Work Experience disaster 14 yr old

[Sula1978]

I have a well behaved 14 year old son. Slightly shy, academic, sporty and keen to be a teacher. My son decided to apply for his work experience at the local primary. It's near our house and his sister goes there. He has just done three days there and has been crucified on the feedback.

We explained to him on the first day to politely introduce himself to the head, go to his mentor with any issues, be helpful and most importantly enjoy it. Got there day 1 and no introduction, no induction, no mentor and left in a cupboard on his own for lunch. The teacher clearly did not want him there. She gave him no chair and left him outside the class sticking worksheets in books for 3 days. He went back to his own school today to a letter from the Primary school saying he was caught playing rock, paper, scissors with the 6 year olds and was seen to pretend bowl a cricket ball along the corridor. He had a bad attitude and was a poor communicator. He's so upset as thought he had done well but was called out of class today to explain.

Should I speak to the Primary to ask why he was crucified or leave it?

Thinking about it, my school organised a community service/work placement for me when I was in 6th Yr.

I was placed in a local nursery where I interacted with the children, set out equipment, cleared up...

On my last day, the staff presented me with a pen for university. They were lovely.

I recall one day walking down the road and encountering a family of Chilean refugees whose youngest was at the nursery. I was wearing my school uniform at the time.

I heard the youngest squealing "That's my teacher!" and she then ran up to me, jumped up and hugged me. One of the nicest things that's ever happened to me.

When I applied for uni, I was able to include my work experience in my statement and when I applied for Jordanhill Teacher Training College I included it in the section that asked about experience teaching or working with children.

ETA I'm sorry that things went badly for the OP's son.

Work experience is shit and the spawn of the devil.
child 1 a theatrical costumier- did everything right took in chocolates then given a verbal character assassination by the owner.
Child2 flashed at in the toilet by a customer police involved. Offered a Saturday job but sacked just before right to unfair dismissal.
Child3 company went bust the week before and he had to come to work with me.

Lol that can't be right

He's either having you on or the whole thing is a write off

My former place of work now only only allows work experience if the child can organise it for herself via a relative.

Well, I wouldn't "ask why he was crucified."

How about "I'm disturbed and puzzled, and am hoping someone can take a few minutes to clarify"?

Wow - really mean of the school. He's only 14. I would definitely give the horrible school bad feedback. It's supposed to be a learning experience not an appraisal for a paid job!

If a school gave feedback, I'd expect it to be constructive! Also, it doesn't sounds as though the teacher gave him much guidance at the time.

By the way, when I was young and very shy, I once had a job interview for a lollipop person role at a primary school. The headteacher later phoned me to tell me I hadn't got the job, remarked on my obvious nervousness at the interview and said that my answers to the questions were very short. That was the first time anyone had given me proper interview feedback and it was an embarrassing experience, but it helped me to do much better in future interviews.

Great advice, i’m sure OP will LOVE reading about how anazing your experience was when looking for genuine advice on what to do.🙄

I would complain to your school and get some answers , the school is embarrassed about the feedback , but they need to find out exactly what the experience entailed & what the primary school expected so this doesn’t happen again .

Work experience should be a national scheme. Leaving it up to parents to organise it only exacerbates inequality.

The primary school sound absolutely appalling, OP.

I'd definitely raise it as having been a poorly organised placement and question why he wasn't given feedback during his work experience and pulled up on behaviours at the time rather than being crucified afterwards

For what it's worth, your son sounds like he was able to build a rapport with some of the students on his placement which is a core teaching skill. If he struggles with communication and shyness it might be worth getting him into drama or something that lets him perform - it'll help when he's fighting nerves whilst delivering his first few lessons! He can also build up real practical skills via tutoring or coaching (seems he might have an interest in sports?)

I'd be inclined to do something proactive to boost his confidence and demonstrate that his skills can improve rather than let him think his character is fundamentally flawed.

Speaking as someone who had a very positive work placement in a school and who teaches music part time alongside my main job.

It does seem like he's had a rotten week here, but for the sake of a different viewpoint let's play devil's advocate...

I would assume that at 14 he's not supposed to have unsupervised contact with the children, and that's why they weren't happy about the Rock, Paper, Scissors situation. Whether that was made clear to him or not is another matter.

The bowling? Perhaps they viewed this as mucking about when they'd given him a job to do?

The staff room is presumably adults only and he is very much a child at 14. I can understand them not wanting him in there potentially overhearing things, especially when he has a sibling at the school.

The mundane tasks? What can you do, realistically, as a child in a school environment? Work experience often means shitty busy work. Which leads us to...

Bad attitude/communication. Could this be as a result of his expectations and the reality of the placement being so far apart that he was fed-up/miserable all week? Again, not his fault, but a textbook reaction from a miffed young teenager.

The lack of feedback? You say he wasn't given an induction or guidance...I guess it's equally possible that whoever was 'responsible' for him day-to-day was similarly unaware that they were supposed to be delivering coaching/feedback.

I'd certainly be talking to his school, not the placement school. Firstly for more specific feedback that he can action and secondly to make sure they're aware of what his week entailed. If they were aware I'd want to know why it wasn't made clear ahead of time and if they weren't, they need to communicate with the placement school and either agree on a more beneficial framework or stop offering placements there.

Anyway - Perhaps a bit of a life lesson for him. Are you able to arrange some work experience independently at weekends or during the school holidays?

Also, if he's into sport and struggling with confidence, get him doing some boxing, MMA or BJJ/Judo (especially if he doesn't fancy getting hit). It'll do wonders for him.

I recommend those over other martial arts as even if he doesn't want to compete, the training has the practical elements of learning how to make things work against a resisting partner, rather than compliance or learning movements in front of a mirror.

