Case studies: Graduate teacher: Andrea

Andrea graduated from the University of Sheffield with a degree in Germanic and Hispanic Studies. She now teaches Spanish up to GCSE level while completing a Graduate Teacher Programme.

While I was still at university I applied for a British Council Language Assistantship post in Mexico. I went there for a year and taught at two universities.

After that I did a TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) course in the UK and went back to Mexico to continue teaching and volunteering for a non-governmental organisation (NGO). I then heard that a school in London was looking for a modern foreign languages graduate for the Graduate Teacher Programme (GTP). I applied and luckily, without having to work at the school first as a teaching assistant (which is the usual process), I was offered the training post.

As a fully trained teacher I would have meetings in the morning with staff before school started, I would have a form class to look after and would give around 24 hours of classes a week. I would also have to attend some meetings in the evenings and work on schemes of work, lesson plans, displays and after-school activities for the students. I am currently involved in all these activities on my training but am not on a 100% timetable.

I enjoy the job and the day goes very quickly. The work is rewarding, the activities are varied and the holidays are also very good. However, I do find there are challenging aspects to the role, including classroom management, time management and difficult children in classes.

My degree is relevant for my current role, as I need a degree in the subjects I want to teach. The usual way is to do a PGCE, however I believe the GTP is also a good route, as you learn on the job and start being paid straight away at an unqualified teacher’s status level.

AGCAS

Sourced by Francesca Bauer, AGCAS

Date: 

October 2009

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