I was heartbroken that, coming from a country torn apart by war, these children were paralysed with fear. I decided to join them under the table and reassure them that they were safe and that we could stay there until the thunder stopped. We walked to the window to see the intensity of the rain and I reminded them it was just horrible weather and that they were safe. When we returned to the classroom, I read a story to the entire class as I knew they would all enjoy it and find it to be calming.

When the school day was over, the children smiled as they left the room, one of them approached me, thanked me and tightly hugged me, I felt that I had made a difference in their lives. I explained to the principal what had happened to ensure their parents would be aware of it. She praised me for taking the initiative in ensuring that the kids felt safe and they left school with smiles on their faces, she told me that I’d be an excellent teacher. Though I didn’t realise I needed to hear those words, they served as a reminder that what I was doing had a purpose and that the pupils were impacted by it. Whenever I’m struggling in university or feeling overwhelmed, I remind myself of what I want to do.

“Teachers are important adults in children’s scholastic lives“

Spilt, Jantine L., Helma MY Koomen, and Jochem T. Thijs. “Teacher wellbeing: The importance of teacher–student relationships.” Educational psychology review 23 (2011): 457-477.

Although it was an extremely stressful time for the staff in the school, I am selfishly glad that the inspection happened. If it wasn’t for the inspection, I would not have had the experience of teaching a classroom full of kids and dealing with the ups and downs of that.  I also had the opportunity to observe how the school was managed as a business and all the policies that must be followed. I found out through this my love for teaching and helping children. I am aware that I was only teaching the class for a week, but it was the most eventful week of my life! During this process, I learned a lot not only about the realities of being in a classroom, but I also learned a lot about myself and gained valuable skills that I will utilise on a daily basis in my future career. 

Bibliography:

Akpan, J.P. and Beard, L.A., 2016. Using constructivist teaching strategies to enhance academic outcomes of students with special needs. Universal Journal of Educational Research, 4(2), pp.392-398.

Spilt, Jantine L., Helma MY Koomen, and Jochem T. Thijs. “Teacher wellbeing: The importance of teacher–student relationships.” Educational psychology review 23 (2011): 457-477.