Check out the previous entries to my teaching journey journal:

• #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!

• #8 Second Year Incoming

New semester, new placement

In the previous entry, I was just starting the new semester. Placement was much earlier in the semester this time around (I think to avoid Easter and school holidays as much as possible), so it felt like very little time at uni before lacing up the old placement boots again.

I can comfortably say that I found this placement the toughest of my three so far. There were various reasons for that, but overall I’m really proud of the fact that I got through despite some difficulties.

For transparency:

I almost deferred before placement even began

Due to some health issues, I almost put off this placement (and potentially even the entire semester) before it had even started. I didn’t feel confident that I could get through the placement period but, in the end, decided to give it a go for the first couple of days and reassess after that. From that point forward, I just chunked the remaining days - “just get through the next two days”, then “just get through the next two days” and so on, until I got to the end.

It wasn’t an easy road given those health issues, but I got through after consulting medical advice and thinking about my options very carefully.

Placement #3

All three of my placements so far have been in somewhat different settings/contexts, which is great for development and experience, but also hard to get used to. In this placement, I was floating between more classes, making it harder to remember names and where I was meant to be at any given time, and was working closely with a greater number of mentor teachers.

The further along you get in your degree, the more you’re expected to increase your teaching load, too. The idea is that, by the end of your final placement, you basically feel ready and prepared to jump into an actual graduate job and the related teaching load. It’s one of those things where it might be difficult at the time, but it will probably be helpful in the long-run. The more stuff you try on placement, the more equipped you’ll be if/when you do start teaching.

The hidden costs of placement

I spoke about the hidden costs of placement in a previous entry, but will reiterate it here as something to consider for those thinking about starting a teaching degree.

This placement was for three weeks full time, meaning it’s realistically extremely difficult to work on top of that; aside from being very tired, you may be commuting before and after school, or lesson-planning on the weekends. That means there’s three weeks of lost income opportunity. If you’re paying rent or living week to week, it’s really important to think about what those three weeks might look like for you.

Further, there are other costs such as transport and resources. I had some considerations (like dress code) covered due to previous placements, but probably spent an additional ~$200 on things like travel and other bits and pieces. More still if you include food/lunches.

You don’t need to pay to go on placement - this is part of the degree cost - but you also don’t get paid. There are big movements currently to change this, but at time of writing, it’s on you to make your own way through placement periods.

So - what next?

With placement done for the semester, I can now turn my attention back to regular classes and assignments. I think it will be a busy couple of months as I chip away at my subjects, but it feels nice to know that the placement component is done until next semester.

It struck me when writing this that perhaps some teaching students love placement, and that’s the part that they look forward to. Perhaps that’s something for me to reflect on as I continue to try to work out what I want to do after this degree!