And if the stress is so much that its causing me damage, then i don't think i would carry on. It wouldn't be worth damaging my health! However i hope i wouldn't let it get to that stage before having a serious reality check of whether i could really pass the course or not.
This is why I quit. It was starting to affect my health. I didn't let it get to this stage so much as kept thinking if I try a little harder I'll get through it. Eventually I conceded it was beyond my ability to work harder (those 2.am nights and 6.am starts were starting to grind me down) and the stress so great that I had to quit even though I didn't want to.
I truly, truly hope that you do make a success of teaching. I just wanted to say that I recognise myself in your words and that is all.
"You don't get anything worth getting by pretending to know things you don't know."
~ Sam Harris.
Liz944 wrote:Its better to try and do the course you really want to do, than give up on it before you even start.... otherwise it will bug you afterwards.... thinking what if.....
Your obviously a deep thinker like myself and very logical in that thinking and of course I don't want anyone to give up on there dreams, even if they have a seemingly more appropriate plan B and C.
Firstly in training I did fantastically well and got flawless assessments in both placement A and B. Placement A was where I went back to and have struggled since xmas.
Logical thinking, seeing things in black and white and not getting too involved is easier said than done in the teaching profession. Your dealing with human beings who surprise you every day and can not be treated the same for identical problems on any given day. You will probably get through your PGCE, I got through my 3 year BEd which had an identical last year to the PGCE, except we had no financial support plus we had more assignments to do. You are in an unnatural enevironment as a trainee teacher, very few lessons, very little of all the other stuff teachers have to deal with. It ill equips a dyspraxic person for the harsh reality of all your responsibilities as a NQT.
I never dreamed of being a teacher, but really enjoyed elements of it, but when you put all of your efforts into one thing and everything else is put to one side because of the annormity of your task it is soul destroying to not succeed. My poor girlfriend, family and friends had to see their hard working, honest and noble loved one, suffer more day by day.
I have many social strengths lots of dyspraxics don't have, but even with these, being thrown a multitude of different problems when your trying to teach and remember who has what need and how that can be encompassed into the lesson/s in hand, what may be affecting their individual attainment and moods and how best to use your school's behaviour policy to support the learning of all in the class you will simply find yourself overwhelmed and more 'dyspraxic' then usual.
I have been fortunate enough to resign before failing my NQT and take time out....I plan to use some of all of this time to see if I could finish that final term better equipped as a dyspraxic teacher. However, the difficulties we have baffle others and this may not be an option for me even with my outstanding character in employment.
Occupational health, access to work and most schools have no idea how best to support you. I will also spend time looking at more suitable jobs which are along the lines of your plans B and C. I will keep you updated with anything I learn, but want you to look into these points of advice: -
1) Seek help from a dyspraxic expert in organising, this could be paid for by the Learning authority.
2) Get a pda with outlook on it and a bluetooth keyboard. If you have not got one these almost irradicate most short term memory problems which are unavoidable as a teacher.
Get a bluetooth graphic tablet to draw on smartboards it is a lot easier, but will usually require extra funding from Access to work.
3) Reflect on every lesson, try different approaches and record success before encompassing others or trying new ones.
4) As funny as this sounds do not reveal too much of your concerns or your disability, I am not sure about others by I like to vent frustrations when they are not as big problems as I make out because I am a perfectionist. This absolutely does you no favours...teachers do not appreciate how resourceful adult dyspraxics can be compared to their exceptance of the great needs of a dyspraxic child.
5) Being open and honest, a trait I have which can be good in lots of situations can be very damaging in the teacher profession. You need to remember that all teachers are under great amounts of pressure attributted to many things, but hugely down to workload. These teachers are also apparently part of the bitchyess profession.
Again, I want to support you that is why I am trying to show you the reality and again if you want to chat about this let me know! I will be trying to help myself and others have the correct support set in stone for people starting teaching in the next couple of months and will post this if successful.
