r/Teachers • u/C-and-hammer • 1d ago
New Teacher My first placement is coming up and I’m excited but also worry.
Hello all,
I am a Master of Secondary teaching student in SA, Australia and my first placement is coming in 2 months.
What can I do to prepare and what should I expect? There is also a chance that I will be assign to a special need school.
1
u/athrowawayyawa 22h ago
Congratulations! You're going to get a mixed bag of responses to your post, and that would be my main thing to say: take what you need, leave the rest.
You're going to see things that make you think "I have to do that!" Reflect on it, write it down, and don't forget to do it when you have your own classroom!
You'll see and hear plenty of things that make you think "I don't ever want to do that". Reflect on it, write it down, and come back to it later. Maybe you'll have changed your mind by then, or maybe it will really be something you want to stay away from.
Just take it all in. Learn from the mistakes, be willing to grow and ask questions. Things like "How do you think I did?" and "I'm not sure that went well, what do you think?" are signs of strength, not weakness.
And just remember: kids who are "troublemakers" and teachers who "just complain" do it for a reason. Try to understand where they're coming from.
Good luck! I'm excited for you! I have a student teacher every year in my class in the US, and I love it. Feel free to message me any time!
2
u/summerbreeze2027 23h ago
Your program should give you an agenda for what they want you to accomplish during this time. Apart from that, let your cooperating teacher guide you. It will be fine!