It’s been quite a few months since I was last at uni (the break felt long!), but the time has come to get back to classes. Year 2 starts very soon, so I thought it would be a nice time to document what’s going on in the land of my degree!

If you’re interested, you can find the previous instalments detailing my teaching journey below:

• #1 First Classes

• #2 Placement

• #3 First Semester Done!

• #4 Semester Break

• #5 Back At It For Semester 2!

• #6 Second Placement

• #7 First Year Done!

Semester break

This teaching degree doesn’t have any exams at all, which is really nice, but also not what I’m used to. That meant that, as soon as I’d handed in my final assessment for Semester 2 last year, I was pretty much done! The usual exam period plus the regular semester break made for a pretty lengthy absence from uni (probably early November until late February, or something like that).

In that time, I’ve worked a bit, travelled a bit, and generally enjoyed some time off to recuperate. Full-time work came with much shorter breaks across the year, so I’ve enjoyed the opportunities that have come with going back to uni.

Semester 2 classes and timetable

I didn’t have any choice with my classes this semester; they’re all compulsory, and everybody in the course does them. There’s a combination of on-campus and online classes this semester (I typically prefer on-campus, but I guess online classes have their benefits, too!).

Initially, I had some timetable issues. I wanted to keep all of my classes on as few days as possible to free up other days for work and other commitments. Given there’ll be quite a few weeks of (unpaid) full-time placement this year, it would be preferable to have some time dedicated to working and getting some money!

After a bit of back and forth, I was able to get an adequate timetable. Fingers crossed it all works out okay! 🤞

Organising placement

Placement has become increasingly early in the semester each period, and this semester, it’s particularly early (probably to avoid the school holiday period, which obviously wouldn’t be very useful for a teaching placement!). As such, I’ve been trying to stay on top of it over the break.

I was informed of my placement school (the institution organises it) late last year, then contacted the school early this year when school went back for the new term. I’ve been in touch with my mentor teacher, and have tried to organise some replacement dates, as the placement period unfortunately runs over several public holidays. These public holidays don’t contribute to the required number of placement days, so other arrangements need to be made.

Placement is always an unknown for me, and is comfortably the hardest - or at least the most challenging - aspect of this degree. Given each school is different, it takes some time to get used to surroundings and processes, and that in itself can be a challenge (before even thinking about the teaching aspect!).

Thinking about next year

I feel like the novelty of last year has burst a little bit. Coming from full-time work and a decent break from university studies, being back on campus felt a bit exciting and different. As it’s a two-year course, Year 1 also felt like a bit of a buffer period, where I had time to work out what I was doing and get back into the groove of things.

Now that Year 2 is starting, I’m starting to feel a bit of pressure about life after uni. If I’m going to teach next year, I’ll probably need to start applying for jobs toward the end of this year. But the problem is, I’m actually not 100% sure what I want my work to look like!

I guess everything will work itself out as the year progresses, but I’m definitely feeling more general life pressure this year than last. Let’s see how we go - I’m looking forward to checking in with updates throughout the semester!