But the most crushing advice I had from the main person at Danda, I forget her name, is that teaching secondary mathematics in a mainstream school is an impossible task for a dyspraxic person, even those like myself who have overcome and found good strategies for many of our problems.
I appreciate there may be mistakes in my language in grammar here, but I have done this in haste. Also, I will stop trying to warn you off this path unless you do want me to elaborate on my experiences.
Please do not let your admirable determination over rule your better judgement!
I have just completed a 3yr degree in primary education but unfortunatly had to drop the qts which i was quite gutted about. On my last placement I struggled a lot with my organisation and my teacher/ school were not aware of me being dyspraxic till week 4/5. Even though I had clearly stated it on the phone. I struggled due to low self confidence teaching p.e yet my teacher failed to recognise this and I was made out to be lazy and she thought i wasnt putting the effort into it even though with a tad of understanding i would have been fine.
Sorry to hear about your experiences I really can appreciate the difficulties you are having.
What are your plans now?
I have just left my NQT year after experiencing similar problems in maths and pe secondary school teaching. I am now reflecting and thinking what to do next!
I think I am going to get more experience in school as maybe a ta and a few years down the line do a pgce. Did you have supportive schools/ teachers etc? Rosie
Teachers are in a caring profession and will give as much support as they can afford given their time constraints.
A word of warning don't be too open about your difficulties and also be careful not to except responsibilities before you are ready. TA support can be seen by some teachers as a way to get rid of the difficult ones or tto thob off hose that need most support. Do not feel you have to bend over backwards, be brave about what you feel ready to do. In addition, you can always explain that something is too diifficult if you want to have a go, people will respect that honesty.
Try to be proactive as a TA and help as many pupils as you can even when assigned to certain indiviuals. Also, ask the teacher what they would like to do or get involved in conversations about the topics being explored. Please try and be tactful when doing this and ask 'why' type questions where offense can not be drawn.
A very important skill you have to learn is tactile ignoring, kids nowadays can discuss some completely shocking topics, but of course do not let them get away with totally unexceptable acts such as bullying of others.
I have had lots of expewrience as a TA and am very able in the role, but you must be aware that it is very tiring and can be emotionally draining as certain pupils see you as a shoulder to cry on.
I would definately recommend this to any prospective dyspraxic teacher as you will gain so many useful experiences. It is not enough to prepare you for teaching. You need to be highly organised and able to work within reasonable time restraints.
Again I am more than happy to talk more in depth about this!
I did a PGCE for Further and HIgher Education and got to do a placement with young adults with special needs which I really enjoyed as I could relate to a lot of them in the group I had. However, with Drama as my main subject getting a post at the end of the course proved to be difficult. I did get a few weeks supply work but found it so hard. Some 'normal' students were so full of themselves and confident that anything they questioned just bashed my confidence to such an extent that after the placement I never looked for permanent teaching work. Now I've been nearly 10 years away from it and couldn't return without retraining which I couldn't afford. I do hope that all the things we find so complicated with being dyspraxic doesn't put other people with the problem off teaching. I would have loved to have had a teacher who understood the problems when I was in school or at college so we really need dyspraxic teachers out there for kids in our situation.
I agree with the poster who said to print off our replies and show it to the department in their college so they are aware of the problems we face.
Good Luck to anyone trying to teach as we are needed in schools etc. It must be so awful to study and work for 5 years and discover it's not the path for you.
I'm now in an office temporarily but it's not very satisfying.
Just had a thought.... if you have trained as a teacher and decieded not to teach why don't you join a training company in whatever area you are intrested in and become a trainer. At least the subject area will always be the same so no need to make endless teaching plans etc and you are teaching adults rather than children...
Teaching assistant
Teaching in a special school- dunno if youve ever thought of going down that route
helping children with speech and language problems
Outreach worker
working within extended schools
emmm if i think of any more ill let u know
