Anyone beginning their PGCE this September?

[Louise12]

Hi ,

Just thought I would say hello and ask if there is anyone beginning a PGCE this September. I have two teenagers and am starting my PGCE in a few weeks time. Feeling extremely nervous but excited. I just hope I can cope with what I know to be a very intense course.

Best wishes to anyone beginning their studies at the same time and juggling family life alongside!

HM - I'm doing mine via Uni of Herts (I am in Aylesbury), I am only having to go in for a week from 21/9, then do the course work via computer and the placements (hopefully!) nearish to home. I think my family are helping me out with childcare (am busy thinking that it'll all work itself out, rather than focussing on the details ).

Well done on your work experience! I think that confidence has got to be a major factor in gaining respect in the classroom, really really need to do some swotting up myself!!

I can't imagine how organised you must need to be! I think, though, it'll be good to have something other than ds to think about, assuming my brain switches back on at some point! I am planning on having food delivered and meal planning manically, in order to make sure we at least eat! I'm also going to try to take people up on offers of help with ds (I'm rubbish at doing this at the mo) and getting on with work. You are going to have to make sure you slot in some sleep-time at some point!

Well done on sorting your placements, everyone seems to know where they are going except me ! It'll be fine, it'll be fine....!!

DidEinsteinsMum - hello . I think we are all possibly slightly mad?! One good thing about you and your ds starting school on the same day is that you won't have a chance to worry about him! You will both sleep well that night!!

Sleep the night before a change? Not in this house, ds is change phobic, i reckon there will only be 4hrs sleep in this house the night before we both start.

by the way I'm DEM for short.

I am so glad that i am full time and my placements are sorted by my uni. Now if student finance were that easy to fix....

I did sort of arrange my placement as I had been into that school to do some work experience and they offered to have me back. The Uni (I'm at Bedford) were quite happy about it as most people on the course don't want to treck out to Leighton Buzzard.
Glad to see there are other people doing science.

KateF - what are you doing?

I'm doing secondary chemistry.

can I join in please? I am starting a primary PGCE in just over a week. Nice to see so many MNers will be on courses too -maybe I won't be the only "old" one!

Hi all, CC IKWYM. I have made friends on the course with a girl who could age-wise be my dd, but there are lots of more mature students too.

Harimosmummy - I'm doing KS2/KS3 with a science specialism. Bit of an odd course but gives me the choice of upper primary or middle school. I wanted to do primary and had a place on a BEd course but the fees are going up to £9000 a year from this year for graduates so I just couldn't afford it. having done more research it may be that I have a better chance of getting a middle school job than primary anyway since I am limited to the area I can work in.

ok so here is a question. How many people have had pre-course assignments

DEM wearing a different coat

I do, I got my file out this morning and hope to get them done this week.

Is anyone else getting a bit panicky now?

Yep me. I have tons to do for next week. course and non course related. thankfully ex is having ds for 2 days so as long as i can get my act together it'll be fine

...help.

I start in Sep. Primary PGCE - full time eek!

Not so much panicky as terrified! I don't start until 21/9 so am busy doing anything but think about it! Having said that I ordered my text books today (they have been in my Amazon basket for about a month ) so feel like I've achieved something...am worried that it might get harder than this?!

I have a long list of pre-course assignments -so far I have waded through the pages of information and written a list of the assignments, must get round to doing some of them .

When does everyone start? Good luck to anyone starting this week ....Let us know how it goes (only good stuff!).

I have to enrol tomorrow and start on the 7th - have made half-hearted attempts at the tasks and the reading but I'm hoping that will be more do-able when the dss are back at school.

I also had to get a police clearance check from when I was studying in Egypt. I applied before the hols but have still not heard anything so don't know what will happen about that.

Hi
I am also doing a PGCE (upper primary with French at Goldsmiths) starting on Monday!
Yes the same day as the kids go back to school. One long day of introductions and form filling - so I can neither take or fetch the kids to/from school!

I have being doing the pre-course stuff bit by bit for the past 8 weeks - but not particularly thoroughly.

Stopped doing it now because I want a bit of family time before I start. Feeling very sad about not spending so much time with the kids (DS 7 and DD 5).

And, yes just like everyone else, I am most apprehensive about it. When I said to a teacher friend that I feared I had bitten off more than I could chew, she confidently told me that I would find it too much, but I would either sink or swim....

Good luck with tomorrow saadia and good luck for next Monday to you and mugglewump .

You are both making me feel better about the pre-course work. I've really wanted to enjoy the rest of the holidays too - am feeling sad about not being around so much for ds too mugglewump. I have been reminding myself that this time next year we'll have had a long holiday with the dc that we might not otherwise get.

Apprehensive is a good word for it - everyone I have spoken to about the PGCE has kind of scrunched their face up and said how hard it is going to be. The only positive to this is that it cannot be as awful as we are imagining (can it?!).

I start on monday ds' first ever day and just discovered i cant take him I did online registry today, but have major issues with student finance. Aparently I have to put in a paper application cos the system is pants! and wont let me on. Stupid thing. SO i dont know what is going to happen fees wise. Induction 9.30am 7th first lecture 1pm 7th first assignment due 1pm 7th.
[eek]

I am definetly mad..

thanks superdooper , most people do say how hard it is but a teacher friend of mine (an eternal optimist)insists it is not as bad as bad as people say and that it is do-able, which is helping me to stay in denial. I'm also a bit sad that I won't have as much time to mess about with the dss.

Well I've done two days now and I'm knackered but having a great time . We are having introductions to foundation subjects this week so have done history, geography, art and RE. More art and RE tomorrow then PE all day Friday. Feel I've learned loads already! Hope everyone else has a good start too.

Ninjarain my loan hasn't come through yet either so they have let me just apply provisionally - but I can't use the library until full enrolment. We also joined three unions as it was free and got some cool freebies - diaries and year planners.

KateF - it's great that you're having fun and learning lots, certainly sounds encouraging.

Ha - one teacher friend has reassured me that I will find the course too much - but that I will sink or swim! How reassuring is that! LOL

Atleast we won't be phased by the kids like some of the younger childless students....

And we are all experts in multi-tasking and holding three conversations at once!!

I am actually not fearing behaviour issues. Ds has had a large proportion of tha covered of that last couple of years. I give til mid way through summer term, if he hasn't been exclude for even an afternoon i shall be very impressed. But as the school know of his issues exclusion will be our door for progress so i dont worry. much

I am not mad, I can do this...

hi everyone,

kate it's good to know that your first few days have been productive and enjoyable. nothing worse than getting worked up about the first few days then spending those days doing nothing more than hanging aorund and filling in forms!

my first day is tommorrow... i'm so nervous!saadia i'm feeling quite sad about my dc being into out of hours care everyday but what can i do? hopefully this is for the best

Good luck everyone for tomorrow. I'm still aching from 6 hours of PE on Friday! This week we join in with the secondary PGCE people for subject studies and professional studies so it will all be new again. Still, at least there's no more PE

6 hours of pe.! wow!
i'm aching from actually just sitting down in lecture halls all day whilst the course director tells us again and again that this course is time consuming and exhausting!

I really wanted to do it, but I couldn't figure out how to make the time for the course with a DC. How how how do you guys do it? What are your plans for childcare? Will you be using family? The course day is same as a school day plus commute time and prep time - the course I was trying for couldn't guarantee a commute time of anything less than 90 minutes each way... DD would be in care from before half 7 till after 6... DH job very full on, so unable to help there.