Student Teacher

[Grapefruityogi]

I am a student teacher, doing a PGCE and at the momet I am in a primary school placement.

I am loving being with the children, but all the forms I have to fill in and lesson plans are becoming overwhelming. I have over an hours commute, meaning that I am having 12 hour days and little time to myself.

Is this just normal for a teacher to feel so overwhelmed? I just broke down the other day in the staffroom as it felt like too much, and Usually I deal with things very well. I was so embarrassed

I really don't want to feel like a burden to the class teacher, who is stressed with Covid and a class of 30 herself.

Any tips??

Yes that is normal, and unfortunately, if you plan to teach in mainstream, just a feeling you need to get used to.

Being a student teacher is tough as every lesson requires more planning and paperwork than when you’re qualified. Also there’s course work, essays and potentially juggling a job as well. Every student teacher I know breaks down at some point and currently it’s tougher than usual as there’s none of the feel good stuff - assemblies, sing alongs, coffee mornings, school fetes etc. Although these involve even more work, they give you a boost.

However, as a teacher you will have more more marking, tracking and report writing to do. I love teaching, but it can suck every second of your free time and often it’s not a job that comes with a great social life. A lot of teachers lead a fairly isolated existence.

Yes, even without throwing COVID into the mix, that is normal.
Well, if you are counting 2 and 1/2 hours of travelling time in that 12 hours, then I'd actually say you are getting off lightly, if I'm honest. Your PGCE year and your NQT year, and probably the next 30 years will be 12 hour working days I'm afraid.
They shouldn't be, but realistically, you'll find that is the norm.

@BackforGood

Yes, even without throwing COVID into the mix, that is normal. Well, if you are counting 2 and 1/2 hours of travelling time in that 12 hours, then I'd actually say you are getting off lightly, if I'm honest. Your PGCE year and your NQT year, and probably the next 30 years will be 12 hour working days I'm afraid. They shouldn't be, but realistically, you'll find that is the norm.

Thank you for responses, I'm guessing this is quite normal!

The PGCE is mental and I think it is normal to feel like this.

Can you talk to your uni tutor? They may allow you to ditch some of the paperwork temporarily or permanently.

After your PGCE, the form filling does decrease, although there will be other pointless admin to replace it.