Hi everyone,
I'm undergoing teacher training to get my PGCE at the moment. I only have about 4 weeks of teaching left (hopefully) and I'm astounded that I've made it this far. In October we had to do an assignment called a reading history, explaining how we learnt to read and what we remembered from it: I remembered barely anything and realised there was something not right. I went to the university welfare and was diagnosed with moderate dyspraxia. At this point I was 23, had gained a university degree, gone through school with no real hiccups, and had held down a few jobs. I just thought I was lazy, clumsy and liked sleep. Everything started to make sense.
Fast forward to today where I have decided that teaching may not be for me. I have been so ill and exhausted over the past few months that it hardly seems worth it: I've had kidney infections, flu, chronic heartburn and back pain, and this coupled with the unreal amounts of anxiety and stress have put me off. Even worse, I feel like I'm letting people down because I simply don't have the energy to go in some days. I don't really know what to do. I wish something could make this easier for me. I still haven't fully come to terms with the dyspraxia, and I'm only just noticing how bad it can be.
Really I just wanted to rant about being a newbie to dyspraxia and finding my place, but I think that some vocations, especially teaching, are so physically, mentally and emotionally demanding, that it's almost impossible for someone without an SpLD to get through it, how are we meant to do it? I wish I could just quit it all now and not go in tomorrow, but pereserverance is key.
Has anyone else struggled/is struggling with this?
Teacher training troubles
Moderator: Moderator Team
Re: Teacher training troubles
Hi and welcome. Glad you've found us.
It's still a shame that we're pretty much left to work things out for ourselves. Plenty of us keep pushing to the point of exhaustion because we're like that.
Probably the best thing I can suggest is to allow yourself time to reset and rebuild and regain your health and strength but appreciate letting go of stuff probably will not come easily.
The fact you've made it thus far shows you certainly are far from lazy.
It's still a shame that we're pretty much left to work things out for ourselves. Plenty of us keep pushing to the point of exhaustion because we're like that.
Probably the best thing I can suggest is to allow yourself time to reset and rebuild and regain your health and strength but appreciate letting go of stuff probably will not come easily.
The fact you've made it thus far shows you certainly are far from lazy.
Tom
Moderator/Administrator
With a foot full of bullets I tried to run faster but I just hobbled on to the next disaster.
(from Peter and the Test Tube Babies, Foot Full of Bullets)
Moderator/Administrator
With a foot full of bullets I tried to run faster but I just hobbled on to the next disaster.
(from Peter and the Test Tube Babies, Foot Full of Bullets)
Re: Teacher training troubles
Thank you Tom, it really is a shame. The problem is I have to complete a set number of hours and my mentor is worried I won't be able to handle the pressures of teaching full time, which is a major worry for me as I've already accepted a job for next year.
Hopefully there's some kind of disability programme in place at the new job, and it should be better because there's not the added pressure of university studies on top of it. I would definitely recommend someone with dyspraxia taking a part time PGCE programme as this allows for time off to organise and relax. I think that would be more productive and a lot less stressful. Just wish I'd known sooner.
Hopefully there's some kind of disability programme in place at the new job, and it should be better because there's not the added pressure of university studies on top of it. I would definitely recommend someone with dyspraxia taking a part time PGCE programme as this allows for time off to organise and relax. I think that would be more productive and a lot less stressful. Just wish I'd known sooner.
Re: Teacher training troubles
Hopefully you will have bad chance for your resilience to have improved by the time you start your job next year. Realisation takes a while to get used to and I appreciate you're still at the stage of attempting to work out what it all means for you personally. Whilst we're united by a common conditiion, we're still unique individuals with our own sometimes different ways of thinking and approaching tasks.
Disclosure feels like a difficult conundrum where your damned if you do and damned if you don't. Legally an employer is required to provide reasonable adjustments The difficulty can often reaching agreement on what constitutes reasonable.
Hopefully the forum will provide some ideas. The Dyspraxia Foundation are also worth a look.
Disclosure feels like a difficult conundrum where your damned if you do and damned if you don't. Legally an employer is required to provide reasonable adjustments The difficulty can often reaching agreement on what constitutes reasonable.
Hopefully the forum will provide some ideas. The Dyspraxia Foundation are also worth a look.
Tom
Moderator/Administrator
With a foot full of bullets I tried to run faster but I just hobbled on to the next disaster.
(from Peter and the Test Tube Babies, Foot Full of Bullets)
Moderator/Administrator
With a foot full of bullets I tried to run faster but I just hobbled on to the next disaster.
(from Peter and the Test Tube Babies, Foot Full of Bullets)
Re: Teacher training troubles
Hi Tillsky
I read your post and just wanted to give you some encouragement. I'm a teacher, and I found my PGCE really hard too. I was diagnosed with dyslexia as a child, but I've only just found out I'm dyspraxic. Like you say, it explains so many things, and I'm still trying to get my head round it all. I've met many teachers with various SpLD, and if you've successfully got as far as you describe, you may just need time to find your whiskers, and find strategies to help you manage the workload, if you decide to stay with it. It's worth bearing in mind if you look for strategies to support yourself, you can also apply them to your teaching, and help your students where they need it too. There's more of us out there than most people realise : )
If you love teaching, but full time is too much, it might be worth talking to your school and seeing if they will reduce your timetable. Some schools will do this, and take on another teacher part time to manage their timetable commitments. Normally this happens once a teacher has been in post for a while, but it might be worth asking about, perhaps your tutor, university support centre or SU could help you explain and support you doing so? Though obviously, you'll want to balance that with being able to manage on the salary. According to the induction webpage, if you work part time, you can do your induction part time across two years instead of one, though they're referring to .5. If you want to ask me anything about teaching with SpLD please do give me a shout. Please, please don't be discouraged if you love the job. Not everyone in education actually gets SpLD, or any other type of SEN for that matter, and responses to them can vary from school to school, and person to person. You've already jumped through the same hoops as everyone else to get your degree, and you're nearly there with your PGCE. If you feel it's not for you, that's fair enough, but please don't feel you automatically can't teach because you're dyspraxic.
Best wishes with whatever you decide to do
Sem
I read your post and just wanted to give you some encouragement. I'm a teacher, and I found my PGCE really hard too. I was diagnosed with dyslexia as a child, but I've only just found out I'm dyspraxic. Like you say, it explains so many things, and I'm still trying to get my head round it all. I've met many teachers with various SpLD, and if you've successfully got as far as you describe, you may just need time to find your whiskers, and find strategies to help you manage the workload, if you decide to stay with it. It's worth bearing in mind if you look for strategies to support yourself, you can also apply them to your teaching, and help your students where they need it too. There's more of us out there than most people realise : )
If you love teaching, but full time is too much, it might be worth talking to your school and seeing if they will reduce your timetable. Some schools will do this, and take on another teacher part time to manage their timetable commitments. Normally this happens once a teacher has been in post for a while, but it might be worth asking about, perhaps your tutor, university support centre or SU could help you explain and support you doing so? Though obviously, you'll want to balance that with being able to manage on the salary. According to the induction webpage, if you work part time, you can do your induction part time across two years instead of one, though they're referring to .5. If you want to ask me anything about teaching with SpLD please do give me a shout. Please, please don't be discouraged if you love the job. Not everyone in education actually gets SpLD, or any other type of SEN for that matter, and responses to them can vary from school to school, and person to person. You've already jumped through the same hoops as everyone else to get your degree, and you're nearly there with your PGCE. If you feel it's not for you, that's fair enough, but please don't feel you automatically can't teach because you're dyspraxic.
Best wishes with whatever you decide to do
Sem