The first day of school...
The first day of school?! It's weird being on the other side of the fence yet still feeling apprehensive and excited for the school year ahead. Before starting my ITT year this September, I was lucky enough to have gained experience over the past year (7 months as learning support and 3 months unqualified teaching), so I guess the initial 'I'm going to get eaten alive fear' wasn't my biggest worry. This year is going to be full of ups and downs; sweat, blood and tears; immense work load; extreme organisation; an untold amount of emails; an untold amount of books to mark; an untold amount of hours lost sleep... and my fear is keeping on top of it all! The first two weeks has slightly accommodated this anxiety with meeting after meeting and training outlining what's on the entire course, explaining all the crucial assignments and every form to be submitted on a weekly, half-termly and termly basis. However, in saying this, I realise it's a YEARS amount of work they keep talking about and it's not ALL going to be due next week... The job itself is exactly what I want to be doing (I've always wanted to be a teacher) and I do get pleasure from planning and teaching lessons. Even the written work behind the scenes because it helps me realise the progress, goals and achievements for myself, it's like a map to my journey to becoming what I've always wanted, and a sense of satisfaction comes from solving a problem (I'm a mathematician after all ;-) )
I couldn't be happier that I've gone for it. The support from the maths team, my mentor, my pathway tutor and the training school has been amazing and I am looking forward to the year ahead embracing the challenges that will inevitably come!
- By Della Avery, Maths Scholar
Della is a Maths Scholar. If you’d like to apply for a scholarship then read all about how to get started on our Maths Scholars home page. Apply to be a Maths Scholar now but do read all our tips before you do. Good luck!