I remember my week of work experience in an accounting firm. By day 2, I was out on an audit with one of the accountants adding up invices! (The accountant was doing the more complicated stuff and supervising.) They were really nice. I was slightly older than your son. I have supervised many graduates since and have tried to pay it forward. If one of my "trainees" is going wrong it is my job to explain and help them correct. I can't see that your son did much wrong here. The r paper scissors rock game sounds harmless or even wholesome.

My son who is a student teacher had a placement that sounds a bit similar to your son's. Except he was yelled at and abused so badly the training institution stepped in, offered to pay for trauma counselling and the teacher concerned did not escape without consequences. My son is very polite and humble so it wasn't arrogance or anything like that which triggered the behaviour. I told him about this post and he asked me to pass on his sympathy to OP's son.

Meh! I did WE at a vets at a similar age. I worked like mad including diligently cleaning up after and handling a deceased cat without making one bit of fuss. My 'mentor' had it in for me regardless (probably because I looked very young for my age) and she wrote a pretty crappy report for me saying I lacked initiative. My friend got a glowing report. I am now a doctor. Friend as far as I know has never worked a day in her life, has a drug problem and has had children removed from her....

It means nothing. It's a snapshot judgement made by someone who's clearly a bit power mad and a bit of a twat. DS needs to reflect and figure out if there is anything he needs to work on ITO his communication skills. I'd maybe be speaking to school about this and asking their opinion. However he also needs to learn that there's arsewipes everywhere in the world unfortunately and part of adult life is learning when to stick and when to fold. In the grand scheme of things this won't impact his life significantly so I'd give brutally honest feedback about this school and then move on. He could always see if there's anywhere else he can volunteer or get a PT job if you think he needs a confidence boost.

The mundane tasks? What can you do, realistically, as a child in a school environment? Work experience often means shitty busy work. Which leads us to...

There's plenty he could have done. I did my work experience in a primary school, two weeks of it, and I had plenty to do. I listened to children read, I worked with small groups, I went around the classroom when they were working quietly and answered questions/checked they understood what they were doing, put up artwork on the walls, marked exercise books (straightforward things like spellings and maths), helped in PE lessons. There is so much that a teenager can do in a primary school classroom that is helpful and will teach them a little about working in a school.

I'm so sorry OP, your poor son. As it was only 3 days will he have a chance to do another placement somewhere else? Or could you arrange a bit of work experience with a friend or relative during holidays or something? To give him a better experience after that disappointment.

Or as in yonder day's, schools organised it with local firms etc.

It is, and I think this is why a primary school is a bad place to go for it.

They have to safeguard children - and he is a child (although he wouldn't be seen as QUITE so childlike in another setting - here he is only 3 years older than the eldest pupils). I think being a pupils sister blurred things also - is this the school he left 3 years ago?). So the idea he would be in a staffroom, or allowed to leave and wander freely on a break doesn't sit well in that framework.

I think partly you have unrealistic expectations of work experience - for example who is free to be his mentor for a week? You wouldn't usually get that doing a work experience placement. People still have to do their job. Same also for an induction - beyond this is where things are etc.

They also have to safeguard their children - I'm unsure whether your son needs a DBS being 14? But they also can't leave him alone with the children - perhaps this is the issue with him playing games that he wasn't supervised and supposed to be doing that? Was it on his break?

Still, seems like there were some very realistic 'work' life experiences in there -

• Poor induction, expectations of job not met.
• Poor facilities for dinner.
• Unclear expectations of behaviour - and your sons inability to observe and infer proffesional standards of behaviour.

Sometimes this happens in real jobs too, often in fact!

You learn all sorts from work experience. He will learn from this too, even if not what he had hoped. He may learn questions to ask at his first job, and things to check before accepting etc. Everything is an experience, good or bad, and that's the point of it.

Yes mine did too.

I agree. Also, pretend cricket is something that the teen boys in my class used to do - even at 17.

He is 14. His brain isn’t even fully developed. Work experience is such a bludge anyway, I always managed to get out of it because I had extra curricular activities.

Bad placement, DD did it in a restaurant, cleared tables, set up tables using the right cutlery, folded napkins, polished glasses. Learnt about the different courses including what an amuse-bouche was. All very relaxed, all within her capabilities, kept away from customers or H&S risks. All Supervised.

Sounds like your son has a rotten placement and was set up to fail.

I am wondering if it is because he wasn't allowed to be alone with the children. 'Caught' playing seems like he wasn't supposed to be with them at that point, and there wasn't a teacher there.

If we're being honest, not many would be happy to find out a random 14 year old boy was alone with our children in school playing with them, and that's genuinely no offence meant to OP or her son, just that to the children he is a stranger and not their peer. The children have to be safeguarded.

That’s taken me back! I did work experience in a school at 15, admittedly decades ago and it was exactly the same. 4 of us were on placements there and we were not welcome, at all. Nothing for us to do, not allowed in the classrooms, not allowed in the staff room at break times, we spent the week sat on the playing field! Total waste of everyone’s time and made me decide to never be a teacher. They didn’t give any negative feedback though (or any feedback at all!) and in your situation op, I’d simply point out that the school clearly wasn’t set up for it, and give some feedback of your own.

@Menocandoone I had we outside school but also in school again decades ago.
My tasks.
Grate a catering size block of cheese.
Staple hundreds of work sheets together.
Yay

We have a massive shortage of teachers. You would think primary schools would want to encourage any work experience students not try to put them off. They should have introduced your DS properly and he should have been Shadowing and supporting the class teacher. He should have been given meaningful tasks to do in the classroom some sticking in the worksheets, listening to readers, helping a small group with their maths, etc. I would have told him what lesson was 2 days ahead and ask him to work on a couple of resources for the lesson and let him deliver a starter.